Quote:
Originally Posted by columbiA
SAJ Glad your re-arched spring worked out well. If the axle does have a bend in it,you could check the camber by having the car on a smooth flat floor & standing a carpenters square in line with axle with top of square touching top of tire(tyre)?, then measure distance from bottom of square to bottom edge of tire.If the camber is correct,it should measure 1&13/16".If KP,s are badly worn ,that will affect the camber too.
|
This is interesting. Both wheels seem to have less than 1 degree positive camber. Neither my hoist platform nor the floor were flat enough for my carpenter's square to be used accurately, though both are level over a larger distance. The carpenters square touched both tyres top and bottom, more or less. Nothing like the gap Columbia suggests above. An adjustable engineer's level held against a spirit level (as a straight edge) on each tyre showed a bit less than 1 degree tilt on both. Looking straight on at the car, I would swear this cannot be so- camber looks quite a bit more than this. But the photo showing the hoist post in the background shows tyre and post are about parallel. The car was level overall ( large spirit level across the chassis side to side).
The car steers well, up to 60+ mph, and is very stable even tho I have over 2 inches play in my 7 tooth box. I have not been much faster. Tyres show no unusual wear. Suspension over bumps is now much improved.
Less camber would need an axle bent upwards at the ends, moving the perch eyes inwards and making less room for the shackles to swing, as I had.
I am aware camber should be 3-1/2 degrees each side so the kingpin axle bore ( at 7 deg.), spindle bores (at 10-1/2 deg.) and tyre centre line intersect at the contact patch for correct steering geometry.
So I guess I will keep an eye on tyre wear and maybe look out for another good axle. Or maybe remove it and put it in my press and adjust as per Kevin in NJ's web page when I get time.
By the way kingpins are a tight fit with no play, and a tiny bit of play in the front wheel bearings- the merest trace of rock, which is how I keep them adjusted.
On the spring reset I did, I recalled afterwards that a hot initial setting, then cold plastic deformation back beyond the point of max. load is called "scragging" to give an increase in spring constant by manipulation of the built-in stresses in the tension and compression surfaces of the leaves. What I did was sort of a "scrag" (lovely word) in concept, but a bit unorthodox. I has done the trick in the short term at least. But I do seem simply to have compensated for another problem - a bent axle, as several suggested.
Again thanks to all, many of whom I did not acknowledge. All the replies were helpful.
SAJ in NZ