I recently dropped my truck using DJM I-beams. 1985 F-150. All went good I thought until I took it to get aligned. They had it for a week. The mechanic told me they were searching down the correct essentrics to align it. He wanted to make sure he got it right for me and I told him I didnt care how long it took. Before I got it aligned the truck would violently pull to the right when you hit a bump which I expected.

Well, after I got it aligned it is better. On even ground driving straight it does great. But when I hit a bump it still wants to pull to the right sometimes but not as bad and sometimes to the left even. Also the steering is VERY sensitive now. Especially when turning to the right. Makes it a complete bear to drive because you have to be on your toes. It is bad enough I wont drive it until I get it fixed. Spent $1100 in parts+labor to have it dropped and I am almost regretting it even though I love how it looks now.

Someone suggested tires. The tires I have are worn on the outside corners because they are old, but I cannot see tires making that much of a difference. And it drove perfectly before I lowered it. I planned on getting new wheels and tires but really want to hold off spending that much money until I get it driving right. From what I've read it sounds like bump steer but that would not explain the sensitivity problem.

I know the correct thing to do would be to take it back to the person that charged me to align it but I really am not a confrontational person and do not feel comfortable taking it back and telling them I already paid so fix it for free. The money is not a problem I just want to take it somewhere and have it fixed right.

I just want to know if anyone here has had the same problem when they lowered their truck and what they did to fix it. Also I know since our trucks are not typical and are getting older most mechanics these days probably do not have as much experience on them as people here do.

 

Sounds like a bad case of bumpsteer. I would call DJM and see what they said about it.

 

Bad tires can really make a vehicle drive poorly, even to the point of being dangerous. If you have the same or near same size tires front/rear, try swpping them to see if it makes any difference in the way it drives. That should either prove or disprove the tire theory.
Inspect the entire front end for loose or binding parts. Ball joints, tie rod ends, I-beam pivots, radius arm bushings, and even the wheel bearings.
Bumpsteer could be an issue, but there are many folks using the DJM dream beams that don't suffer from this issue. If it was a major issue, I'm sure it would be all over the web warning about these products.

 

Take it back and tell them what it is doing. If you don't have the dropped pitman arm from the factory (the 4*4 pitman arm, though my 81 2wd came with the same one) that can cause bumpsteer in lowered pickups. Sounds like it it either close to neutral or a bit toed out which makes it darty. You can ask them to dial in a bit more toe in the soften the driving a bit.

Kenny

 

I second the bumpsteer. I have been looking into this alot, as I plan to replace my entire steering system sometime in the future. The Twin-I Beam / Traction Beam system is inherently flawed when it comes to steering. Since the swing arms are much longer than the tie rods (the passenger side is better than the drivers side though) it causes the tie rod to pull the tires inward when the suspension flexes upwards.

The Superlift Super Runner suspension for the lifted trucks attempts to address this with a "K" linkage but all it really does is make both sides equally bad. The only real cure is a swing-set style linkage with tie rods close to, or the same length as the beams. Many of the off road Go-Fast Bronco guys use this and much of the time its custom made. It shouldnt be too difficult to adapt this to a lowered truck. While it definitely costs more, I plan use the Giant Motorsports Single Swing kit when I rebuild my front end. Giant Motorsports - Offroad Race Truck Suspension Specialists | Single Swing Steering Arm | giantmotorsports.com | Raw, Bushings, Help, Swinger

 

I used Dream Beams to lower my truck also.

All of the above is correct, the front ends of these vehicles are not modern. That doesn't mean it will not operate adequately. My truck does not operate as well as it could - it is a work in progress also. I did a little research on the web also and after installing them and getting it aligned found out the passenger side has a different ride height from the beams. The passenger side is lower by 3/4 of an inch.

To fix it correctly all components will have to be checked, tires matched in diameter and ride height corrected, then aligned.

My cab is not centered on the chassis and i have different offset rims, so i have a rub on the passenger side.

Best of luck.