Camber issue
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Camber issue
I noticed that I have a camber issue on the passenger side. A close look showed it was leaning in at the top and wearing more to the inside.
I have done a lot of 2 wheel drive suspension stuff, but not 4X. This is an 86 F250/ 6.9l. It has IFS with ball joints. The springs appear to be arched the same, but I could measure to be sure. Is this just a camber adjustment or a ball joint replacement job or something else?
The Haynes manual is clear as mud, and does not do much on diagnostics.
I have done a lot of 2 wheel drive suspension stuff, but not 4X. This is an 86 F250/ 6.9l. It has IFS with ball joints. The springs appear to be arched the same, but I could measure to be sure. Is this just a camber adjustment or a ball joint replacement job or something else?
The Haynes manual is clear as mud, and does not do much on diagnostics.
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Probably a balljoint is going out, do yourself a favor and replace all four at the same time, saves you from tearing down the knuckles and stuff again soon when the next one goes loose, and you get a peace of mind.
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Thanks. I was "leaning" toward the upper bj. Yes, upper and lower at the same time. Driver side may wait a bit, depending on the price.
Do you think there will be room to work without undoing the hub assembly?
Do you think there will be room to work without undoing the hub assembly?
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No way man, everything has to come off - locking hub, wheel hub, spindle, axle shaft, and only then you can drop the knuckle to swap the ball joints. Which is why I suggested upper and lower at the same time, it's a ton of work to be doing twice over.
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Oh, I would NEVER do only 1 ball joint. Too many hours wrenching for that kind of foolishness. The drivers side will follow soon, but I'm strapped right now.
I thought it would be a tear down, but sometimes there is a slick trick to bypass a lot of work.
So... I've done the brakes, rotors, bearings before, so I've got that down. Pulling the axle will be new. I'll read up on it in my Haynes before tackling it. I'll keep you posted.
I thought it would be a tear down, but sometimes there is a slick trick to bypass a lot of work.
So... I've done the brakes, rotors, bearings before, so I've got that down. Pulling the axle will be new. I'll read up on it in my Haynes before tackling it. I'll keep you posted.
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From: Upstate NY
not sure what type front axle you have but make sure that EVERY SEAL YOU TAKE OFF YOU REPLACE WITH NEW ONE, I would not wish it on my worst enemy to have to go through all the work of tearing down the front end again only to replace the axle seal LOL, IIRC there are two? a small one on the hub assembly but there is the really big one on that axle shaft that could leak if you try to reuse it, even if it looks brand new many of our trucks are already past or aproaching 20 years old, might as well do it anyway while you are in there IMO here is a link with pictures an step by step to doing ball joints on a dana 60 mechelement showed this to me and I right away saved it 2004 F250 Ball Joint Replacement
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I have most of the passenger side pulled down, except for the ball joints. I am having difficulty separating the joints. The Haynes manual says to use a plastic hammer and wrap sharply. HA! I wrapped sharply with a 20lb sledge and nothing moved! My power pickle fork is either too small or I just don't have it in the right place. I'm going to try cutting the rubber grease cover back and check placement better, then light up the MAP gas torch. After that, maybe the grinder. Too bad I can't afford a plasma cutter. Any other good ideas? I don't have any C-4...
The U-joint is being stubborn too. I presume these U-joint go in and out like the any other U-joint. Yes, the clips are removed.
FYI: '86 F250 Dana 44 3850lb GVW Front
The U-joint is being stubborn too. I presume these U-joint go in and out like the any other U-joint. Yes, the clips are removed.
FYI: '86 F250 Dana 44 3850lb GVW Front
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When i did my `87 F250 I used a pickle fork to "break" the ball joints loose. If the prongs are too narrow then just bend them a bit wider so that they will go either side of the joint.
yes the u-joints can be tight. I cut the cross out so that I could hammer all the caps inwards.
Good luck.
yes the u-joints can be tight. I cut the cross out so that I could hammer all the caps inwards.
Good luck.
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I got it apart. After cutting the rubber boots off, I could get the pickle fork in place. Two actually. The top popped, but the bottom did not. I put the second fork in the bottom, hammered both home, went medieval on the upper ball nut with the 20lb sledge. Back and forth over and over, then it finally cracked. Whew!
Next I removed the joints. Yea! My impact gun is a wuss! I had to use a 24" pipe wrench to stabilize the the C press, and a 24" breaker bar plus a 24" cheater. Yea baby! I have the new joints in the freezer. I will tackle the install after they sit a while.
I got the U joint out too. I should have cut the joint like Lazy K said, but I was done before I read it! I blew out a cap head on each side. Joy! Now how do I get the broken caps out? I'll look around for some steel stock the right diameter. Maybe I can still press the ring out.
For the drivers side, I think I may just take the joints over to a friends 20 ton press. Might be less painful.
Next I removed the joints. Yea! My impact gun is a wuss! I had to use a 24" pipe wrench to stabilize the the C press, and a 24" breaker bar plus a 24" cheater. Yea baby! I have the new joints in the freezer. I will tackle the install after they sit a while.
I got the U joint out too. I should have cut the joint like Lazy K said, but I was done before I read it! I blew out a cap head on each side. Joy! Now how do I get the broken caps out? I'll look around for some steel stock the right diameter. Maybe I can still press the ring out.
