You name it, I've found it and had to fix it.

 

thank you .

 

when people jack up a truck they are altering not only the stress on steering components but also the center of gravity, I have seen more than a few jacked up trucks that rolled because the driver hard braked and turned the vehicle.

when you alter vehicles like this and there is a failure, not only is the driver of the jacked up truck in danger of being hurt and or killed but the general public is too.

I think that there should be some sort of guidelines that need to be followed for vehicles on public streets and the only way to do that is with inspection's.

If you drive a stock vehicle or a vehicle that only has minor changes to it (such as changing tires or rims without a lift kit) that is one thing, but when people start lifting trucks that is another.

luckily in Florida (or at least where I am in Florida) there aren't *** many lifted trucks on the highway as there used to be.

The OP wanted to put passenger rated tires on his truck and he complained that the tire store wouldnt do it, now he finds out he has bad tie rod ends, he bought used truck with a lift and 36" dry rotted tires and it has bad tie rod ends, that vehicle is a wreck waiting to happpen.

Luckily he found out about the tie rod ends being bad before he wrecked the truck.

an annual inspection program or an inspection program when he bought the vehicle would have caught this and he would not be able to drive the truck until it was safe.

I don't like government intrusion, but in the case of legitimate safety concerns, I think it is necessary, because there are people who wil put other peoples lives in danger by driving unsafe vehicles.

 

A few minutes I posted about how we're not going off topic to discuss survival. It was ignored, so I removed all affected posts. This is about finding things wrong with a truck and not survival.

 

This is way to big of a can to open up, but your "Holier Than Thou" attitute that you approach this topic with sucks...

 

I don't see how you come up with that, if we want to discuss safety and whether or not safety inspections are a good idea, or if I have a bad attitude, you should start another post.

My point was when you alter a vehicle or don't properly maintain it, you put other peoples lives in danger.

 

Safety inspections are a good idea, my state has them, but the way you frame your argument with the holier than thou attitude that has my stomach turned.

here is something to keep in mind, you dont have to drive, driving is a personal choice.
you dont have to live in an area without inspections, you can move, or get involved in the political process and change your area, but to belittle mechanics the way you did and all others was in my opinion uncalled for.

and to proove my point, the guy user name "Northwinds" I think it was, did his ball joints and hubs and stuff with all stock setup (and you didnt say jack to him) which means the stuff can just go bad, wether its stock or modified, so your just off base and picking on psyclops becouse of the tire thing a few days ago

 

While I admit that vehicle maintenance is important, the link below indicates that vehicle maintenance is NOT a key factor in vehicle crashes. The "human factor" is the most relevant factor. These findings are from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The 6 Most Common Causes of Automobile Crashes

Top Six Causes of Vehicle Crashes:

1. Distracted Drivers
2. Driver Fatigue
3. Drunk Drivers
4. Speeding
5. Aggressive Driving
6. Weather

 

My wife and I were talking about going to look at a new 2012 F350 on the way home from work about a week ago. We had literally just got done talking about it when my truck died coming up to a stop sign. I quickly apologized to the truck and started it back up. Went home and replaced the CPS and have shut my mouth about new trucks.

But it seems like anytime I work on it I can quickly find things that "I might as well replace while I'm in there."

 

While changing the oil on my 15 year old Ranger PU with 250K on the clock, I found my frame behind the pass front wheel had completely rusted through and broke. Offset 3 inches. Truck was old and abused... make alot of noisies, but never had a clue the frame had cracked in two....

lol

 

I have seen plenty of vehicles that are bone stock that have rolled because the driver is an idiot.

There are already laws and statutes that cover such things...

So what is that "another" thing?

Where does it say that the truck had a lift on it?

Did he continue to drive the truck? No.

You are grasping at straws here and making assumptions. First of all you assume that people will only repair a vehicle or look at a vehicle when it catastrophically fails.

Typically these items are checked and people are advised of them when a vehicle is brought in for routine service.

Second of all, you are assuming that a government run inspection program will catch all equipment failures. This is silly. Parts do not wear out just at the time of inspection. You may have a vehicle inspected on Jan 1 20xx and have a tie rod separate on Jun 1 20xx. Does this inspection program you long for do anything here? Nope.

People will drive unsafe crap-mobiles no matter what. A bureaucratic inspection program is going to do nothing but add to the cost of operating a motor vehicle with little to no benefit.

 

The reason i said it had a lift on it is because he has said it has 36" super swamper's I am pretty certain it does have a lift so the tires will clear, even if it doesn't have a lift on it, the truck was not built for 36" tires and the larger tires put more stress on the steering and suspension of the truck.

Here is a link to his post.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-company.html

yes bone stock vehicles with a high center of gravity roll, so when the center of gravity is raised even more, it makes it worse and more prone to happen.

The only reason he quit driving the truck was because the tire shop wouldn't put 'p' rated tires on it, later he found out about the bad tie rod ends, he said it is parked until he saves up money for tires.

Apparently this truck hasn't had routine maintenance done on it, otherwise it wouldn't be in such bad shape.

 

I'm the "O.P." so I'll chime in here. First off- THIS IS NOT THE TIRE THREAD. That thread was closed because it was taken in the same direction this one is headed in. I would appreciate it if you didn't get this one closed too.

To clear some things up- my truck is not lifted, or "jacked up." It has the stock suspension on it. I bought the truck knowing I needed tires and assuming it would need front end work. At the time I purchased it, I planned to park it until new tires were put on and some needed maintenance had been completed. Unfortunately my transmission on my car started going shortly after I bought the truck, and I was worried about getting to work while in a pinch (hence the tire thread). The truck has been parked SINCE the tire thread. I've had it, what, 2 months now and have put a touch over 30 miles on it, including the drive home from buying it.

I think you're assuming too much about me. You assumed I was driving a lifted truck, and rather I was driving a stock truck some yahoo put crappy tires on. You assume I'm out there driving the wheels off of it putting everyone in danger, when its actually parked and I'm very concerned about the safety of the truck, myself and others.

Your first post in this topic was calling me a backyard mechanic who stuffed oversize tires on without properly maintaining the truck, yet you don't understand why it was said that you have a holier-than-thou attitude in this thread. Not that I need to give you my credentials, but I was a 3521 in the US Marine Corps- a mechanic that worked on HMMWV's, 5-tons and deuce-and-a-halves. I've also been active in the muscle car hobby, built my Nova and Chevelle from the ground up. I did a solid axle swap on my old 95 GMC. I got this. Seriously.

Not sure why the tire thread had to crop up here, but the dilemma basically boiled down to P & LT ratings vs. load rating. It's a dead issue- I didn't put those tires on. You already know I was planning on putting new tires on- did you really think I was going to waste that investment without going through the suspension? Cut me some slack, guy.

Now I ask this- 1) can we put the tire thing to rest now and quit dragging it across unrelated threads? 2) if we want to debate safety inspections, can you start your own thread for that? and 3) can we get this thread back on topic and STAY THERE?

Please?

 

I did assume the truck was lifted because you said it had 36" super swampers on it.

I didn't think they would clear on a stock truck.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, when it rains it pours sometimes.

I am glad you found out about the bad tie rod ends before it caused an accident, when i was younger I saw a tie rod end let loose, it was bad, luckily a car was not coming the other way, it quickly cut across the opposite lane and went into a ditch, it happened so quickly the guy driving didn't know what happened.

 

Well Said!