I have a 1994 F-150, 8ft bed, 2wd, 302, 4r70w, reg. cab truck with stock everything.

Recently I hit a wooden one-lane bridge a little quick (25mph) and went airborne about 9" or so, but did not seem to bottom out. It was kind of cool at the time, but it threw my alignment out. It could have been that, or one of the massive potholes I hit that afternoon too. But the bed was empty and we didn't have any weight in it (even the tailgate was off).

Anyway, I took the truck to get aligned and it needed the bushings kit and a new left lower ball joint. I had them installed, and it's aligned to the middle of factor specs for the front for toe, camber, and castor. The alignment numbers are the best i've seen in my life.

It still pulls terribly to the left though. I took it back it, and everything seems right on. Me and the tech are stumped. The rear is pointing 0.23 to the right, and we think this might be part of the reason for the pull.

Any other ideas of what this might be? Or what to check? The pull to the left is pretty noticeable, and needs about a 1/8 - 1/16 of the wheel turn to the right to maintain going straight.

Is it tough to perform a rear wheel alignment? The tech suggested using a come-along and to apply tension to the rear axle, then loosen the spring shackle bolts until it pops to the left, then tighten the bolts backup.

I am also going to check bearings and brakes, but I don't think this is part of the reason because the pull is more or less constant, not higher when breaking. If anything, it is more pronounced during acceleration.

Also, there is a clicking/popping noise coming from the rear when I go around corners in the neighborhood. First the left will pop then, a half second later, the right, or in the reverse order. Is something loose that might also be causing the bad alignment?


I would appreciate any suggestions, besides not driving like the dukes of hazzard over bridges.

Any ideas to get this thing straight?

 

You probably sheared a center bolt in the rear spring pack. That should be replaced only with an identically sized grade 8 or better bolt, 8.8 in your case, as it is a metric bolt.

 

I'll check that.... where exactly is the center bolt? Does it hold the individual leaves together? Is it towards the U bolts of the axle or toward the frame?
Thanks,
Matt

 

It is right in the center of the spring pack.

 

measure from the bottom of your spindle to a point back on the frame, there are some matching holes on each side you can use. Go back at least 4 ft. Both sides should be within a 1/4 inch of each other. You might want to check the big washer in front of the radius arm bracket to see if it is bent backwards. Both sides should look the same. Run some water in your driveway and run your truck over it and see where each of the rear wheels intersect the front ones. They should be the same. Let us know what you find out
Ret.

 

Try swapping your front tires right to left annd drive it. I had a tire with a bad cord which caused a pull. If so replace the tire or put it on the back. Hope this helps

 

This may be what ford calls recession steering. There is a TSB out about it They indicated three reasons for the pull and three differant fixes. Two I can tell you off the top of my head. One is a brake that is pulling. You could check to see if the rotor on the side that it is pulling to is warped. If you hit hard enough to share a ball joint you may have done something there. The recession steering part is associated with the gear box. If you look at it you will see a bolt on the top of the steering box. It is slotted and secured with a bolt. It can be adjusted. The procedure is in Chiltons if you don't have it I can tell me and I will post it in. I guess the big thing here would be steering wheel play and did you notice this before. Also did you check the wheel that hit. Is it possible you bent it or broke a belt in the tire.