Have not done anything with the alignment yet, too busy with the
rest of the jobs.
Still need to get out on the highway and fine tune the boost pressure.

As soon as I am able I will book it in for an alignment and see what
that reveals.
If the bushes are needed I will have them on hand and wont have
to wait to get them sent over from the USA before getting the
alignment sorted.

If I don't need them then to bad, I might look at re-selling them on
gumtree.

 

I'm interested in how you go with the wheel alignment and the spec's you have, can you post the alignment markers please.
How does your truck steer now?

 

As soon as I can get an alignment done I will let you all know how
it went.
I must say that I have not noticed any steering problem while driving
so that is why I am puzzled by the abnormal drivers side tyre wear.

 

Brian, have you replaced your ball joints at all? Do they have any play in them?

 

I have not done ball joints.
One is an original, one is an after market, it has a grease nipple.

I can't detect any play wriggling the wheel by hand but I will put
a bar in and see if I can get any play.

Spoke to a truck wheel alignment bloke Friday.
He reckons I probably need the bushes replacing but thinks the
ones I have are to much.
He suggested I would need a 1 degree for one side and
a 1-1/2 degree on the other.

He has had experience with F trucks aand seems to really
know what he is talking about.

I have it booked in for Tuesday afternoon to check it out.
Based on what he finds I will order the required parts and then
get it back to him to have it sorted out.

 

OK been to the wheel alignment guys.
First problem.
Drivers side camber/caster adjuster bush was incorrect part.
It was too long so the flats on the top had not engaged so it
was free to turn on the ball joint shaft, which it had.
Seems the wheel aligner the previous owner used was one of
the many incometant fools in the car repair busness.

They have cut this one down and refitted it untill I can get
new ones installed.

Second problem.
The main, read expensive, problem is very worn bearings on
both sides.
As a result I need to get new hub assemblies.

There are four different Moog part numbers listed.
As near as I can tell I need Moog 515020 units.
Can anyone confirm this?

 

At least you found the source of the problem of your tyre wear. And once fixed, I'm sure you should notice a difference in how it steers.


The 4 different part numbers are probably a result of DRW/SRW trucks and 4x4 vs 4x2 (maybe even ABS vs non ABS). The part number you listed looks to be correct, and a quick look indicated rockauto had them the cheapest (as they usually do).
You can replace them yourself.

 

Thanks Adrian.
Order underway.

 

Hi All,
This is my near death experience,Drove out my drive way and my steering failed.
Just come back from a 2800 km round trip.
Had no warning of any problems in the steering,the ball joint at pitman arm failed.
From the photos it seems like it has been broken for a while,I hope it is a one off





No one else had anything simular


Cheers,
Patchy

 

Mate, that is exactly what mine looked like.


I had a real close look at mine and I reckon it was a bad casting.
Looks like there are a few crook ones out there.
Lucky yours failed at low speed, as did mine.


There is no warning of failure. I was under there greasing all
the steering a few days before mine broke and I saw no sign
of any problem.


It might be advisable to replace them before someone has
one fail at highway speed.

 

You are right Brian,
All the greasing, the maintence you can do you will never pick this.
All my ball joints have no wear and the steering is perfect
I will never win the Lotto now used all my luck
Cheers,
Patchy

 

Aussie BrianB, have you and can you post the wheel alignment specs that you ended up with for your truck?
Does it wander anymore?
How's the steering?
What tyre pressure do you run?

 

Blue,
G'day.

Can't find the alignment specs at the moment, have to dig back
through some paperwork.

The handling has been substantially improved. It turned out
that I had a crook wheel bearing as well so I had to replace
the hub, did both sides. Also fitted new steering alignment
bushes, 1.5 degree ones from memory, but I will have to
check the paperwork.

The steering still feels a little vague but I believe that is due
to the lazy way Ford have made it RHD. There are to many
moving parts and joints for it to be a precise steering setup.

With the new bearings and the alignment it is much improved
though. I replaced the front sway bar mounts while I was under
it replacing the broken drag link.

As for tyres, I run Cooper 315/75 R16 S/T Maxx at 60PSI both ends.
I know that's high but the truck is always got a goodly load on, even
without the caravan, and there is no sign of any over-inflation wear
pattern.

If I can find the alignment specs I will post them.
Might be a while though as I am going into hospital for hip
replacement surgery in a few weeks and will be out of action for
a while.

 

Thanks Brian, first of all good luck with the hip replacement, hope you have minimal recovery time mate.

I thought the problem with the steering on these Aus trucks was the two steering boxes and the geometry set up.

I have been towing heavy for a while now with plenty in the back of the truck (draws, engel , etc ) now i have replaced the complete front end with moog greaseable joints , including the hub assemblies and steering box and have clocked up about 12K klms since the rebuild and still i have a wandering problem which is expanded when i tow the van.

It seems to not return to center after a turn or when you go around a slight curve on the Hwy, it doesn't return to center and i'm always correcting the wheel back and forwards it's very annoying when towing and not as bad when empty.
It's almost like the steering box is too tight but that's new and i would think after spending $1800 it should be spot on.

I'm up north Qld at the moment and i'm thinking i should take it to a shop to check the alignment before i go much further, maybe it's just the toe in, I'm not sure or it's just how these trucks in Aus steer, any comments mate?

I don't mean to hijack your thread Brian just after some imput.

 

Blue,
What you are describing sounds like the way mine felt when I first bought it.

I am surprised that you are still suffering from the steering problems
after all the work you have done.

I have the steering alignment figures the previous owner gave me from
an alignment he had done not long before he sold it.


Before
Caster Left +4deg 01min Right +1deg 54min
Camber Left -1deg 09min Right -0deg 52min
Toe-In Out 7.0mm
After
Caster Left +4deg 01min Right +3deg 10min
Camber Left -1deg 09min Right -0deg 14min
Toe-In In 1.0mm

Do you know what alignment bushes you have fitted. The guy that did
my alignment in Newcastle said that sometimes the American trucks
have different angles fitted to each side that are the opposite to what
is required here. It's because of the different road camber direction as
we are RHD.

Sounds like you should have it looked at. There is a member on the
forum that lives in Cairns, Patch73, he may be able to advise you if
there is any front end specialists there that know F trucks.

Sorry I can't be of more help with this mate but you have done
everything I can think of already.