Steering/body roll problem
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Steering/body roll problem
Help! I have a 76 F100 camper special that I am restoring and have a problem with control. Steering does not return when coming out of turns/corners and the whole truck seems to sway. I have put all new front end components and even a new steering gear box. It has been aligned. I drives great on the flats but the control around corners and under hard braking is the pits. It has a 390FE but front end weight was reduced because of the aluminum intake system and the removal of the A/C system. Any suggestions?
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Check the caster again. These are also trucks, not sportscars. The camper special has a swaybar front and rear if I remember right. Dennis probably has better info on that tho. A vehicle with only a rear swaybar can sometimes behave strangely.
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From: lino lakes, mn
is the steering box set to tight there is a jam nut on the steering box to take some play out of the sector if that gethow good are the shockss set to tight it will not come back to center after making a corner. how good are the shocks?
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From: Southern NJ
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Thanks!
You guys are good. It was a mistake on the camper special. It should have been Trailer Special. Sorry bout that. Anyway I am the second owner of this truck and just trying to do it right. The front suspension is all new. Shocks, springs center link, tie rods, drag link, pitman arm, king pins, axle pivot bushings, etc.. I do realize that it is not a sports car but I think that this problem can be fixed. As for the sway bars- none were ever on this truck. I have put Hooker comp headers on and the OEM sway bars will not clear them. Could the frame rivots be allowing excessive flex? A friend told me to look into boxing the frame. Thanks for the replys.
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From: Houston/Hope BC
Where is your camber set? As I guess you know, Eric is pointing you towards the caster for the effect it has on returning to center. I think Ford had some crazy +1 or +2 degrees of camber. Ignore this (IMHO). I think their idea was that when the truck is loaded down the camber would come back towards zero. Swing axles (which is what an I-beam is) love negative camber for better handling. I like about 1/2 to 1 degree max. negative...not so extreme as to upset tire wear dramatically... but enough so when hard in a corner the suspension doesn't want to "jack up". I suspect this is what you are experiencing.... once it starts, it only gets worse.
Look at any old VW... the rear wheels are always splayed out (lots of negative camber).
Look at any old VW... the rear wheels are always splayed out (lots of negative camber).
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Take the truck to an actual front end alignment shop that works on heavy trucks. They can align the truck properly. The normal alignment shops can only set toe. They are not equipped with the tools and knowledge required to do the job. The HD truck shops can bend the beams properly, they do it on the HD trucks all the time.
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Thanks Torqu1st- and everyone. I have found a HD truck shop that says they can take a look at it. Any feedback on boxing the frame? What would be the negitive of putting a Mustang2 front end (with larger springs) on my Truck and adding a disk brake package to the rear? I know its not a sports car......
Ford76 special.
Ford76 special.