Recently I got sick of the loose, unresponsive steering on my 02 F350 CC (it felt like "herding" the truck down the road). I delved in and replaced parts galore. I replaced the upper and lower ball joints on the right side, the wheel bearing on the right side, both inner tie rods, both outer tie rods, and, and the shocks. It drives MUCH MUCH better now! I still have to change the gearbox, there is some slop in it even after adjusting the preload, and every time I hit a bump, I can hear the clunk of the gearbox rattling.

After all of the work, I set the toe in to the same distance as before, measured between the front edge of the tires. I've put about 1000 miles on the truck after all of the work with no ill effects on the steering, but the front tires seem to be wearing out at an accelerated rate. I'm thinking that the toe-in/toe-out is not correct. What is the "toe-in specifaction" for this truck?

 

0.03 degrees, +/- 0.25 degrees.

This isn't something you're going to measure yourself. The only way to make sure the alignment is correct is to have it done professionally on a computerized alignment machine.

 

I've changed my tie-rods and re-aligned it with a measuring tape. I've been cautiously monitoring my tire wear & adjusting (with shorter tire rotations).

It may work for you too if it's for short term... They didn't have those fancy electronic machines to align cars a few decades ago and they did manage to align them...

 

Shoot for an 1/8" toe in and see how it does. I aligned a few drag cars with a tape measure and they drive straight down broadway...


I do measue from the dead center of the tire. I make a mark on each the front and rear of each tire with a silver sharpie so I measure from the same spot each time. I try to get as close to the middle of the tire as possible. If not go as high as possible without bowing the tape measure.

I agree. I'm only 37 but I used to watch the "old" guys align cars with tape measures when I was a kid.

 

The spec is +/- .25 degrees, so you basically have 1/2 degree of error. If my math is right, with your tire size, you're going to have to measure to .15 inches. So yeah, you're going to get close but you're not going to get it within spec.

You can run out of spec. They did in the old days before computerized alignment machines, although not as much as you might think. Pre computerized alignment was done with light and mirrors and was pretty darn accurate.

You really have to look at it one way. How much does an alignment cost, how much to you drive, and how much do tires cost. A good set of tires set me back better than a $1000 and should last 50,000 miles. A bad alignment can cut that in half. An alignment probably cost less than $150.

 

Heres a do it your self wheel alignment jack your front end up and get a stick of white chalk.
Spin one wheel get it going at a good speed and place your chalk on the center of tire so that there is a line all the way around your tire.
Do the same on the other tire after that let the truck back down on the ground give it a bounce a few times and then messure from the front of tire about middle ways up and then the back of the tire about middle ways up or as high as you can get it without hitting any parts.
You are looking for a 1/8 th inch toe in on the front of the tires and thats it.

 

Thanks for all of the replies, guys. I think I'll do the do-it-yourself alignment with the chalk, for just as long as it takes me to get the new steering gearbox installed, then I'll take it to the professionals. With how much these tires cost (I've got BFG 315/75/16 All Terrains on it right now), I figure it'll be money well spent.

 

I just bought my 1989 F150 Custom 5.0L 4x4. The right front tire looked like it was ground down to 20% tread and the steering wheel was 90 degrees to the left driving straight.

First, I got the steering wheel straight in the truck while it was parked.

Then I laid down in front of the drivers tire and sighted down the inside of the tire just below the lower ball joint, looking towards the rear tire. This sight line on the inside of the front tire hit about 1.5" into the tread on the rear tire: way too much.

From the specs above: 0.03 inches on a 15" wheel comes to 0.266 inches on a 133 inch wheel base (0.03x133/15) or about a 1/4 of an inch.

In other words, when you're sighting down the inside of the front tire, you should see 1/4 inch of the rear tire sidewall.

So, I loosened the adjustment bolts and started cranking.
On the passenger side, it was 2 inches off. Cranked on the adjustment tube and voila, an aligned truck. Drives straight and handles nice.

Potential problems:
Tires are not always even so check this sight line on several points on the tire (Just move the truck a few inches and sight again)

 

Why didn't you change the ball joints on the left side? They are just as old as the rights.
To get me to a alignment shop. I use a string method. Just tape it to the sidewall of the back tire and run the string up and around the front of the front tire. Then adjust the tire until the string touches the sidewall at both the front and back sidewall. Way easier than a tape measure and more accurate. Tire needs to be on the ground unless you have a jack to lift the tire off the ground with the weight of the truck still on the suspension.

 

I agree with The Bone, balljoints should always be changed together imo. As in left and right together. I'd finish the job, then get a proper alignment. I've tried dam near every method imaginable over the years now to get a decent enough alignment to get it to the tire store for a computer alignment. I've come close, but it's never been perfect.

 

I think it should be pointed out Bone said to get him to the alignment shop he uses this method. It's unlikely your front and rear tires are exactly the same width which is why you usually measure both the right and left sides of the rear wheel at center line and adjust to get the string parallel with it. The string can then be used as a reference tool to get the front parallel with the rear and set toe. I only point this out because I used the method bone describes on my truck that had spacers on the front wheels. It drove straight but would actually chirp driving on concrete. On the accuracy of the string method, given a tight enough string or laser and a set of dial calibers one could get it within .02 inches without too much trouble. Straight is straight whether you use a computer, string, water, lasers or just someone with a real good eye. If im not mistaken computerized units have to be recalibrated a couple times a year (that was many years ago though) so you may want to ask when that was done last.