How do I adjust my camber and toe '85 720

[Taylor880]

Hey all,

 

This may be elementary, but I'm pretty new to wrenching and would love some advice if y'all have it.

 

Recently picked up an 85 720 in okay shape with 176k miles on it. Recently did tie rod ends, ball joints, and sway bar links. Put some new tires on and noticed feathering right away in the front. Went for an alignment and the tech said he did as best he could, but couldn't get her right. It's obvious from looking at the front end the passenger toe and/or camber is way off. Recommended a lift spindle? Looks to me that the upper control arm is pulling the whole thing towards the body, but the driver side looks fine.

 

I'm not really sure where to start as far as fixing the problem goes. Front tires are wearing FAST. 

 

Also have photos, but not sure how to post em.

 

Any advice would be extremely appreciated!

[datzenmike]

 

I would begin by setting the correct ride height by adjusting the anchor bolts on the rear ends of the torsion bars. Both tires must be identical, have the same proper air pressure and on a level floor. Find the tension rod mounting bolts to the lower control arm. Hold a level against the outermost one. Find the lower link bushing nut on the front of the lower control arm and measure down from it's center to the level.

 

King Cab......... 4.45" -4.61"

Reg Cab.......... 4.65" -4.80"

 

See how it looks now.

 

 

[Stinky]

The camber, IF you have the height set correctly, it probably isn't off.  Radial tires are not very sensitive to camber being off, or so I;ve heard.

 

There is a plastic/rubber flap that hangs down from the fender....on the inside of fender, in the engine compartment.  It hangs down on top of, or nearly on top of the A-arms mounting point....You loosen those nuts holding the pivot to the frame.  Then the upper control arm, can be moved in or out (I don't remember which).  There are spacers between the frame mounting and the pivot point of the control arm....you add or remove spacers to move the pivot point in the correct direction.

 

BUT, as I said, it is not very likely to be off....UNLESS somebody has fooled w/the ride height and then had it aligned.

 

In the olden days (before computer alignment), they would jack up the front end and spin the tire.  They would lightly touch the tire, using the tip of a screwdriver, as it spins and therefore scribe a line around the tire.  I would find a spot on the tire that is the same on the front and rear of the tire and use that....say a spot on the tread, or the edge of the tire, if it is clearly defined. The deal is that they have to be in the same spot on each tire as you are going to measure from them.  I have no idea what your toe should be....google it.  But, I would set your tires toed-in about 1/8"....as you drive, they toe out.  You measure the distance between the tires on the front of the tire, and the rear of the tire, as close to the half-way of the height of the tire that you can get to.

 

Then, you adjust the length of a tire-rod until you get the numbers that you want.

 

I have not watched these...But, in the top picture....you'll need a helper, measure between the tires, and on those tires, I'd just hook the tape on the center tread ridge and measure across to the other tire.

 

[datzenmike]

You can shim the upper control arm inward almost all you want increasing positive camber. Negative camber is achieved by removing shims however there only a couple and then the UCA is bottomed out. Nissan leaves some adjustment room for normal variances in production. More than this and parts have to be replaced and or frame straightened.

 

Changes in ride height always alters the toe in or out of the alignment and camber

[Taylor880]

On 1/21/2024 at 5:14 PM, datzenmike said:

 

I would begin by setting the correct ride height by adjusting the anchor bolts on the rear ends of the torsion bars. Both tires must be identical, have the same proper air pressure and on a level floor. Find the tension rod mounting bolts to the lower control arm. Hold a level against the outermost one. Find the lower link bushing nut on the front of the lower control arm and measure down from it's center to the level.

 

King Cab......... 4.45" -4.61"

Reg Cab.......... 4.65" -4.80"

 

See how it looks now.

 

 

I think that may have done it! Thank you. Good thing I went back there to the torsion bar bolts. Noticed my driveshaft carrier bearing is absolutely destroyed 🥴

[iceman510]

As discussed above, I would check toe first if that isn't what you did.  Toe wears tires much faster then camber as they are constantly scrubbing down the road as you drive.