Hey guys,

Haven't posted in a coon's age b/c Internet at work cut me off and I'm too cheap to pay for satellite at home. That and i just started my own chainsaw shop. Well I got an iPhone so I'm back!

So I just put a old school 7.5ft western plow on my 88 f250 4x4 300 i6. The driver side front tire now leans. Top is leaning inward toward engine. I'm sure there was a problem in there that the plow just exasperated... I was thinking ball joints?

I just need to diagnose what is going on. If to guys have anything else it could be let me know.

I've got the tools and service manuals so it'll be easy as long as I can diagnose.

Cheers!
Nate

 

The TTB suspension travels in an arc since it is just a simple beam attached to the frame. The more the suspension compresses, the more negative camber you get. Throw a heavy plow and all the other components that are associated with it and you will compress your suspension a good amount. This is completely normal

If you feel that it gained an abnormal amount of negative camber then I would check my ball joints, pivot bushings and pivot brackets for wear.

 

Ball joints would be the first place I would look .
I don't remember if your truck is a leaf spring , thinking it is , might check for damage .

 

Yes it's leaf sprug ttb.

I'd have to get under it to see what's going on. I'm not sure if anything has ever been replaced (or when if it has). I rebuilt the sway bars and end links and replaced all shocks a couple years back. I'm sure the leaf spring packs need some hardware replacement at minimum.

If I recall you check the ball joints by jacking the wheel up off the ground and pull/push on the tire to see if it cambers in and out... Right or wrong?

I'm also needing to get back into my drum breaks again. I could never get the aftermarket brake cables (for parking break) to adjust correctly... I've been dealing without a park break on my manual tranny truck for too long!

 

Also, is there any good way of determining the tank size on my truck? My front in tank fuel pump went out so its time to pull the bed again... Just want to make sure I get the right pump.

 

How far does it lean in?

Check the TTB that side make sure it isn't cracked behind or slightly inboard of the axles inner U bolt.

Verify integrity of the two bolts attach the TTB arm that side to the bottom of the pig (you'll see em). Those two bolts fail for any reason say for example the flat washers corrode away then simply fall out results in loose bolts, that causes the arm to flex and crack then snap off, if any doubt best bet just replace the two of them.

Sounds like just put the plow on so doubt its anything that serious yet but wanted to mention it so you where aware.

 

Yea good to know. It's been hard to find time to work on the truck. We just moved into an acreage and I converted a three sided pole building into a 24x36 shed with 8x10 door. I put a wood burner in there but without insulation it takes 3hrs to heat up... I also haven't put my new snow tires on yet because the plow pushed fine in the light 4in snow we've got so far. So when I go to change the tires I'll have a good root around in there.

 

Adding 1 more leaf spring on the front would greatly help your problem .Also turning the top camber cam 180 degrees will make you have positive camber . You just have to realign and set toe if you do either of these 2 things.I worked 20 yrs doing Alignments at a Ford dealer and on the F250 4x4 s a lot of them came from the factory with neg camber .most of the time turning camber puck 180 degrees cured the problem .Camber is based on ride height measurement between frame and axle the higher the ride height the more pos camber you can run .One half degree to 1 1/2 degree positive is good just so long as you have no more than a 1/2 degree differance from rt to Lft side you want you Left side to be a little more positive than the left.PS if you can get camber O degrees its better than being negative.

 

If your front end checks out all good, and still have to much lean, you can do like someone did on my friends '89 F250 plow truck.


He installed rear air helper springs, up front on top of the leaf spring. Air 'em up, and the truck rides level with the big plow on it sitting on it.

 

if you put the plow on and just backed up to park it, try driving forward 15-20 ft.
it is normal for these trucks to go negative camber after reversing. once you drive forward it goes back to where it should be.

 

I like that you said "in a coon's age". You don't hear that much anymore.

 

Nice to see some familiar guys around here still!

 

I did back it into my 24x36 so it's ready to push strait out of the door... I'll give it a whirl...


Has anyone had any luck drilling and tapping the D50 front for a bottom drain plug? I've never changed the front TTB oil so I'm sure its over due...

 

I would drill the cover before I tried to drill the housing.

 

the only time i checked the lube in the D-50 on the 89 was when i pulled it out at 125k miles to put the D-60 in.
and the D-50 was almost empty.