Dana 60 Alignment Help (Camber)

[Rustyshackelford]

Hi,
I just installed the Dana 60 front on my M1009 and I'm having a problem with the camber. Before I installed the axle I did a rehab on it which included new king pin bushings.
I noticed that I could see the front drivers tire had a visible tilt to it and the alignment guy said that can't be adjusted on this type of axle. So my question for you is... what would cause my wheel to tilt like this? Did I put the kingpin bushing/spring in wrong?

 

[richingalveston]

you may have a bent spindle. They should be fairly equal if all is good in the axle.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

How would one diagnose the issue?

 

[someoldmoose]

99% guaranteed the end of the axle tube is bent. Have it straightened by a competent shop and add an axle truss to prevent future repeat. OH, . . . and Dukes Of Hazzard jumps are a bad idea.

You already diagnosed it. The camber is incorrect on a solid axle with no adjustment for camber.

Looks like the left REAR is off too but probably not enough to wear the tires oddly. Somebody landed hard on the left side.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

The axle tube is straight

 

[someoldmoose]

Well somethin's bent. Perhaps the king pin frame.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

How could one diagnose if that is the case ?

 

[scottladdy]

Start simple and one axle at a time (front vs rear). While the symptoms appear similar the root cause may be different.

First, is the alignment shop equipment properly calibrated? Did the person doing the alignment know what they were doing? Yes, I have seen this. A quick check with a digital angle gauge should at least corroborate the difference in angles being reported by the shop. Seeing as how you just installed the D60, AND I'm assuming you did not jump the truck like the Duke brothers after the installation AND since the shop equipment is reporting a similar difference between front and rear I personally would not trust the report without some corroboration.

Second, work your way into the axle from the outside. Are the wheel bearings properly adjusted? Is there any play in the wheel/tire assembly? Did you properly torque all the fasteners when you put things back together? Is there any play in the outer "C"? You mentioned replacing the king pin bushings but what else did you do? Did you replace the bushing springs? Is the kingpin itself worn? Did you replace the lower bearing and race? Is there any play in the lower bearing? Is the lower bearing cap worn? Do you see any movement in the wheel/tire assembly (measure carefully) when you elevate the side (does the tire now sit vertical or with an outboard tilt)? In short, check all the adjustable and wear items to ensure they are properly installed, are not worn, and are not providing some inappropriate movement of the assembly.

After this you will need to start taking careful and detailed measurements to see if anything is off or bent like the spindle as mentioned above. I never advocate throwing parts at a problem (e.g. replace the spindle) until I understand the root cause of the issue. You can burn a lot of time and $ in doing so, although it can seem the easy approach as what I outlined above can be tedious.

The -34 Specs for camber are:

Camber M1009: + 8° M1009: ±0.5°All Except M1009: + 0° to + 1.5° All Except M1009: ± 0.5°

What was the source of your D60? Was it factory or modified? GM or other? This may also be a factor.

Lastly, GM designed a significantly greater amount of positive camber into the Blazer's much shorter wheelbase. Have you considered what any change in camber will do to the Blazer's handling?

 

[richingalveston]

I think most of the axle and frame damage comes from GL. I had to replace both my front hubs, drive shaft and cross member. I think they like to raise the truck as high as they can with lift and then just let it drop. This was after I swapped the axle. got and axle out of 1008 from ft. riley and all the d60 hubs were bent. I chased death wobble for a while, until I changed the hubs. when the truck was jacked up, you could actually see the run out at the top of the tires when you spin them

It would be nice to have the axle cut and camber adjusted for a 1009 and the 39 inch tires, but the stock dana 60 drives nice in my truck.

 

[Chaski]

Kingpin bushings and springs are not a fix all solution. Also consider an opinion from a second alignment shop, and make sure your tire pressure is equal.

#1 guess) Your kingpin bushing key did not get clocked correctly and the plastic kingpin bushing is bound, not allowing it to make contact with the tapered upper kingpin. Pull it back apart and make sure the keyway on the bushing and the knuckle are lined up.

#2 guess) Your lower kingpin tapered roller bearing and race is totally destroyed. These are a magnet for contamination, and for whatever reason people don't seem to replace them even though they are inexpensive.

#3 guess) something is bent.


Also, camber is adjustable. There are offset lower kingpin bearing pins avaliable. You just unbolt the four bolts holding the lower pin in and swap it with one that has the offset desired. See Moog K992.

 

[snowtrac nome]

there used to be wedge shims available for the spindles to the dana 60 spindle is weak and prone to bending my 89 dodge has 2 bent right now. if you are that curious about diagnosis get some one to chuck it up on a lathe and you will see the wobble

 

[Rustyshackelford]

OK so when i woke up this morning and nobody had posted (thanks everyone who has posted since then) I started taking parts off to see if I could diagnose a problem. All parts are new, everything was tight, and there was no loose parts or play in anything. Then I took the spindle off again and found, what turns out to be, a camber adjusting shim. I saw it when I first rehabbed the axle but I didn't know what it was so I just reinstalled it in the only way it fit over the bolt pattern. Low and behold, if you turn it over it can be installed in exactly the opposite way, correcting my camber problem. I had previously installed it upside down so it had doubled my camber issue. Further research shows that the amount of camber issue I actually have is normal and commonly fixed by these shims. Everything is back together and it is looking good and I'll be heading back to the alignment shop next weekend to check it again. This isn't mine but here is a pic of one just like mine.