Working on my new to me 89 f250, 4x4 with the Dana 50 ttb

What I replaced in the front end
All lead spring bushings
Front shackles
Pivot bushings
Replaced/torqued wheel bearings (they looked pretty good)
Ball joints

The previous owner did the tie rods

Ive been attempting to align the front end myself as I did with my other work truck for now, there's only a couple places here that do em and you gotta wait and book an appointment and they're always telling you this is bad/that's bad even if you just changed it...

I've got the camber aligned,
The tow in set, I've tried 1/16, 1/8, and even 3/8's (spec is 1/16-3/16)
No idea what caster is..

No matter what I align it to it pulls right, by a pretty good bit. I also noticed the front axle is flush with the driver side rear axle, but it sticks out a good inch or so on the passenger side, I'm at a loss here and can't seem to find anything out of wack other than that. Nothing appears bent by looking at it or measuring but something is definitely off here.

Basically running down the road with the steering wheel straight it drives straight, but you let go of it and it starts pulling right. Tires are also newish (90% tread)

The hub doesn't get hot so I'm assuming the brake caliper isn't locking up.

I may end up booking an appointment, but I highly doubt the alignment is the problem, unsure of what else to check at this point. Any thoughts/opinions/stories would be much appreciated!

 

Fine-tuning the Caster:

Caster angle is what directly influences the steering's return-to-center.

If you find the vehicle pulling slightly to one side while driving, adding (or subtracting) a bit of caster on one side will help the wheel return back to straight-ahead when you let go of it (this is where the fully-adjustable bushings mentioned above will come in real handy).

If the vehicle pulls toward the right a little, add between 0.5-1° caster to the passengerside (alternately, you can subtract 0.5-1° on the driverside).

If it pulls left, then the opposite applies; you add 0.5-1° caster to the driverside (alternately, you can subtract 0.5-1° on the passenger side).

If you find the steering has little return-to-center at all (and wanders), it's possible you may need to add more caster to BOTH sides. In extreme cases, dropping the radius arm mounts down could be required, although this generally shouldn't be the case if the suspension's ride height is correct.

The actual caster angle itself on both sides should be set to somewhere between 2-7° (4-5° being ideal).


this info may help you https://www.therangerstation.com/Mag...ing_tech.shtml

 

not sure about that offset you see between front and rear wheels... Ride height maybe ??

 

DOC, I remember reading I think it was in the obs psd section here, about the Dana 50 ttb being a little wider than the sterling rear axle in these trucks. They didn’t say the exact measurement of how much, and I can’t find the thread to quote. I assumed the extra width would be split evenly, but obviously I’m wrong If your out on one side and nothing is tweaked or damaged. I’ve never looked close at mine, as it rolls good and doesn’t wander too badly. If I start looking for issues I might find them lol

 

71.5" comes to mind but don't quote me on that as it has been a long time since I looked up the specs.

 

Currently it has the stock adjustment hushings, so it adjusts camber and caster at the same time, I think I'm going to order some new two piece bushings that let you adjust both independently. Then try adding some positive caster to the passenger side. Thanks for the tips fellas!

Just got back from a road trip, ip is leaking diesel somewhere and the brakes are spongy/anti lock brake light is on.....when it rains it pours!

 

Those bushings work well, use anti seize.

 

Yeah I'll be ordering them as soon as the wallet allows, they're 40$ a side and then I'll see what happens with the alignment.

 

Just want to add what the fix was, I bought the fancy dual adjustment bushings (caster and camber)

Ended up having to take the passenger side positive and the drivers negative. Tracks fine now, if anything pulls just a hair to the left. Mostly just follows the crown of the road.

I had to align the truck myself because nobody wanted to mess with it.

You called it with the caster Lonewolf