Hey I have been searching my area for a shop, any shop that can align my truck. Most of the responses are "well bring it in and we'll se if it fits".
Not good enough for me. So I have found a diesel fleet service 1/2 hour away and they want $255 to align balance and rotate. Is that a reasonable price? What do you pay?
I'd like to bring it to one person for the maintenanceI can't do myself and I don't want to start with someone gouging me.
Thanks,
Tim

 

the firestone store near me does the lifetime alignment for 199 and doesnt have issues with my f250 or a lifted jeep.

 

Yes they seem to make a bigger deal with the 1 ton vs the 3/4 ton.

 

The only difference in the F250 and F350 on the 04 models is the thickness of the blocks in the rear springs. 2" vs 4". I pay $75 for the alignment on my truck at a local truck shop that does quality, honest work with a COMPLETE JOB.

Firestone is a total ripoff. I know from experience. If your truck is "in spec" according to their machine then they don't make any adjustments, except maybe the toe. Caster/camber is a whole different ball game because of the wide range that they consider "in spec". $255 seems crazy high to me.

 

Not my truck but a car. A couple of years ago I replaced my front struts and springs, then I took it to Sears for an alignment.

A couple of weeks ago I put tires on the car and since the car was done at Sears my buddy added a new alignment machine to his shop. He aligned it yesterday, it was so far out it wasn't funny, it needed a camber kit for the right front. Sears set the toe and that was it. His machine can handle F450 duallys so you should be able to find a shop that can do it right for you. His alignment is $70 plus the camber kit.

 

Yes I have trust issues with mechanics so Firestoned was never a question. This price did include balance and rotate as well. It is damn rare to find a tire shop that you can trust. I see a lot of overtorque or finger tightening tire out of balance. Techs really seem like the hate the job and could give AF about quality. Def don’t want unqualified persons just trying to get the job done as fast as they can working on my front end.

 

The tire shop I got to has been my go to place sense I was 16.They can do the
large trucks and they only ask $100. Also I get flat fix and rotations for life of
the tire. Lastly everyone uses a torque wrench. None of that zip it on crap.

P.S. I should of said that they know I do a lot of my own work and will let me come look
while they have the tires off at any issues that I am worried about of if they find something
I should be told about. They have always given top level customer service. So if your ever in
Tacoma WA and need some tire work stop in at Tiny's Tire Center. They also do other work
on the suspension.

 

I think it is buyer beware as in all other things. I got a Firestone lifetime alignment for $150 last year and plan to keep my truck for a long time. I always purchase the lifetime rotate and balance for about $60 when I replace my tires. I have been very fortunate to get an agreement for the dismount and rotation of my dually wheels and tires for no added charges with other dealers if I call ahead so they can plan for it.

 

For what it is worth, I've aligned my F-550 at home for the last 20 years, with not much more than just a stick. I've only changed tires when they have aged out... never due to tire wear.

With a 2004, having front leaf spring suspension, and assuming 4WD, front alignment amounts to simply setting toe, assuming stock size tires.

There isn't much difference in the front ends of Ford 4WD Super Duties between 250 through 550, in terms of steering geometry. Some parts are different, but the concept is identical.

With 2WD trucks, the differences are greater between 250/350 vs 450/550.

I'm not saying you should align yours yourself... I'm just saying that it isn't that hard... so it is hard to understand the reasoning behind what you report the shops have been telling you.

 

I'm very interested. If I can do it myself I will. It seems fine as it is but I need to check it's been 20,000 miles New BFG ko2 wearing well though. A little bigger than stock. 4x4 f350.
Is there a resource for instructions?
Thanks
Tim

 

The first step would be to obtain the alignment specifications for your truck. I don't have them handy, otherwise I'd post them for you.

I just now did an advance search of the word "alignment" of my own posts, and found where I posted the alignment specs for 1999 chassis cabs... which may (or may not) apply to your F-350 4x4, but at the very least serves as an anecdotal example, after you verify the actual alignment specs Ford lists for your truck.

"Alignment Specifications: 1999 F-450 and F-550 4x2 and 4x4

Caster: 3.5 degrees; +/- 2 degrees
Camber: 0.25 degrees; +/- 1 degrees
Toe: 0.03 degrees; +/- 0.25 degrees

Note on Toe: These are positive values, which are Toe In. Negative values would be Toe Out.

Note on Caster and Camber: No differentiation exists side to side between right and left in this application. The specs are the same for both sides. Caster and Camber are also not easily or typically adjusted. There are eccentric bushings available to fit around the upper ball joint stud (requires removal of ball joints... big job)... but again, camber isn't typically necessary to adjust.

