Front End Alignment on a 1993 Chevy Truck - Alignment 101

1. Before you start adjusting stuff, visually inspect the front suspension. Look for things like bent tie rods and worn-out bushings. Grab the top of the tire and pull hard. If the tire moves, this could be a sign of bad control arm bushings, wheel bearings, or ball joints. Have an assistant turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock while you stare at the steering links. If they move up and down a lot then your idler arms are bad.

2. This truck had a bent outer tie rod, which was affecting the alignment. If you have to change a tie rod, measure the old unit and set the new one to those specs. That will get you pretty close to being aligned. Another thing you can do with the tie rods is center the steering wheel. If the wheel is off to the left, then lengthen the passenger side tie rod and shorten the driver’s side equally. If the wheel is off to the right, then shorten the passenger side and lengthen the driver’s side.

Positive Camber
Positive camber means that the top of the sticking wheel is out farther than the bottom in relationship to the truck. Typically the only reason to have positive camber is to make the truck a little safer to drive by making the truck understeer. The factory has deemed this safer and we guess they would rather the truck go straight instead of spinning out and possibly rolling over when you get too aggressive in a corner. Most factory trucks are setup this way.

Negative Camber
Negative camber means the bottom of the tire is out farther than the top. Having some negative camber in your suspension will make the truck more controllable because you won’t be rolling the tire over and losing the inside contact patch when cornering hard. Also, negative camber will make the truck more likely to oversteer. We would prefer the rear of the truck to pitch sideways, because once you get the hang of it you can control the drift, which makes for some pretty impressive-looking driving.

1. Toe-out Toe-out is when the front of the tires are farther apart than the back of the tires. Setting a truck with zero toe or toe-out will make the truck wander, but will improve turning radius and steering response.

2. Toe-IN Toe-in is when the front of the tires are closer together than the back of the tires. Setting a truck with toe-in will provide greater straight-line stability, but you will see a little more tire wear and a little less steering response. Even though toe-in will place a little more wear on the tires, it is still recommended for street-driven trucks.

3. If you have lowered your truck you will need to adjust the toe setting before driving the truck to the alignment shop. The best way is to grab a friend and a tape measure. Pick a spot in the middle of the tread and measure the distance in the front and the rear. You want the front measurement to be 1/16 inch smaller than the rear. If it’s not, then adjust the tie rods until you get that spec. Now you can drive to the alignment shop without smoking your tires.

4. Once at the alignment shop, the technician will set the toe, adjust the camber, and then come back and reset the toe. Changing the camber will change the toe settings. He might adjust the caster, but most of the time it is within spec.

5. Dodge trucks come from the factory with a poor camber curve, which makes the truck safer to drive, but at the cost of tire wear. If you own one of these trucks, stay on top of your tire rotation or get it aligned at an independent shop and ask for a street performance-style alignment.