Castor camber on 87 v10

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

waterpirate

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Posts
823
Reaction score
1,840
Location
delaware
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
v10
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
So after putting on some new tires I took her to the shop to get alignment checked. They put it on the rack and the results were all is good, castor camber is out with no adjustment? How do you correct castor camber? New king pins? Truck drives well, no wandering or pulling, has cut the front tires since I got the truck in 94. Solutions?
Eric
 

RecklessWOT

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2015
Posts
2,548
Reaction score
4,744
Location
New Hampshire
First Name
Kevin
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
V10 Suburban Silverado
Engine Size
350 TBI
My truck is the same. There never was an adjustment from the factory, I guess GM assumed everyone would keep their truck out of the ditch for it's entire life. They sell aftermarket bolts you can put in there which rotate to adjust camber. I never bothered though because it's not far enough out to cause any problems and I was worried those adjuster bolts may be a little weaker as they're a little slimmer by design (they have to be narrower to fit through the same hole to to provide room for adjustment)
 
Last edited:

nvrenuf

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Posts
1,689
Reaction score
1,879
Location
Mobile, Al.
First Name
John
Truck Year
1991
Truck Model
K5
Engine Size
454
Caster or camber, they are 2 separate things and adjusted differently.

Camber is basically the tires center line leaning in or out from the center of the vehicle.

Caster is the tires center line leaning front to rear.
 

Craig 85

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Posts
3,889
Reaction score
4,024
Location
Nashville, TN
First Name
Craig
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
K30 SRW
Engine Size
454/TH-400/NP205

roundhouse

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2014
Posts
669
Reaction score
527
Location
atlanta ga
First Name
justin
Truck Year
77,78,79,80 ?
Truck Model
K10
Engine Size
350
Definitely find a different shop if they said it couldn’t be changed or fixed

There’s a shop not too far from me that can align the lowered fords by bending the twin I beams

So if the shop you went to didn’t even know of the rings , a modification that works on nearly every vehicle ever made , find a new shop
 

waterpirate

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Posts
823
Reaction score
1,840
Location
delaware
First Name
Eric
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
v10
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
Thanx for the replies, that's why I asked. My gut said they did not want to mess with it cause it was old. There is a really good spring shop near me that does spring lifts cheaper than you can do itwith a kit. I will call them and see what they have to say.
Eric
 

Keith Seymore

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Posts
2,609
Reaction score
8,018
Location
Motor City
First Name
Keith Seymore
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
R10
Engine Size
4.3L
You can adjust the caster by installing tapered shims between the axle pad and leaf springs.

We used to really crank the caster up on V10s, like 10 degrees, to fix customer complaint vehicles.

If yours drives fine now I'd leave it alone.

K
 

roundhouse

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2014
Posts
669
Reaction score
527
Location
atlanta ga
First Name
justin
Truck Year
77,78,79,80 ?
Truck Model
K10
Engine Size
350
You can adjust the caster by installing tapered shims between the axle pad and leaf springs.

We used to really crank the caster up on V10s, like 10 degrees, to fix customer complaint vehicles.

If yours drives fine now I'd leave it alone.

K
True
You can also install longer shackles on the rear of the spring to help the caster
 

1987 GMC Jimmy

Automobile Hoarder
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Posts
5,848
Reaction score
2,387
Location
Mississippi
First Name
Jesse
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
V1500 Jimmy
Engine Size
350
Treading over covered ground here, but I’ve found that most alignment shops, at least here in Shitsville, Mississippi, either don’t know how to align a live front axle or are reluctant to. I found one about thirty minutes away that I’m going to use Monday. The factory camber spec is 1.5* positive. I believe it’s 8* caster. Did those dummies at least tell you your specs? My worry is that something could have been sagging (e.g. ball joint), and they would have said yeah, looks good regardless. Take it somewhere else.

Oh, and I’m using the sleeves like in the second picture that Craig posted. They’re 1.25* +/- camber, which the only reason I didn’t go for the 1.5 is that I got these for a steal, but I may lose some of that camber reduction if my caster’s off. I don’t remember my caster spec. Oh well. I’m hoping all goes well on my end. Same for you.

You must be registered for see images attach
 

75gmck25

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2016
Posts
2,018
Reaction score
1,811
Location
Northern Virginia
First Name
Bruce
Truck Year
1975
Truck Model
K25 Camper Special TH350 NP203
Engine Size
5.7
When I bought new ball joints they came with screw-in camber bushings that looked like the 2nd picture. The ones provided with the ball joints appeared to be flat, but its my understanding that there are other versions that will change the camber. The sleeves are easy to install if you have the right camber sleeve wrench, and I ended up buying one on Amazon.

Bruce
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
41,859
Posts
903,673
Members
33,372
Latest member
83elcowes
Top