Note on why the 4x2 is the same as 4x4: The reason the 4x2 alignment specs are the same as 4x4 alignment specs in the F450/550 is due to the unique way the 4x2 monobeam axle is configured. Unlike the previous generation 92-97 F-SuperDuty 450 chassis cabs, which used a straight solid drop center I beam, the new 99 up F-450 chassis cab uses a tubular axle for the 4x2 front axle that is dimensioned and shaped just like the tubular axle for the 4x4 front axle, except it doesn't have the differential pumpkin. This is unique.

Most other medium duty chassis cabs and tractors use a drop center I beam if they have a solid front axle, including the 650 and 750. The F-350 chassis cab 4x2 used an updated version of Ford's Twin Traction I beams independently suspended by coil springs. But the F-450/550 4x2 chassis cabs are unique with this "fake" 4x4 tubular front monobeam.

I align my F550 at home with a measuring tape, setting only the toe, and centering the steering wheel accordingly."


So what am I adjusting? Simply the toe. And I'm not really adjusting it much... given that 0.03 degrees isn't even measurable on a ruler. It is really more of a verification that the toe hasn't been knocked out of whack that would indicate a bent tie rod or wheel.

When I say the toe isn't measurable on a ruler, I really mean it. Ford's angular deviation allowance, at 0.25 degrees, is almost 10 times greater than their target specification, at only 0.03 degrees.

The key tool is a trammel stick that spans the track width of the front axle, held against the tread surface of driver and passenger tires simultaneously, ideally at hub height, or as close thereto as possible (more difficult at the aft end of the tires than at the front end, due to chassis components being in the way). The stick can be improvised from anything... EMT conduit, a 2x2 board, a piece of pipe, a stalk of bamboo, anything handy and relatively stiff that can span the entire width of the truck.

Comparative measurements should be made in front of and behind the tires, so the skinnier the stick, the better, in order to thread the stick behind mudflaps, over the front drive axle, over, under, or between leaf springs (depending on your leaf spring changes or augmentations), under the oil pan, etc, but as high up to the hub axis of rotation as possible. At times, I've just used a metal measuring tape... the thick kind with the long stand out before they crinkle and collapse.

Whether one makes marks on a stick, or uses the demarcations on a measuring tape for reference... one still has to convert Ford's specifications, stated in degrees, into a distance (let's call that distance "arc length") that can be translated to the stick.

Since we are measuring arc length at the tread surface of the tires we are holding the stick up against, we will use the diameter of the tire to define the radius and circumference of the imaginary circle confining the tire's range of turn... in order to convert Ford's stated degrees into radians, which we then can convert to an arc length... or a distance that may (or may not be) measurable on a stick.

By definition, one radian is the distance along the circumference equal to the radius. Since my tires are 32", my radius is 16". Ford's 0.03 degree central angle specification will mean arc length measured in the thousandths of an inch, not in fractions shown by most rulers. But let's go ahead and do the math.

To convert Ford's degrees into radians, I multiplied the degrees times π/180, so 0.03 x 3.141592654 / 180 = .0005235988 radians.

To arrive at the arc length along the imaginary circumference... aka, the distance on the stick... I multiply the radius of 16" by .0005235988 radians and get 0.008376 inches... or "pretty damn straight" for a truck tire. About 9 thousandths toe in per side.

Doubling that to account for both sides is 0.016752"... or a flea's breath above 1/64th of an inch.

So the distance between the tire treads at hub height in front of the tires should be 1/64th of an inch less than the distance between tire treads measured at the rear of the tires at hub height.

Obviously, one would have to pick a consistent row of tread blocks on each tire to reference their measurement with.

Long story short.. just an ever so slight toe in should do the trick. Ever so slight. Say a hog's breath.

But absolutely no toe out.

 

If you don't mind I made this from the info you just posted.
Makes an easy PDF download.

 

Great post Y2KW57!

I have done some of my own alignments at home over the years and have also used this trick to assist in measuring toe in/out:

Jack the front of the truck up. Spin a tire and spray a small band of orange or white paint in the center while it is spinning. Once it is dry get it spinning again and take a scriber and LIGHTLY touch the center. Do the same to the other front tire. You will now have a small line on each tire that you can quite accurately to once the truck is back on the ground.

The paint will wear off quick enough( or you can dust the tire with black paint to hide the ugly white or orange stripes.

Rob

 

Small sheets of teflon, slick plastic, or other slippery substrates can be doubled up under the contact patch of the two front tires so that toe can be checked with the suspension at ride height, without jacks even, if one lubricates between the two slip plates beneath each tire.

 

Wow, I have my homework to do. Thanks for taking the time to post all of this. This is excellent.

I am always amazed by the willingness of this group to share their knowledge. I am indebted to many of you.