Before getting behind the wheels of your beloved Chevy Truck, you need to set plenty of things right like how to adjust camber on chevy truck.
I am sure you want an easy ride; you don’t want to bungle or even spill the content of the load you are carrying on your trunk while doing the corners. You certainly want a smooth ride without having to fight your steering wheel through every mile of driving.
It would help if you had plenty of ground clearance and a lot of alignments come along. Here is how to adjust the camber on a chevy truck for a smooth, even ride.
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What is a Camber?
The camber is the outward or inward inclination of the front wheels measured against the wheel’s vertical axis.
The camber plays a critical role when maneuvering corners. If the camber is not aligned correctly, it can cause handling issues, excessive tire wear, and fuel consumption that unnecessarily eats up your pockets.
The critical indicators for a deviation from the correct alignment are increased gas mileage, tire wear, and of course, you will notice significant steering wheel handling issues. You should always check your camber alignment to align with the manufacturer’s default settings.
Wheel alignment is a crucial aspect of safe driving. Experts recommend checking your camber setting to ensure the wheels are correctly aligned.
Various types of Chevy Truck Camber?
Traditionally, all manufacturers set a specific camber alignment for every vehicle they produce. The alignments ensure that a significant amount of tire thread contacts the asphalt enabling good traction. The opposite is true when one side of the tire has all its weight resting vertically against it.
Chevy Trucks come with three camber types; positive, negative, and zero camber. When we have the top of the wheel tilted inwards, we have a positive deviation from the vertical axis, referred to as positive camber. We have a negative camber when the upper part of the tire is inclined inwards, creating a negative deviation from the vertical axis.
Lastly, we gave a Zero camber when the tire is vertical straight with no tilting or leaning. You can always change the alignment to suit your needs; to do so, you need to master how to Adjust Camber on a Chevy Truck.
For what reasons Do You Need Adjust Camber on Chevy Trucks?
While most manufacturers will recommend a particular wheel alignment or camber adjustments, the Chevy truck gives you the freedom to choose from the three alignments, the neutral, positive, and negative camber adjustment, the one that suits your needs.
Terrain and nature of the road: Imagine if you reside in a comparatively flat locality. Most of your rides will be on straight roads with little corners to meander. Now imagine living in a hilly place. The meandering increases a simple mile covered one will have made several corners compared to residing in a relatively flat area.
Safe driving: With three alignments to choose from, the Chevy truck gives options to choose from. For instance, for flat roads with little corners and meandering, setting the camber alignment to negative works better but for hilly and sloppy mountainous driving, setting the alignment to negative is the most suitable and safest alignment.
Finding the Best Camber Angle on a Chevy Truck
The different camber alignments come for different driving needs, so the best camber angle on the Chevy truck solely depends on your needs, tests, and preference.
For instance, if you drive on straight roads, the neutral or zero cumber allows excellent braking and traction. Additionally, the alignment causes evenly distributed tire wear more than the one-sided tire in both negative and positive alignments.
On the flip side, neutral alignment causes many challenges while pursuing corners and meanders. If you use the truck as an agricultural vehicle, the positive camber alignment works best for you.
The negative camber alignment works best for corners and meanders. It will be ideal if you do curvy roads with lots of corners. Interestingly, some Chevy trucks come with hybrid camber which allows tasting both the negative and positive camber alignments.
Camber angle influences performance and tire durability. We recommend changing the alignment depending on the need, that is, the purpose and the nature of the roads you drive on.
Materials needed to adjust the camber
How to Adjust Camber on a Chevy Truck? What do I need? Aligning your camber to your preferred settings is relatively straightforward if you have the right tool and equipment. Here is the material needed to adjust the camber on your Chevy truck.
- You need a Wrench Set – you need to fasten and unfasten, so this tool comes in handy.
- You need a socket Set- this comes in handy when taking off and fastening bolts and nuts.
- You need an Alignment Machine – of course, you will need an alignment machine to help you do the alignment properly.
- Lastly, it would help if you had an impact gun.
Step by step guide for How to adjust camber on Chevy Truck
Chevy truck is DIY-friendly thanks to its purpose-built products that allow for adjustability. But while you can change the camber on your Chevy truck all alone, it can be challenging if you have never done it before. Here is a guide to help you get things done.
Step one: Set up your garage and car
First things first, before anything, you need to make sure everything is in its rightful place and that you have everything needed. Besides assembling the necessary tools, you need to set up your car and garage. Make sure that your car is loaded and seats on level ground. If some garages are perfectly leveled, you can fabricate one using wooden planks and a laser leveling gauge if it isn’t—more on this in the following article.
Step two: Measure the existing cumber
Once your truck is set on level ground, it’s time to start. Remember to take all precautionary safety measures. The most basic one, don’t forget to lock both your parking and main brakes. Next, you need to establish the current camber situation, determine a cambered alignment and act accordingly. Please take out the inclinometer and measure your Chevy truck camber alignment as it stands right at the moment.
To do so, you need to ensure your truck tires are pointed straight. Regulate the wheel pressure to the truck producer’s provisions. Have you forgotten the specifications? You can find them easily on your user manual or the tire placard usually mounted on the driver’s side door.
