Caster settings 1977 C10

[idahovette]

On C10s you gotta put shims on the front bolt or take shims out of the rear bolt to increase Caster. You need the angle of the upper ball joint rearward from the lower (+Caster)Adding shims to either will increase Camber, but you gotta know how much does what. Experience will teach you how many shims and what thickness and where to put them.........Then set the toe....(@bucket )...lol

 

[TotalyHucked]

Yep big chain shops are only for modern toe an go daily drivers.

Custom stuff needs a good small independent shop. I usually set lowered stuff to these specs, if you can locate a shop that will do it. This has worked good for me on trucks from the 60s through 98.

Caster +5.0 or as close as possible. Match the side that maxes out first if it can't get to 5. They should be the same on both sides.

Camber -.5 to -.75. It won't wear the tires till you get over -1 an it helps with fender clearance.

Toe 1/16" in

Unless it'll be an in-town only aggressive driver, then you can go with some more camber if you want better handling. I always set my stuff to 1-2* of camber and never had any weird tire wear until I started going on thousand mile + highway trips lol

 

[fast 99]

Camber and toe are wear angles. Toe is set in to compensate for loose parts and load. Hopefully ending up close to zero or slightly in at speed. Excessive toe and camber WILL wear out tires.

I know the OP is trying to save money but this is an area where proper equipment and knowledge is needed. Yes you can do an oil can toe set and possibly camber with a square, caster no way, not without gauges. All your doing is guessing.

 

[Ricko1966]

No disrespect intended, there are plenty of options to check caster at home, from quick trick,Joe's racing,Long acre,fast trax and many others. As well as some well thought out homemade tools. I bought my Home version caster gauge, around 1999 when I had access to an alignment rack all day long. I used it at work a couple of times for fun,to compare.
I have no personal expierience with this and only watched part of the video but it was cool. IMHO if the caster matches left to right and tge car tracks stable that's the important part . If you are using the same gauge and procedure on both wheels and your numbers match you're good if the don't match make them match. Yes of course they need to semi accurate you need to know that your positive by a couple of degrees

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[Steppin Razor]

Camber and toe are wear angles. Toe is set in to compensate for loose parts and load. Hopefully ending up close to zero or slightly in at speed. Excessive toe and camber WILL wear out tires.

I know the OP is trying to save money but this is an area where proper equipment and knowledge is needed. Yes you can do an oil can toe set and possibly camber with a square, caster no way, not without gauges. All your doing is guessing.

Yes, I am guessing. I'm asking so I can make it a good guess so that I can drive it until I can find a shop willing to do it without charging an arm and a leg. I don't have a flat driveway or garage floor or I would do it the ways the videos show, but I figured there was a possibility someone has done it and can point me in the educated guess territory.

 

[Ricko1966]

Yes, I am guessing. I'm asking so I can make it a good guess so that I can drive it until I can find a shop willing to do it without charging an arm and a leg. I don't have a flat driveway or garage floor or I would do it the ways the videos show, but I figured there was a possibility someone has done it and can point me in the educated guess territory.

There is no educated guess territory on a 50 year old truck set with shims. And just because someone on a video got x degrees with y thickness shim on z car doesn't mean yours will be the same,it probably wont,your spindles will be different geometry,your control arm shafts will probably be a different length,the on center of the control arm shafts is probably different as is the length of the control arms. If you know what caster was when you took it in, that would help a little. Let me scour your thread and see if that info is there.

 

[Ricko1966]

Do you have the shims you took out originally? Do you know where they went and what the thicknesses were? If so tell me all you can,what thickness where. If not, I think I'd add 5/16-3/8 on each front bolt then check caster with a level shoot for just slightly less than level, as in tops tipped in 1/32 from level you will have to install shims equally for every 1/16th you add to the back bolt add the same to the front bolt to get camber right. Lastly measure toe with a tape measure shoot for 1/8th inch. That will get you some positive caster and a little less on left for crown,the camber won't wear,and the extra toe will help stabilty with mystery caster angle. If it drives okay like this,you won't wear out tires,get it an alignment as some as you can find a shop and afford it. I'd bet you the video you watched had inboard cross shafts not outboard,so everything you learned watching it was backwards. The P.O. shims were probably close.

 

[Steppin Razor]

Do you have the shims you took out originally? Do you know where they went and what the thicknesses were? If so tell me all you can,what thickness where. If not, I think I'd add 5/16-3/8 on each front bolt then check caster with a level shoot for just slightly less than level as in tops tipped in 1/32 from level you will have to install shims equally for every 1/16th you add to the back bolt add the same to the front bolt to get camber right. Lastly measure toe with a tape measure shoot for 1/8th inch. That will get you some positive caster and a little less on left for crown,the camber won't wear,and the extra toe will help stabilty with mystery caster angle. If it drives okay like this,you won't wear out tires,get it an alignment as some as you can find a shop and afford it. I'd bet you the video you watched had inboard cross shafts not outboard,so everything you learned watching it was backwards. The P.O. shims were probably close.

My original numbers were -1.1 and -.4 caster. Camber is -2.5 and -.4 Toe was set at .15deg and .23deg

So to clarify, the video I found that said shims on the back increase caster is the opposite of mine? I couldn't find one that was specifically on a C10. EDIT: The car was a 69 GTO if that helps.

I do have the original shims, and there were more on the front than the back.

 

[Ricko1966]

My original numbers were -1.1 and -.4 caster. Camber is -2.5 and -.4 Toe was set at .15deg and .23deg

So to clarify, the video I found that said shims on the back increase caster is the opposite of mine? I couldn't find one that was specifically on a C10. EDIT: The car was a 69 GTO if that helps.

I do have the original shims, and there were more on the front than the back.

Inboard shafts vs. Outboard shafts. Complete opposites,sounds like it was right before you messed with it,or at least closer.

 

[idahovette]

^^^^^^^^Yep.......apples and oranges^^^^^^^^^