88 E350 wheel alignment - Diesel Forum

terryrret · 03-14-2007, 01:23 AM

I have been told there are no adjustments for the front wheels .
I sure getting tired of buying tires .
The toe in on the drivers side is very easy to see .

tcnofh1 · 03-14-2007, 10:47 AM

Hi,
Our 2000 E-350 came from the factory with the front wheels showing substantial negative camber.
The inside of the tire tread wore out quickly.
I suspect it was done with the assumption that the camber would be
mostly neutral with a 2000 lb load in the back of the van.

But our van is not used for hauling or towing very much, so I had
the offset bushings in the top of the front suspension replaced with bushings having 1-1/2 degrees less camber.
Now the front wheels look straight up, and tire wear is normal.

Hope this helps.
tcnofh1

toalpi · 03-14-2007, 12:13 PM

You can't see "toe in" on one side. I suspect that you are talking about negative camber. The simplest solution is to go to an auto parts store and get some rubber coil spring spacers. In some cases you may need more than one per side. Newer vans are adjustable. Yours is not (without bending the I beam). The "toe in" is adjustable and should be checked after the camber is adjusted with the spring spacers. These rubber spring spacers are the same ones as used in Nascar racing for quick and easy adjustments during pit stops. They usually cut them and only use 1/4 or 1/3 of the full ring.

terryrret · 03-15-2007, 12:53 AM

That sounds easy enough and a lot cheaper then new tires every year .
The tire wears very fast on the outside of the drivers side only .
It is very easy to see from the front .

toalpi · 03-15-2007, 01:13 PM

You will need to clarify exactly what the drivers side tire is doing as far as leaning or not pointing directly straight ahead.

Mr_Roboto · 03-16-2007, 03:06 AM

Does the van have kingpins or ball joints? I believe that when they switched to balljoints they incorporated the eccentric bushing to adjust alignment.

AND with the TIB setup, camber will vary considerably with changes in suspension height. The simple way is to change the suspension height until the camber is correct.

Another possibility, do you have a worn kingpin / balljoint or a bent axle? If the alignment is only off on one side then you have an issue........

terryrret · 03-18-2007, 02:39 AM

Where I live there are spot checks on trucks . As soon as they see the drivers tire they get under and check . Nothing
It drive true , you look at it and you would think it has to pull sideways or something but no .
Iv had lots of cars and trucks and never seen anything like this .
Iv had the van for 3 years and it has always been like this