MTFCA Forum

I spent most of the day working on my 15’s front end. Pulled all the steering and spindle bolts, wired brushed cleaned and reassembled. Then adjusted the wheel bearings. I have some bad front tire wear so it was time to check alinement. Camber was 1 inch both wheels. Should I leave it as is. Toe in was 3/4 to 7/8 depending how I measured it. Brought it back to 1/4”. Was this causing the wear?

Foot note. Haven’t started it in a month. Two pulls switch off and choked. First pull switch on, almost. Second pull started.

Was this causing the wear?

Didn't help, that's for sure

How loose are your kingpins in the axle and how loose are the spindle bushings on the kingpins? The top axle hole should be a very close fit to the kingpin and the bottom axle threads should be "no shake" when the castle nut (lock nut) is slack. If you had that kind of toe-in, I'd bet dollars to donuts that the kinpins and tierod bolts along with all bushings are pretty well worn out too, and the axle likely needs some straightening (so many do that it's a high probability) and repairs with a Stevens Axle repair tool.

On the other hand, if you do find wear and leave it as is, I think you're in a really big club. Not one I'd be a member of, but still, a big club.

The fact that you're doing maintenance and asking questions puts you on a good path.

I’ve had the car over 10 years, only ran it a little due to a used up engine. Just got it back on the road for last year. Kingpins and steering went back together today with almost no play. Whole front end seems nice very tight.

I went through a pair of front tires in about four moths of driving because I left the tie rod as I received the car. Then it came to me that the toe in was screwed up. I adjusted it after I installed another set of front tires and it still wasn’t quite right so I adjusted it again using a different approach. Bingo .... no more uneven wear .... just the usual wear from crappy new tires that we get today.

Ford Service book shows 1 1/2” camber for each wheel for my car. Is that because of the poor roads back then? Is 1” per wheel OK.

Camber is the amount of king pin inclination when viewed from the front or rear of the car. That 1" value you refer to is dependent on how you measure it, tire diameter etc. The OP was asking about toe in and tire wear.

And to answer his question, yes, that much toe- in will wear out tires very quickly.
To prove it to your self, put some chalk lines on your tire tread and drive around the block and then see where the chalk marks remain.

I agree with Dan. Too much toe-in. If indeed you brought it back to 1/4", you will really need to
try a new tire to make sure. It WON'T correct the damage that's already done to the tire.

Personally, I'd swap front for rear and drive 'em for as long as they last. I would not replace that tire. Unless you drove in the rain all the time...and maybe not even then. It really isn't much less adhesive to the road than a tire with tread, and the only time I ever slid was in Largo, FL when caught in a monsoon and entered a tight turn in which trucks had slowly bunched up the asphalt...the quick ripples and a 1/2" of water on the road, in a curve taken too fast resulted in a sideways slide of about a foot...all 4 wheels equally. And with good tires. Never, ever had a problem on dry roads or average rain...worn tires or new...And I've run both.

If you want to worry, then don't ever buy a tire like the ones all early cars came with...no tread at all.

I’ve had a few days off this week so I finished up the from end maintenance. Took her out today to get some fresh gas and some fresh air. Seemed to drive nice and straight and the steering seemed more precise. Got a free start at the gas station and another when I went to put her in the garage. Sweet

Neil, there is just no end to the benefits to aligning the front end correctly!