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123 FRONT SUSPENSION
There are two types of coil spring available for
service, low rate and high rate. The springs can be
identified by the part number stamped on the top
of the coil spring.
RIDING HEIGHT - REAR
Front wheel alignment is affected by weak rear
springs or shock absorbers. To determine the rid-
ing height measure the distance vertically from
the top of the rear axle housing tube to the upper
edge of the rear axle rubber bumper, Figure 8. The
distance should be 6-1/16" (Curb load - less pas-
sengers).
FIGURE 8
WHEEL BEARING ADJUSTMENT
1. Tack up the car until the front wheels are clear
of the floor.
2. Remove the outer and inner wheel hub caps.
3. Remove the cotter pin and tighten the nut until
all bearing parts are in contact and a slight bind
is felt when the wheel is rotated by hand.
4. Back nut off one or two serrations until the
wheel revolves freely.
5. Install and clinch the cotter pin.
6. Replace the inner and outer hub caps and lower
the car to the floor.
Before proceeding to make a check of front
wheel alignment the steering gear must be on the
"high point" and the toe-in must be divided
equally between the front wheels.
STEERING HIGH POINT
Steering "high point" is the position of the
steering worm and sector at their point of mini-
mum clearance when the wheels are in a straight
ahead position. The high point can be determined
as follows:
1. With the drag link disconnected from the pitman
arm, grasp the pitman arm with the hand and
move it forward and backward for a short dis-
tance along the cent e r of the arc of travel of the
arm; no movement should be felt.
2. With the worm and sector on the high point , the
steering wheel spokes should be in a horizontal
position. If the spokes are not in this position,
remove the horn button and check to see that the
notch on the upper end of the worm shaft is
straight down toward the floor.
FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT
Front wheel alignment is the correct adjust-
ment of five inter-related factors to provide easy
steering and control of the car. The five factors are
camber, caster, king pin inclination and toe-in and
toe-out on curves.
CAMBER
Camber is the amount of degrees that the front
wheels incline away from a vertical place. With
positive camber, the front wheels are farther apart
at the top and closer together at the bottom. Nega-
tive camber is the reverse of the above, with the
wheels closer together at the top and farther apart
at the bottom. Camber is necessary to compensate
for front spring deflection under load and road
crown. Camber specifications is from 1/4° - 1-1/4º
Positive with not more than 1/2° variation between
wheels ; above values with the equivalent of a 5
passenger load.
NOTE: Adjustment of the camber angle should
not be attempted until caster and king pi n
inclination have been checked. A change in the
camber adjustment will also change the pivot
pin inclination.
ADJUSTMENT
Camber adjustment is provided by shims
placed between the upper control arm inner pivot
and the No. 2 crossmember, Figure 9. Three thick-
ness of shims are provided (1/32", 1/16" and 1/8").
When the caster has been determined to be within
specified tolerances the same thickness of shims
must be used at each pivot bolt. Adding shims will
decrease positive camber setting and subtracting
from the shim pack will increase positive camber.
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