Lowandslow Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I'm planning on lowering my 720 this weekend and I had a question about the alignment after lowering the truck. I plan on doing 2.5 to 3" drop front and back and just wanted to know how negative the camber gets. Is it something a wheel and tire shop can handle or is there some modification and DIY I would have to get into? I searched this question and came up on the working angle. I noticed that when a 620 is lowered the carrier bearing must be raised in order to keep good working angle. I'd this true for any lowered truck? I've never lowered a RWD vehicle so have no knowledge on how to keep working angles happy. Quote Link to comment
Zeusimo Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 You Might Have A Tad Bit Camber But Toe Is What Really Matters I'm Sure You'll Be Fine If You Take It To A Shop For Alignment For The Rear I Reccomend You Take It To A Rear End Shop And Have Them Correct The Pinion Angle With Shims They Know What To Do Just Tell Them You Lowered It Slightly And Would Like The Pinion Angle Corrected It Might Not Be Needed So Drive Around At Freeway Speeds You Might Not Even Notice Much Rear End Vibrations You Should Be Fine With Small Tweaking Quote Link to comment
Lowandslow Posted February 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 Thanks!! This is exactly what I was looking for! So the toe is what changes during lowering? I would've thought camber, but I'm glad to know its nothing too extreme for an alignment shop to get done. I don't know of any rear end shops in y area but at the same time I have never had to go to one. I will follow your advice tho and if I feel any new vibration I will take it in. Is vibration the only thing I should be looking for when driving? Quote Link to comment
Zeusimo Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 Camber Changes As Well But Bad Toe Causes More Tire Wear Than Camber Once You Lower It You Will Notice The Wheels Won't Point Straight And Will Pull To One Side When You Let Go Of The Wheel Also If You Hit A Pothole Or Bump On The Road The Wheels Will Want To Turn By Themselfs That Is Called Bumpsteer But This Can Be Fixed With A Proper Front End Alignment You Should Encounter A Slight Vibration Over 50 MPH I've Read That Some Ppl Use A 1" Piece Of Tubing To Raise The Carrier Bearing, But That's Kinda Just Guessing Nothing Beats Installing The Proper Shims While You're Down There You Might Wanna Look Into Replacing Your 30 Year Old U-Joints I'm Not Sure About 720s But 620s Use 3 They Are Only Like $9 For OEM Made In Japan They Give You Much More Confidence In Hauling/Driving Farther Away Quote Link to comment
Lowandslow Posted February 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 Oh man haha my truck needs an alignment to begin with, pretty much everything you described already happens. I was going to lower it and have an alignment done at the same time. Will the stock shocks still work when lowered? I saw a few people using Ford Pinto shocks since they were shorter than the stock ones. Once again this was on a 620 and not a 720. I'm not sure if its a 3 piece driveshaft like the 620 but I will check later on today. I will definitely be take it in somewhere to have it shimmed up or at least have a professional take a look at the angle. I will also be getting new U joints and checking the carrier bearing. I got this truck about a month or 2 ago so I'm still learning and doing routine maintenance on the truck. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 The upper control arm can be spaced outward to relieve the camber by removing the shims on the mounting bolts. It's not much but may help. Camber and toe always change when adjusting the height. Toe you can adjust yourself in your driveway. Quote Link to comment
Lowandslow Posted February 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 So by removing the shims I can get some positive camber? Nice!! How would toe be adjusted? I've seen the string method but that's about it Quote Link to comment
JoeCool Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 You may want to replace the upper and lower ball joints while you are at it. I know on my truck the ball joints were shot, lowering it made the camber horrible! Replacing them straightened it out quite a bit. The handling was improved as well. Before I replaced them with the truck in the air you could shake the wheel back and forth a good two to three inches. Quote Link to comment
Lowandslow Posted February 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I actually just ordered the top ball joints for both sides a couple of days ago. The bottom ones were done by the PO a year ago. That sounds really bad tho, I can hear metal to metal contact when I go over speed bumps or hit a bump Quote Link to comment
Lowandslow Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Does anyone know if the stock ford pinto shocks work on the 720 when it's lowered just like on the 620? Quote Link to comment
Zeusimo Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Pinto Shocks Are Only 1/2 Shorter Than Stock Just Section The Towers Quote Link to comment
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