After adjusting the pressure, attach the camber gauge either to the wheel or spindle. This depends on the user’s instructions. Next, turn the gauge until the bubble shows that it is level. The caliper’s central component should align perfectly with the center of the hub. For more details check the video.
You need to get everything correct at this stage because any crooked readings will screw measurements and hinder the results. So, the tire should all be straight, and the camber reading must align perfectly.
Step three: Remove the tires
Next, we will work on the control arms of the front wheels. At the bare minimum, you need a wrench set car jack; these two are necessary. Additionally, you might need gloves to protect your hands. You might also need a mat for kneeling on. Start by loosening the hub cap if your truck wheels have a cover. Use a flat tip to pry and unfasten the cover and remove it.
Security tip: don’t forget to secure the chassis with the jack stands, then choke the rear wheels.
Using the jack to rift the truck off the ground, make sure you jack the vehicle at the appropriate jacking point. Now that the truck is safe and above the ground, you can remove the tire. Start by unscrewing the lug nuts and placing them in a secure location. Once the nuts are out, detach the tire to expose the controls arms.
Step four: Next go for the arm mounting bolts
The camber mounting bolt helps you adjust the camber reading for your truck. Besides adjusting, they are used to restore vehicle wheel alignment after suspension components are damaged or bent. So, how do you locate the bolts? Survey the control arm for the mounting bolts. They are located on the knuckle clevises on both sides of the frame.
After finding the mounting bolts, look for the camber alignment pins. They are usually an elongation of the frame. The camber alignment pin alongside the arm control bolts will help you adjust the camber to your preferences.
Step five: Loosen the upper control arm
Unlike in other vehicles where camber alignment is done by inserting shims in the control arm, the Chevy truck camber alignment is done via offsetting mounting bolts on the upper control arm. To do this, start by unfastening the non-camber mounting bolts on the upper control arm.
To do this you require a wrench and sockets. Turn and bolts anti-clockwise while keeping an eye on the alignment pin. To get the proper adjustment, you can use an inclinometer and continue loosening the bolts until a favorable angle alignment slope is achieved. After you have the required adjustment, fasten the bolts. Do not over-loosen the bolts or over-tighten them.
Step six: mounting back the tire
After adjusting, it’s time to return the tire to its position and lower the truck. At this stage, you may need a second person to help you ensure everything moves smoothly. Remove the jack and lower the chevy slowly. If you used an inclinometer to do the alignment, the result would be ok, but if you are not satisfied, you can always start the process again to your satisfaction.
Camber on Chevy truck replacement cost
In most cases, camber alignment is a do-it-yourself-home job, but if you want the services of professional mechanics, it will cost you around $30 to $50 per wheel. So, I will pay a total ranging from $120 – 200 for the whole truck.
Sometimes you may try to align the camber but in vain. Most probably, your camber is worn out and needs replacement. The cost for camber replacement varies from one vendor to the other, but typically the price ranges from $63- $70.
FAQs on How to Adjust Camber on Chevy Truck
01. What is the default camber alignment for the chevy truck?
Like most manufacturers, the chevy truck has a slightly positive camber alignment as its default setting. That means the wheel leans a little bit at the top. To change this setting, review our Step-by-step instructions to Adjust Camber on Chevy Truck above.
02. What is the best camber alignment for high-speed driving?
It is recommended that you align your chevy truck camber alignment to negative for high-speed driving. Negative camber alignment allows the driver to control power more when the vehicle is at high speed, which will be impossible when doing neutral or positive alignments.
03. What are the problems or challenges caused by opposing camber alignment?
While the negative camber has its positives, it has its negatives, and they include the fact that it is almost a guaranteed way to run through your tires quickly. It is the case when driving on a rough road. Other negative effects include; a higher risk of the wheels breaking loose and that it could potentially lock your steering wheel.
04. What ate the positive effects of positive camber alignment?
Positive camber alignment increases steering wheel handling abilities and provides more excellent stability, which is good for off-road driving or when using the truck for agricultural purposes.
However, on the contrary, it is troublesome, especially when making turns in corners. Disproportionate positive camber alignment is also known to cause abrasion or extreme tire wear on the outer part of the wheel.
Our verdict
While truck repairs and servicing largely remain a preserve for trained mechanics, the sole responsibility for servicing your chevy truck solely lies on you. So, you might find camber, caster, or toe quite intimidating, but it helps getting acquitted with these terms. This guide focused on how to adjust the camber on a chevy truck.
So far, we have discussed the different types of camber alignments and how to adjust them, including the different challenges caused by excessive positive and negative camber alignments. The guide is suitable for starters and nonstarters, but always leave it for a trained mechanic if you face a challenge adjusting your camber.
Hello, this is Wesley Shelton, currently working in a car restoration company for over 5 years. Before that, I was a worker at a small car repair shop. As I was a car freak from a young age and worked as a professional for over half a decade, I think I now know pretty much everything about every car and its parts. To establish my name as a professional and help others by sharing my knowledge, I’ve created this website, which I work on whenever I get free time. I hope you’ve enjoyed my informative blog!
