Went into ditch - now negative camber

1986 F240 I6

The truck drove straight and true.  Now comes a wet corner and son puts truck into ditch, passenger front.  Bent spring and bad case of negative camber both wheels.  We replaced front springs, shocks all 4 corners, and new tie rod ends and sleeves.  Still have negative camber issues.  Alignment shop says it is 4+ degrees off.  They say need new balljoints that have more adjustability. What else to check to get camber back closer to straight, since it was straight before the ditch?  Or is it just get new ball joints and roll with it?  Which ball joints to get?

thanks brian

I assume you have the stamped axles as they are the ones that take ball joints. If the ball joints themselves are not damaged, I would highly suspect he bent the axles.

First check the ride height as the caster and camber on these trucks varies with height. I would first find a shop that is very familiar with the Twin I-beam suspension. Due to the close proximity of the ball joints, it does not take much of a buckle in the top of the I-beam to make a big difference in the camber. Look for cracked paint between the upper ball joint and the main portion of each I-beam.

If your truck is a 4WD, then the bearing tube for the hubs could be bent, if so replace them.

it is 4x4.  Not familiar with bearing tube..

He also put on new tires.... he just reminded me.

Old tire  = 245.75.16
new tire = 265.75.16

Bearing tube = 'spindle'
This bolts to the steering knuckle. The axle passes through and the hub rides on it.

Definitely look for more damage like the beam pivots, bushings and mounting bolts attached to the cross member.

Wider tires shouldn't change the camber but they would make it more apparent.

***The alignment shop probably wants to change ball joints to A) eliminate a bent shank as a possibility
B) install offset sleeves (aka camber bushings) so they can dial out the negative camber.
I think the limit for Moog adjustable ones is 2.75°.
Maybe the shop has a source for fixed offset bushings that go farther.
4° off spec is WAY out.

I second the ride height. how hard did he "land"? I used to beat my truck like the kid I was and would never abuse it that way now but let's just say "airborne" was not unheard of. man, we did have fun.

no landing.... just kind of slid off the road in a corner, into the ditch.  

Of course I got... "I wasn't going that fast!"

I'm pretty sure that I have met this young man.

I went back and read from the start again. is this a leaf spring /strait axle truck or twin traction beam?
you say, "bent spring" and that makes me think leaf. if so, then that took a hit and if it bent the part that is supposed to absorb the hit then look closely at the part it was there to protect. the axle itself!
 if it is a twin traction beam then how did it bend that spring?

The pic of the truck in the ditch... well the front passenger took a good whack up against the bank at the culvert.  Blew the tire.

Front leaf spring - twin beam axle

Front leaf... you can see the front passenger is no longer having the curvature in it.

Ok, confusion came from (on my part) screen name brianbronc and the original post title "1986 F240 I6", I figured Bronco six cyl, not an F250 with twin traction beams. Since the front drive axle on these has leaf springs that both bend and twist under load and that are, other than the inboard pivots, what keeps the axle in alignment, a bent spring on either side would mess up the alignment. I would take a real good look at the right axle pivot bracket (left side of cross member) and make sure it isn't damaged.

As for kids breaking stuff, my oldest son (now 55) destroyed a rear axle in my 1961 Mercedes-Benz 220Sb hopping speed bumps at the local community college when he was 17. I told him he was lucky I had a spare axle for it. Long story short, he decided the car could just sit as neighbor's son could take him to and from school. Concert or something they wanted to go to arose, neighbor says you're not taking my truck. Saturday morning of the concert, at 7:00 AM there are 4 teenage boys out on the driveway with the M-B service manual in hand. They got it done with time to spare.

there are a couple things I noticed. was the bumper bent up on the passenger side before? I don't see a twist in it, but it is up. I'm concerned that the frame may have taken a hit also. If the tire/wheel hit the culvert at the bottom, then the leverage would have been to bend it to the other direction giving positive camber and not necessarily transfer to the other axle as they are independent. so how it was able to create negative camber on both sides is bit of a mystery.

If you backed the truck up, off a trailer or whatever, push it or drive it forward. See if the negative camber goes away.

the front bumper was not bent before it went into the ditch...

look for evidence of the bolts being "scooted' or the bumper being bent itself. if neither are evident then it may have twisted the frame a little