Lord,

Didn't know chatty tires would generate such spirited debate...

Alignment is fine. Tires are Uniroyals. I do need new shocks, as the old ones are leaking. Going to put KYBs in. Power steering was just rebuilt, as well. Squirrely bugger jumps all over the place right now. Guess I could use the squeal as an indicator as to when I will roll off a cliff...

 

Squirrely . . . hmmmmm . . . you wouldn't happen to have extended length shackles installed, would you?

It could also be a bushing issue - either the leaf spring, shackle, or front strut rod bushings could be to blame. As could the frame up where the shackles mount, if it's rusted badly.

Norm

 

well i was able to eye ball it and get it really close then i drive it for a while, see how it feels and adjust it accordingly. i think im right about where i need to be.

 

the tires in my dads truck squeal when you turn in our drive way going 3 mph, its teh tire + surface compound i guess. cuz that truck sure as hell aint spinnin the tires.

 

If you know what it is that you're looking for (and how to look at it and what to compare it against), it's pretty easy to spot either camber or toe that's badly off just by eyeballing it. You won't be able to tell if you're only 1/4° out of spec, but something like ±2° is clearly visible.

If you want to get hard numbers on your own, I've got a write-up on how to find out what your alignment settings are with measuring equipment that you may already own. One method is really cheap in terms of tool cost, and the quickest method involves no more than about a$40 - $50 expenditure and gives you digital read-out to within 0.1°.


Norm

 

Most SUV's and trucks that squeel in tights turns it's because of a locker/limited slip. The high torque bias or locked axles result in 1 tire not being able to turn at an appropriate speed for the arc it's traveling in so it drags, and squeels, or sometimes chirps. Any tire that squeels is doing so because it's being dragged across the road surface, rather than rolling. A quieter tire may make the squeel go away but the tire is still dragging.

And Mike, apperantly the engineers have learned a few tricks, at least at GM. I was looking at some suspension specs on the new Vettes, and they actually have a pretty agressive negative camber for a factory alignment spec. I guess they figure the cars will be driven hard. And I can't complain about their powerplant engineers for the new LS engines....except for how they shoe horn it into the engine bays perhaps But yeah, American suspension has always been like a generation behind the European and even Japanese stuff, sad really

 

its a lexus lx 470, its not some off road bronco or anything[8D]

 

Most new cars have limited slip diffs of some sort, and high bias is becoming more common. Manufacturers finally got wise to the fact that an open diff with 2 drive wheels only results in 1 drive wheel when you hit the gas. Some of the fancier stuff like Audis are using Torsens, which are extremely advanced(also extremely complex and heavy) and have worm gears to adjust torque bias by sensing torque input from the axles, and computer controls to adjust torque bias. Wave of the future and all that I guess. I'll stick to lockers

 

A little off-topic, but I was also thinking about the extra diffs in the Lexus having some (a little too much?) preload and making them act a little like lockers.

Fortunately, not all torque-sensing diffs involve electronic control. The Torsen T2, T2R and similar torque-sensing diffs are purely mechanical devices. They are more of a cornering/handling type, though the T2R comes with a preload that's similar in function to a clutch-type limited slip. I think that the T2R may be available for the 8.8" but don't know if there areany smaller Ford applications.


Norm

 

I think Torsen only makes diffs for the 8.8,and the9(and a few of the 4 bangers too). And yeah, theirs are all mechanical, but a LOT of mechanical, they have a crapload of parts in them. They use a complex set of worm gears and other gears to set a preload and tense wheel torque. They work, but they're heavy and complicated. Pretty trick setup though