6" Rough Country Lift 1982 Flareside

Gary Lewis wrote

You might consider, while peeling the onion, replacing the eccentrics.  I like the ones that give full adjustment, but make sure you put them in with anti-seize so the shop can adjust them when the time comes.

Gary, yes, I have new moog fully adjustable eccentrics.

This is the first time I have taken apart a ford TTB front end. I really like it. The design makes sense to me. Its build tough. And I really like the way it looks, especially in pictures of truck getting airborne!!!

Alright, well I had my 40 hrs in at the office by wednesday night. I had a half day off yesterday, and all day today. Just had the kids, wife and my mother out at the Parklands. Getting back at this project now.

3 questions I have.

1. Is the diff sealed with just rtv, black?
2. Hypoid Gear oil in the diff, if I remember correctly?
3. With the 6" lift, I dont think the eccentric setting in the chart will be accurate, the radius arm brackets only drop 5". So...I need a method to measure caster and camber to get it close. Any suggestions? Im not working on a flat surface.

I used grey on the diff, I think it said 'gear oil'... And yes hypoid gear oil, I just went with regular 80W90.

The chart is to guide your offset, not for a setting, regardless of the lift. There are do-it-yourself kits, but they cost at least as much as taking it to a shop. If you just want a quick setup to get to the shop, just place it in the neutral setting(center of the chart). Once you have the camber and caster measurements you use the chart to offset back to where you want it.

The main thing that works in your favor I think is the drop brackets on the axle pivots. That's what causes the extreme camber with a TTB lift. The radius arm brackets will probably effect caster, but you shouldn't be that far off from before the lift. I'd be surprised if it's as extreme as mine was, considering I have no drop brackets.

Ray Cecil wrote

JACKED UP!

Looks good, Ray!  How does it drive?

Yes Sir! I think the 32s are just a hair small. 33 or 34 is sort of pushing the gearing and drivetrain, so I will runn them awhile. Going to get it aligned asap. I set eccentrics to neutral position and left them popped up above the tabs so the alignment shop can make their corrections. I know toe will change once caster and chamber corrections are made, but I got it close enough to drive around the yard.

Gary Lewis wrote

Looks good, Ray!  How does it drive?

I havent driven it but to the end of the drive, down the street 100 yards, back into the yard and back to the barn.

That's good since you said you didn't torque the upper ball joint nuts down.  

Gary Lewis wrote

That's good since you said you didn't torque the upper ball joint nuts down.  

Exactly, but they wont go anywhere.

Looks great Ray! And from the pic it doesn't look like you have anything crazy going on camber wise, so the kit appears to be a good one.

Rob, I set the caster and camber to the neutral setting like you suggested.

I have only eyeballed the toe. I'll make a few short runs up and down the street before going to an alignment shop.

Any chance ill find a shop that knows what they are doing?

So, positive camber is top of wheel hanging out past the bottom. And negative the bottom out past the top....

So what are the angles supposed to be? Ive seen different things all over the place.

Ray Cecil wrote

So what are the angles supposed to be? Ive seen different things all over the place.

You asked that question three days ago and I answered it here with "The alignment specs are on this page: Documentation/Suspension & Steering/Alignment."  

I read through parts of that. Long winded and confusing. All I need is a simple picture of the front showing camber, top showing toe, and side showing caster.

Maybe when I retire I'll have time to read all this stuff.

I just saw a few minutes ago the threads on the virtual truck show....Im waaaaay behind.

Balancing work, the property, wife, kids and their private education....then trying to take care of.....I'll just shut up and keep going forward.

Ray Cecil wrote

Any chance ill find a shop that knows what they are doing?

So, positive camber is top of wheel hanging out past the bottom. And negative the bottom out past the top....

So what are the angles supposed to be? Ive seen different things all over the place.

I haven't taken mine to the shop for exactly that reason! No, I'm being unfair. I'm just upset since the guy I was unfortunate to deal with on the day wanted to charge me more to mount my tires, just because I didn't buy them there. But I'll take it there eventually. I've already bought 6 tires there and had my Toyota aligned.

Hard to say if a local place or chain is your best bet. Ask around I guess. I don't think it's hard, but you never know these days, incompetence is rampant.

And yes, positive is out at the top. You want neutral. Anything else is for a set purpose, racing, off-roading etc.

Same with toe.

Caster you want positive, but not too much. The range is dictated by your suspension height. The documentation only shows suspension up to 120mm, yours is probably past that(measured between the bump stop and axle housing). The range is 2 to 4deg of positive caster at that height. At a stock height of 85mm it shows 7deg. But the documentation is merely indicating what the caster should be(to check condition of components etc) since the caster isn't adjustable with the stock setup. Not necessarily the optimal setting. If you get a good vibe from the shop you decide on, ask them for a recommendation.

Disclaimer - I am not an alignment technician... Trust, but verify.

I drove it a little further. Steers like pushing a wet noodle on a dry plate. Cant keep a straight line for nothing.

I ran a string line from the back tires to the front. I set the steering wheel where I wanted it. Using the string I set the toe. 1/32ish as best as I could get it.

I took a level and found the rear axle to be sitting on a spot just about perfectly level.

My problem is reference points. I have no way to measure the caster. But I can measure the camber. Which is nearly straight up and down.

You can use the ball joints as a reference. Not sure of a reliable method to actually use those points though, not with everything attached anyway.

Are you thinking of not taking it to a shop? I've done about 200 miles on mine already. The only thing I need the shop to do is confirm my 'toe'. My bushings are maxed out(or I need them both to be, one is) for negative camber offset, which doesn't allow for any caster offset. But bad toe in or out is what will wear your tires real quick. After replacing all the steering components on my Toyota I did the alignment myself... Even with manual steering there was no pull or wander and the steering felt really good... Yet less than 2000 miles later my tires which had plenty of tread left were toast!

Forming a box/square like you did, your toe probably won't be far off, maybe you want to try it for a while.

Rob, I am definately seeking out a pro for the alignment. Its not driveable. It wanders all over the place.

So I decided to have a stab at aligning it myself.

But I needed a flat surface. So, I put my 4 post lift back together. I got out my 4' level, and leveled it.

I got the truck up there, did some measuring, did some math, and set my eccentric bushings.

Then set my toe a few more times after driving it around the yard, flexing and trying to get things settled/wore into their new happy spots.

Results are pretty good. I can now drive it. Still wanders just a tad bit when hitting a bump. So it aint perfect, but I now feel confident driving to a pro.

Great job!