Edit: the toe change after camber change isn't much on a straight axle. It's much more on IFS. I said that thinking more about newer crap. Still a good idea to recheck toe afterwards.
The only thing I'll note is that you'll have about 2-3 degrees of 'springback' when bending so if you're after a small amount, sneak up on it very carefully...
I have some 4" I-Beam, that I set flush, when I poured my concrete floor. I weld eyes and hooks for chain tie-downs, for jacking and pulling. When I am done with the set-up, I remove them and grind the area smooth. Maybe someone in your area might have some steel in their floor, and could help you out.
Axle moves some under weight of car so jack car up and see how much, most will be between the springs, check camber...I guess move about 1/2°..Check if axle strait or spring pad weld caused a bend(s)...Then with those two things known can decide methode and where to bend..Pic of each tire strait on would be better..How are you measuring camber?
If that's a tube axle, it will bend easily as compared to a solid steel one. Got a smart phone? Use the compass feature to see what the camber actually is. Use something to span a convenient spot on the wheel and place the phone against it. Or a machinist level would be okay.
I just put a carpenter's level against the tire, and leaned it back until it read level, and guesstimated the distance from the level to the tire. then did a little trig, divide that distance by the distance from the places on the tire where the level contacts it, take the arc sine, and that's the camber angle. Probably not the approved method, but it gives me a ballpark number. I'm not allowed to use my phone to measure stuff on this car.
Until it read plumb...I don't even have a phone that could measure stuff.. I can see a degree but not by your pics..
Camber, by itself, has a very slow wear rate, and you only have 1/2° between right and left. The right tire is wearing faster. Or at least the one rib is. How many miles to get to this wear? A couple of other possibilities to factor in: Is there ANY kingpin play in the right side spindle? If so, it will let that tire toe out just a small amount. It won't be much, but added to that neg 1° camber will speed up the wear rate. Does your steering go to the left or right spindle? If the left, that spindle is held stable by the steering, and the right will toe out. Is the front axle absolutely square in the chassis? Any deviation will throw "toe" scrub (-or+) into one or both tires. Is the rear axle absolutely square, and parallel to the front axle? If not, the tail wags the dog, and the small amount of push throws "toe" scrub (-or+) into one or both front tires. Are the stationary end front spring bushings slack free? If not, the front axle, underway, will move rearward that amount, and throw "toe" scrub (-or+) into one or both front tires. If I was correcting the camber, I would secure both sides outside the spring pads if there is room, and push in the center. Loosen the u-bolts so you not trying to twist the springs. If you get the right side to 0°, the left should be at 1/2°+, or close. Call it good. FWIW, there's a lot more to steer tire wear than just a "front end" alignment.
Thanks for the questions.... The car has cross steering, so the pass side is held by the drag link, the driver side by the tie rod. The parts are all pretty tight still. The tires have roughly 6,000 miles on them. Bending the axle in the middle sounds like a good idea, it would be relatively easy to do with a chain and a jack. I found a neat video on youtube about straightening trailer axles...
The cold bend with a jack and a chain sounds better than trying heat. Seems to me after heating a hollow tube it makes it weaker and tends to not hold true. But that is my opinion. Joe
You know you wont be happy tell you get one of those axles that the guy that has been at the meltdown builds(sorry can't remember his name).
I looked at the thread about them..unfortunately, they're too nice for my old piece of crap. All that fancy machining and clean welds. It would look totally out of place.
Just drag a chain over it a few times and some satin black or you need a I beam. Did they use a chevy van? Trying like crazy to remember the front end under them.(been a long time)
Also a fantastic way to slice your hand/fingers open if there's a steel belt poking out that you don't see. So watch out for that
There's a lot of great info accumulating on this thread Jim. I've often wondered about the accuracy of commonly available tube (and I beam) axles, how the pad welding affects them and how to correct them. Keep us updated on what you do and how it works. Thanks.
I got the pass side to be about the same as the driver side. Lots of spring back. And yes, it was scary. I think they're both right around zero degrees now. I'll set the toe in to 3/16 and see how it works.
I worked in a commercial frame & wheel shop for years. Our system was an 'H' cross member integrated as flooring for the heavy front end rack. A set of hooks (large squarish forgings by John Bean & Behr) coupled with links (also heavy forgings) was available to hook over the large I beam axles of everything from 1/2 ton pickups to Peterbilt, Mack, and KW. I bent all the axles. I would bet the old man on a staggered-bend big rig (say 1/2* on one side, 1* on the other) I could do it in one pull. He lost every time. If you do it all the time, it's 'mumbly-peg'. Simply put: It is a lesson in ratio of proportion. In Squirrel's case, 1* or more on one side would compromise the axle if bent off center in one pull, like the big trucks. So, the way he did it is the logical and preferred. (localized bends for each side) Jim: I'd put the gauges on the axle at 'rest', and then jack the car off the ground at the center of the tube, check it again. If it varies MORE than 1/4*, the axle's wall thickness may be (IS!) too thin.
Thanks for the info. I don't really want to see how much it bends from the weight of the car... btw I visited the old shop in town, it happens to be the oldest business in town, too, started in 1956, the same year the city was incorporated. There is an ancient Beam Visualiner setup, with a nice pit...not used any more for alignments, they have a computerized rack in the front shop now. The axle bending stuff is a Blackhawk setup, at least the jack is, which is the only name I found. Several neat forgings for bending and twisting axles. I googled for a while, and could not find anything like it on the interwebs, it must be kind of old. No, I didn't take pictures.
Like was said above , I remember that you were to bend the axle outboard of the springs , each side by itself , the center beam was held straight w/the fixtures we had [I am trying to recall from 45 years ago] dave
since my bend was inside the spring, just a little bit, it bent both sides, but one side more than the other...and ended up just right. I woulda got the old man's money, too.
On this old Kent Fuller car that we raced, (Kent built it really light) and we compounded the problem by shortening it 25" and adding a blower. It would increase negative camber after a few runs, we would roll a floor jack under the center of the axle and wrap a seat belt below the jack, and connect it outside the radius rod mounts. A few pumps of the jack, and if it looked good to the eye, she was good to go over 190, I eventually welded a straight tube between the radius rods, problem solved.
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