For the drivers side, I think I may just take the joints over to a friends 20 ton press. Might be less painful.
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I got the pieces of U-joint cap out. Easier than I thought. I ground the edges flatter and pushed a 7/8" socket against it. Still took a LOT of force, but they both popped out.
The ball joints are in too. I REALLY need a new impact. I had to go 1 flat at a time with a breaker bar bracing against the pipe wrench. SLOOOOOW.
I have not tightened the bjs in place yet, I just pulled the nuts up snug. The camber nut is in the exact place it was before, but cleaned and greased. Once the bjs are torqued and the tapers are seated, how can the alignment guy move it if needed? I seems like at least the upper bj will have to be separated again. That will be a lot of work that I do not want to pay for. Am I just over thinking this?
The ball joints are in too. I REALLY need a new impact. I had to go 1 flat at a time with a breaker bar bracing against the pipe wrench. SLOOOOOW.
I have not tightened the bjs in place yet, I just pulled the nuts up snug. The camber nut is in the exact place it was before, but cleaned and greased. Once the bjs are torqued and the tapers are seated, how can the alignment guy move it if needed? I seems like at least the upper bj will have to be separated again. That will be a lot of work that I do not want to pay for. Am I just over thinking this?
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From: Upstate NY
I got the pieces of U-joint cap out. Easier than I thought. I ground the edges flatter and pushed a 7/8" socket against it. Still took a LOT of force, but they both popped out.
The ball joints are in too. I REALLY need a new impact. I had to go 1 flat at a time with a breaker bar bracing against the pipe wrench. SLOOOOOW.
I have not tightened the bjs in place yet, I just pulled the nuts up snug. The camber nut is in the exact place it was before, but cleaned and greased. Once the bjs are torqued and the tapers are seated, how can the alignment guy move it if needed? I seems like at least the upper bj will have to be separated again. That will be a lot of work that I do not want to pay for. Am I just over thinking this?
The ball joints are in too. I REALLY need a new impact. I had to go 1 flat at a time with a breaker bar bracing against the pipe wrench. SLOOOOOW.
I have not tightened the bjs in place yet, I just pulled the nuts up snug. The camber nut is in the exact place it was before, but cleaned and greased. Once the bjs are torqued and the tapers are seated, how can the alignment guy move it if needed? I seems like at least the upper bj will have to be separated again. That will be a lot of work that I do not want to pay for. Am I just over thinking this?
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My impact is a 30 year old Chicago Pneumatic. It is just worn out.
The camber bushing is kind of a stack up deal. The bushing is split on one side and the hole is off center. The ball joint stud goes inside the camber bushing. As the bushing turns, it moves the ball joint stud around. There are locator tabs to keep the bushing from turning. Once cinched down, the whole thing is locked in place.
Making an adjustment to the camber seems like big deal to me. At least doing it on a n alignment rack. Measure, remove wheel, loosen upper ball joint nut, separate ball joint, pry the camber bushing up, turn, re-tighten ball joint nut, install wheel, re-set up the alignment tools, measure. Hope you got it right the first time. Maybe it is easier, but I don't think so.
I may call my alignment guy and see what he says.
The camber bushing is kind of a stack up deal. The bushing is split on one side and the hole is off center. The ball joint stud goes inside the camber bushing. As the bushing turns, it moves the ball joint stud around. There are locator tabs to keep the bushing from turning. Once cinched down, the whole thing is locked in place.
Making an adjustment to the camber seems like big deal to me. At least doing it on a n alignment rack. Measure, remove wheel, loosen upper ball joint nut, separate ball joint, pry the camber bushing up, turn, re-tighten ball joint nut, install wheel, re-set up the alignment tools, measure. Hope you got it right the first time. Maybe it is easier, but I don't think so.
I may call my alignment guy and see what he says.
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You shouldn't use an impact on the C-clamp press, as it ain't designed to take such pounding and may shatter on you - never happened to me, but I've heard about it, rather not find out for myself how much truth there is in that story. I actually change U-joints with a big hammer and two 4x4 blocks of wood, also a MAPP gas torch - did the press thing once with my neighbor's Jeep, ended up bending one of the yokes, to this day I dunno how that axle shaft was able to actually withstand the yoke being straightened and then used on daily basis all winter long, but I'd rather not deal with this again...
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You shouldn't use an impact on the C-clamp press, as it ain't designed to take such pounding and may shatter on you - never happened to me, but I've heard about it, rather not find out for myself how much truth there is in that story. I actually change U-joints with a big hammer and two 4x4 blocks of wood, also a MAPP gas torch - did the press thing once with my neighbor's Jeep, ended up bending one of the yokes, to this day I dunno how that axle shaft was able to actually withstand the yoke being straightened and then used on daily basis all winter long, but I'd rather not deal with this again...
??? An impact gun is exactly what the instructions say to use. I have done the hammer this plenty of times. I have used vice press systems. Used MAPP gas, used acetylene, but I prefer a 20 ton press. Too bad my access to one is limited. I cannot see how using a hammer is any less likely to bend stuff than a properly set up press, C or other wise.