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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

TTB problem... any suggestions

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Old Sep 16, 2012 | 08:07 PM
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Question TTB problem... any suggestions

twin traction beam... what a mistake first off.
i installed a 6" rough country lift kit on a 84 f150 4x4 with a ttb. Heres the error i ran into: i installed it myself about 4 or 5 months ago, I dont know if it was bad coils or just didnt notice but my whole front axles are tilted inward. therfore my tires(which cost 4/5th of the truck ) are laying inward. The top of the tires are leaning in. my first idea. move the middle drop down brackets up a notch. thought this would be it because there was a pre-cut whole about 2 cm. above the other, which made me believe it was a common thing between different model trucks. well i moved them up and overkill. The tires were now off level and sittin wayyy out. so then i just moved it back, sat down and thought... my idea now is maybe if i threw one of those coil spring extensions on there, it would push the tires down and level them out, but on the other hand, it might just stay where it's at and lift the whole frame and all. any ideas??? make any sense?
 
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Old Sep 16, 2012 | 08:21 PM
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You installed the complete kit all from the same manufacturer? Did you mix anything in that could throw the ride height off? And of course when you are all done, you have to get it aligned. But it should be in the ballpark before you take it in.
 
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Old Sep 16, 2012 | 08:29 PM
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not saying anything bad but 6" on a F-150 with coil springs you did drop the radius arms right can you take pictures and load then for us to see did you get the drop pitman arm for the steering
 
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Old Sep 16, 2012 | 10:04 PM
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Ford didn't send 16 years worth of TTB trucks to the dealerships with alignment issues.

The aftermarket lift companies aren't mathematicians. Lift kits are designed with off-road use in mind only, and not street use. Therefore the geometry of their kits isn't exactly tailored to give you perfect alignment. Aligning the truck is your job, and it's one of the things that needs to be expected when you install lift kits on these trucks. Don't like it? Complain to the lift companies, not Ford.
 
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Old Sep 17, 2012 | 05:53 AM
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Are the springs brand new? I would let them settle a bit before getting too worried about it if they are. Fords TTB suspension design is an excellent design when set up properly, like from the factory or by a quality kit with cut and turned beams. Drop brackets cause more problems then they are worth. If i were you i would weld on some reinforcement where those drop brackets bolt onto the crossmember. If not then you will be fixing a crack which will make it impossible to hold an alignment and drive right.
 
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Old Sep 17, 2012 | 12:25 PM
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Yea everything is brand new. All from rough country. I'm not blaming ford, don't not get me wrong, you would never find me on a gm site. Ever. Im just getting tired of the TTB simply because I think it's a little to complicate for its purpose. I did not get it aligned afterwards but balanced the tires. I was told not to really worry about alignment right away. But I didn't think it would have made a difference. I have drop down brackets, pitman arm(drops everything down) coils, shocks, brake lines, radius arms. I'll post pictures this afternoon, thank y'all for the help and thoughts. I do apperciate it and again. Die hard ford.
 
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Old Sep 17, 2012 | 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by No bailout '84
twin traction beam... what a mistake first off.
i installed a 6" rough country lift kit on a 84 f150 4x4 with a ttb. Heres the error i ran into: i installed it myself about 4 or 5 months ago, I dont know if it was bad coils or just didnt notice but my whole front axles are tilted inward. therfore my tires(which cost 4/5th of the truck ) are laying inward. The top of the tires are leaning in. my first idea. move the middle drop down brackets up a notch. thought this would be it because there was a pre-cut whole about 2 cm. above the other, which made me believe it was a common thing between different model trucks. well i moved them up and overkill. The tires were now off level and sittin wayyy out. so then i just moved it back, sat down and thought... my idea now is maybe if i threw one of those coil spring extensions on there, it would push the tires down and level them out, but on the other hand, it might just stay where it's at and lift the whole frame and all. any ideas??? make any sense?
coil spacers are especially bad news for lifted vehiles....creates a po-go stick type effect that can incude hazard type handling & induce rollover during criical manuevers.
 
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Old Sep 17, 2012 | 02:24 PM
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I believe I would put it back so the tires are out at the top, and then drive it awhile and see if the new springs will settle a little bit. And then get it aligned. I think that is what they were thinking when they told you to not to "worry about it right away".

Then if it is in the ballpark, take it to a alignment shop. Get ready, this will not be your ordinary $35 alignment. It's going to be the more expensive $60-$75 alignment, and you will also have to pay for the new bushings, which will be another $40 apiece. They put these offset bushings around the top balljoint, and that will adjust the top of the tire in and out, and also forward and backward for caster.
 
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Old Sep 17, 2012 | 03:45 PM
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Take it to a good alignment shop, and they should be able to correct the camber. Like Franklin2 said, be prepared for $100+ in parts/labor.
Once the camber has been corrected, it shouldn't need any further adjustment for quite some time.
The reason behind saying "don't worry about the alignment for a while" was to allow the springs to settle. If they haven't settled in the "4 or 5 months", they never will.
 
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