Heah all, I guess you can tell my wife is out of town and bored to death, lol. You may remember My mentioning that my truck was all over the road when Dan, Roy, and I met for lunch on the 6th. I vaguely hitting my tie rod with a floor jack and have ordered a new one already. Waiting for a back ordered tie rod is boring so today I checked the toe in wich depending who you talk to is best at 1/16" to 1/8". I like mine at 1/4". Any way I checked mine today using a quick and dirty process and found mine to be at almost 1 1/2" Toe Out. Every one knows I'm no ace mechanic but even I know there is no way this truck is going to drive in anything close to straight line. Well you can guess what Im going to be posting about until I get my new HEAVY DUTY t/r & ends, yeah checking all the front end components. I know, I know , you guys will probably be sick of me by the time my wife gets home, next month. So put your seat belts on and try and be patient with me, while I play with my truck.

 

I love the jury rigged toe check setup. Good job Jim.

 

The toe-in is measured off the wheels, not the tires, so I would guess your actual toe-out is about half that (still very bad). Did your jack end up under the tie-rod?

I bought some 16" wheels from a guy on here who had a '56 he bought from a gal in TX. She had a flat and jacked the truck up with the tie-rod. To say the front tires were worn out was an understatement.

 

Bingo on hitting it with the floor jack, but just kept my fingers crossed that it was ok, which I'm guessing it isn't. Thank you for the information regarding how to get an accurate reading. Tomorrow I plan on putting the front end up on jack stands, so I can pull the wheels and go thru all the steering components while Im waiting for the tie rod and ends to arrive. Should I place the jack stands under the frame (letting the axle hang) or under the axle to simulate driving height ? I haven't checked the steering box, drag link, etc since I rebuilt them, so it's time to take a peek and adjust if necessary.

 

Most of DIY toe measurements I've seen online involved using jackstands and carpenters string stretched tight, from the back axle all the way up front. I guess it works good if one is careful, not quite a laser alignment but plenty close enough. My old beast tracks straight as a train and no play in the wheel. Had it aligned at Sears by an old guy when I first got it and some new tires. He allowed there wasn't much adjustment possible. The old saying was "Set the toe, and let her go."

 

Hi Ted, I originally set mine with two framing squares against the brake drums, and measured off them. I could take my hands off the wheel at 60 mph. Using string would you measure the differences from the front of the brake drums to the string? Hmm time for some research I guess. New Avatar, nice

 

I'm too lazy to dig around, but there's some websites that show how it's done, and I'd be surprised if there wasn't a YT video or two as well. I think I read that folks who do high speed runs out in Bonneville and that kind of thing use that method, if it works at 140+ it's probably good enough for 60.

 

Jim,

Here is where you can take a road trip once you get it straightened out.

Drunken Monkey Sushi - Truckee, CA - Sushi, Noodles, Tapas, Sake


Tom

 

I have an old tool JC Whitney used to sell for setting toe. It's a pair of telescoping tubes, with a spring inside to push the inner tube out. You put one end on one wheel, compress the inner tube, and put it on the rim of the other wheel. The inner tube has graduations marked on it. Measure across the fronts of the rims, then roll the truck forward until the tool is at the rear. Read the difference, there's the toe-in. It wouldn't be that hard to make something similar.

 

A piece of PVC pipe with a correctly size dowel rod inside works well. A small clamp to hold the PVC tight against the dowel rod. I always measure at the rim as opposed to the tire. Go same height, front and rear of the wheel when measuring. Be sure to roll the truck forward prior to measuring and again after adjustments.

 

I do it just like Jim did on my 4x4"s. Enough people told me that's not accurate enough so I got worried and took it in to a shop. They told me it was right on.

I do this his is on my trucks that have ONLY toe adjustment. My modern IFS trucks go in for a proper alignment.

 

Good morning FTE land. Just having a cup of coffee reading the daily posts. I haven't heard anyone mention camber, or is it caster Im thinking of, the one where you check the angle at the king pins and shim if necessary? I appreciate everyone's input, I found some more ways in a advanced search. I love when so many folks give there input on a thread, its very helpful to get everybody's experience and suggestions. Thank you. I hope everyone enjoys there weekend , I know I will, I love learning and tinkering with the truck.

 

Caster shims are available for these trucks. Camber adjustment requires the axle be adjusted, in other words, bent. Adjusting camber usually requires services of a shop that specializes in big trucks. Usually not an issue with this series.

 

Hello again, since at this point there has been 292 views of this thread which tells me others are also looking for information on front straight axle alignment. So I figured when I find something while doing research I would post the link to it. Note some of these are going for 0 toe in, but on our trucks we do want a slight toe in to help it track straight. The Science Of Straight Axles - Street Rodder Magazine
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ing-gauge.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/581417-toe-in.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...ck-toe-in.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...a-problem.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...vs-inches.html