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excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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caminita
Novice
Oct 8, 2011, 5:55 AM
Post #1 of 11
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excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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i am learning all of this by trail and error, so bear with me, please...back in february i purchased a 2000 ford e250 with visibly excessive positive camber. the first mechanic said that the driver side upper ball joint and driver side tie rod end and the drag link needed replacing. this was done, then i brought it to the alignment shop, which told me that the upper ball joint on the passenger side needed replacing; which i replaced by a second mechanic (because the first mechanic was a complete drunk, and after installing the drag link and the tie rod he was detoxing so badly that i had to replace the ball joint using his tools). i also explained to the second mechanic that a mysterious clanging was coming from the under body which sounded to me like a worn out drive shaft u-joint. but he looked all under the carriage and found nothing wrong, and told me that fords just make noise with these big vans and i would just have to get used to it. anyway, the second mechanic, who actually owns a real mechanic's shop, replaced the passenger side upper ball joint and and repacked the bearings on both sides, then told me that everything else was ok and that the alignment shop could now do the alignment. i went back to the alignment shop which told me that cam bushing needed to be installed but otherwise everything was tight and looked good. the alignment shop did the alignment with the new cam bushings installed, and when it was delivered to me, the excessive positive camber was still present. i was told that fords do that and that the van was aligned. on the drive home the mysterious clanging was driving me crazy, so when i got to the house i crawled under the van see if i could find the source of the noise. as i crawled under it i grabbed a-hold of a bar just under the drag link and it clanged. this bar went through a hole in the frame on the driver's side to a hole in the frame on the passenger's side. to me it looked like if rubber bushing were installed in those holes the bar would not be clanging, but i could not find this bar in the hanes manual and i wasn't really sure about what i was looking at, ( the third mechanic called it a sway bar) so i just took the word of the two mechanics and the alignment shop, that everything was ok. but then i noticed that both shocks were broken and unattached. so i replaced them, but left the "frame bar" thing alone. i bought two decent used tires for the front to see if the front end was really fixed and drove about 3000 miles. by 3k miles these tires were badly worn from the outside in because of the excessive positive camber. so i brought the van back to the alignment shop and showed them how the tires had worn and told them to check the alignment, which they did. their report back to me was that thr right lower ball joint and the right tie rod needed replacing and that the bearings on both sides had play and needed to be repacked. so i took the van to a third mechanic, who reported back to me that the drag link, the sway bar bushings, both tie rods and the gear box needed replacing. all of that was installed (and the third mechanic showed me the old parts and they all were worn out). so now the entire front end has been replaced but the excessive camber is still uncorrected and the third mechanic doesn't know why or how to correct it.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 8, 2011, 6:15 AM
Post #2 of 11
(7324 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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Too much "run on" for me......
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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caminita
Novice
Oct 8, 2011, 6:28 AM
Post #3 of 11
(7302 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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thank you so much no nothing hammer time, i try to be thorogh so you don't need to ask 20 questions to get the information you need to make an informed decision... and then you say i run on....go figure
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 8, 2011, 7:49 AM
Post #4 of 11
(7292 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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Your long paragraph is kinda hard to read even though it is packed with detail.
It seems that you have too many people with their hands in the pot.
You really need to take it to a licensed alignment shop to have it checked out. I know people are trying to save money by taking their cars to friends or people who do work behind the back of their homes, but your better off taking it to a reputable shop for analysis.
Excessive positive camber when a Ford van is sitting on the ground is very unusual. Usually those big vans with the twin I beam suspension would have negative camber with things wear out. We need to clarify exactly what you have going on.
As for the bar in the front clanking around, more than likely that is the sway bar. The sway bar is connected at each end to sway bar links. The middle of the bar is connected to the frame and enclosed in rubber bushings where is mounts. Most Fords I have seen clank around because the links are broken or the link bushings have fallen apart.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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caminita
Novice
Oct 8, 2011, 8:33 AM
Post #5 of 11
(7284 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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delta world tire is the alignment shop, and the last mechanic is ase certified, as far as positive camber, the tires excessively lean top out and bottom inward
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 8, 2011, 8:52 AM
Post #6 of 11
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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What is the ride height of the van with it unloaded? The thing about the twin I beam suspension is that the ride height will directly affect the camber. You can see this when you raise the wheels off the ground (the camber becomes very positive).
If the ride height is off, you might want to make sure nothing is bent such as an I beam or knuckle. Spring height can affect the camber also, so if the coil springs where changed out, make sure they are for that application.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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synchro
User
Oct 8, 2011, 3:12 PM
Post #7 of 11
(7263 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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Also if this is a work truck and you load it up with tools and equipment towards the rear it'll definately have positive camber.
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dr.donut
User
Oct 9, 2011, 7:11 AM
Post #8 of 11
(7249 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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from my experience the camber is set by a small ring that goes around the upper balljoint pin once it's up in the knucle, the rings vary slightly on different vehicles and if your geniuses left it out that would account for the sloppyness, the drag link bushiong I would take to a repuable shop, these are good trucks and worth fixing
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caminita
Novice
Oct 10, 2011, 4:33 AM
Post #9 of 11
(7238 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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this is what happened: when delta world tire did the alignment they installed camber bushings. these cam bushings allow for adjustment of the camber but were not adjusted to correct for the excessive camber. the alignment shop just installed the cam bushings and forgot to adjust them... but i've contacted them and they will make it right//// thanks for all of the help, y'all....
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Oct 10, 2011, 4:51 AM
Post #10 of 11
(7236 views)
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Re: excessive positive camber 2000 ford e250
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Wow, that sounds like a really good alignment shop. Did they forget to align the van when they were aligning it?
Let us know how things turn out.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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