When do you normally do an alignment? I just got new tires installed again the first set were installed at the beginning of July this year. The tires had sidewall bulges and weird wear on the tread.

I replaced the ball joints a couple of weeks ago and thought I would get an alignment done when the new tires came in but at $180 I'm not positive it's worth it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

It is worth it considering that you had weird wear on the old set and that you have worked on the front end.

 

Not worth it. I do mine at home by eye, string, 2' level, and tape measure, and it tracks like a freight train with NO abnormal wear.

 

I got an alignment quote of $49 from the Ford dealership here.Since you have rebuilt the front end there shouldnt be additional charges.I would get more then 1 quote because $180 seems a bit high.

 

I do this also, on the trucks at work as well as the X. My truck did not seem right when done like so many others have took it in for 54 bucks and it is a whole new truck I say go for it we sneeze out that kinda cash for other projects. In my case a simple camber/caster adjustment. And a slight tweak to the toe and it is mint

 

Wow, I was expecting some hecklers to chime in. I did a write-up on it a while back and I have been aligning my own vehicles for about 40 years. Try the 2' level next to the bottom bulge or tape on spacers to use the wheel to check plumb for camber also.

 

I did a search and didn't see your write up, could you link to it?

My Ex tracks straight and the steering wheel is centered. My last set of tires didn't show any signs of uneven wear.

However the Michelin MS2's I put on in July had 3/32" more wear on both edges of the tire than in the center despite being aired up to 75 PSI in the front and 80 PSI in the rear. This uneven wear isn't only on the front or back but on all four corners the front only had about 2/32" difference.

 

I can't find it so I will go over the ways to do it and if you are a little mechanically inclined you can do it.

For toe in;
>Use a steel tape measure to measure between your front tires at front and rear.
>Get back 20+- feet in the front and sight across the front and rear tire faces.
>String a string from the rear tires across the front ones.

For camber;
>Place a carpenters level vertically on the front tires next to the bottom bulge or tape 2 spacers to it and use the wheel rim. Rough camber will also show up when sighting by eye from the front.

Caster;
>This is governed by the tilt of the axle on 4wd and only comes into play when turning. (Motorcycles rely solely on caster).

Alignment is really not rocket science and you can easily spot an out of line situation with this method. I use the sight by eye method for toe in.

 

That is the definition of what I did on this and many other trucks but this shiz didn't seem right checked it 3 times and said to hell with it and took it in

 

There is a small chain here that checks it for free. Last time I took it there they showed me all the items that had wear that I had to fix first before getting an alignment done or it would be of no use. Discovered a lot of slack on the bearings as well (2wd).
One of the balljoints was also showing some wear.
Plus my steering box had some play and the steering gear itself was worn.
They didn't charge me and pointed it all out and how to check for it. Very helpful.

 

From another forum but best info I've read on aligning these trucks and how ride height affects drive ability.
Alignment specs and recommendations - Alignment specs and recommendations - PowerStrokeNation : Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum
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~Christina

 

The alignment charge is ridiculous. The average alignment should run from $59-80 excluding parts. Either they didn't want to do the work, you misunderstood them, or they are out to make a quick buck!

That type of wear (edge wear for both inside and outside) is normally indicative of under-inflation. Get a different tire gauge and check pressures front and rear. Also, unless your alignment is off most better shops do the check for free (Sears, Ford, etc).

I've never had to run my Rugged Trails the kind of pressures many people are talking about , I've kept them at factory 45/55 and on factory and current set I've had exceptional tread life and wear, plus the Ex ride's decent. Anytime the BFGs were rotated and the tire shop forgot to reset pressures I could feel the difference. It seems weird for me to read you guys running such high pressures.

 

That was interesting but my method is just for quick and dirty self aligning which has worked very well for me in the last 40 years. (Never see the inside of a shop).

 

John, for $180.00 the shop was trying to sell a "lifetime" alignment, which is a one-time charge and then free alignments as long as "you" own the vehicle.

 

The pressure is definitely good. I used two different gauges and my TPMS all were within a 3 PSI.

As far as the 80PSI inflation I started at 60 front and 65 rear, and when I noticed the edge wear after about 1k miles I bumped it up.

Nothing is free in Canada. I called around today and the best price I could find was $90. I'm going to take some measurements and see how things look.