Major alignment problems

I just bought back my old high school truck off my father in law. It's a 1996 1500 with the 5.9L Magnum 4x4. The front wheels have a ton of positive camber. So much that the outside of the tires are down to the wear lines while the inside are basically brand new. How the hell do I go about correcting this?

I always referenced this video for DIY alignment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzN0Z2HupcM

But best to take it to the pros. Better a small town style alignment shop than one of the big stores I'd say. It's gunna need alot of adjusting

Could be a hillbillies way of getting a lift, if it sits higher than you remember. Otherwise I dont see how both sides ending up like that is an accident. Usually you increase camber to compensate for permenate higher than average loading conditions, such as a plow that will remain in place for the life of the vehicle, or some utility trucks.

In my opinion, its best to just take it to a shop and eat what they charge you, average around me for a 4-wheel is $80, drop $20 for just the front two.

You can do the job yourself pretty good by eye so long as your toe is correct. I've never adjusted toe without a machine, but I can come pretty close to perfect by eye on camber and caster.

If you want to do it yourself i'll include a picture, you will need jackstands as this is nearly impossible without. But largely its loosening two nuts and adjusting a pivot bar. Should you decide to do this yourself, make sure you make both start marks and end marks so you adjust both sides equally. You may want to adjust one side until it looks right then measure from a solid position that you can measure to on the otherside.

Here is the instructions.

CASTER: Move the rear position of the pivot bar in or out. This will change the caster angle significantly and camber angle only slightly. To retain camber move the forward pivot very slightly in the opposite direction.

CAMBER: Move the forward position of the pivot bar in or out. This will change the camber angle significantly and caster angle only slightly. The camber angle should be adjusted as close as possible to the preferred service specification. After adjustment is made tighten pivot bar nuts to specifications.

TOE POSITION: The wheel toe position adjustment should be the final adjustment. (1) Start the engine and turn wheels both ways before straightening the wheels. Center and secure the steering wheel and turn off engine. (2) Loosen the tie rod adjustment sleeve clamp bolts/nuts.
NOTE: Each front wheel should be adjusted for one-half of the total toe position specification. This will ensure the steering wheel will be centered when the wheels are positioned straight-ahead.
(3) Adjust the wheel toe position by turning the tie rod adjustment sleeves as necessary.

That illustration is for a 2 wheel drive. The OP has a 4x4.

My mistake, I wasn't thinking. On the 4x4s camber is not adjustable, something is probably bent, what that could be I don't know. The only 4x4s i've performed alignments on are Chevys and specialty offroad equipment, Chevy has adjustable camber on its 4x4s.

Here is the correct picture.

Sounds like you're gonna need new ball joints and possibly new knuckles.

LaurenMagnum360 said:

Sounds like you're gonna need new ball joints and possibly new knuckles.

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why new knuckles?

I should also add that when driving straight down the road the steering wheel is cocked to to the left about 45*. I know that at one point the somehow the wheel came off on the passenger side while my father in law was driving the truck. I don't know exactly what broke, but it was still attached to the vehicle. The front of the tire was pointing away from the truck. I'm thinking maybe something got bent when this happened, but it doesn't explain why the drivers side is messed up.

Get the toe checked. When the ball joints go out in these trucks they get negative camber, not positive.

Please let us know what is discovered. This is interesting.


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dodge dude94 said:

Get the toe checked. When the ball joints go out in these trucks they get negative camber, not positive.

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Would toe cause such awful outer tire wear?

anticommander said:

Would toe cause such awful outer tire wear?

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Its certainly possible, I used to see it all the time on heavy duty trucks. On most of those trucks front axle service is non-existent outside of tire changes. Those are all beam axles, they are slightly different than IFS but its close enough. Incorrect toe causes slightly different wear from camber issues, but it can also look the same, depending on a ton of factors. I've seen improper toe alignment cause brand new tires to fully wear in one trip to California and back, about 3K miles.

anticommander said:

Would toe cause such awful outer tire wear?

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Yuppers