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I've never been really happy with how my truck steers - and on the Interstate it was even less confidence inspiring. The dealer had installed 2" Rough Country leveling spacers below the coil springs and did nothing to correct the loss of caster. My quest for better steering has included adding a PMF trackbar, a Rough Country dual steering stabilizer and higher caster PMF shims. While all of that helped the overall steering feel it was still too prone to wandering at Interstate speeds. It just never felt planted, even when towing the RV or equipment trailers.
On Monday of last week I replaced a bad tie rod end. After greasing it I was laying under the truck just looking at the whole geometry of the steering system. It made sense to me that if I were to lower the radius arms it would increase the caster angle of the axle and that should help with making the truck feel more stable at higher speeds. The only potential negative I could see was if the pinion alignment were to end up too extreme. I decided to go ahead and look into drop brackets.
I searched online and found radius arm drop brackets from multiple vendors. All of the units I found said they didn't fit a 2019 but I figured they had to be close so for $100 I took a chance and ordered a set. They are made from 6.35mm steel, they are powder coated and they came with steel spacers and Grade 8.8 bolts. All told the hardware weighed right at 16 lbs. - very substantial. When we test fitted them they fit perfectly width and length-wise but they did not seat far enough upwards to allow the rear mounting bolt holes to align. We were able to determine that the very rear of the bracket, on the corners, was about 1/4" too tall. We broke out the cutting wheel and a file and modified the brackets, cutting the corners out and leaving a tab sticking up to contact the frame, like this:
After modifying and painting the brackets we installed them:
I decided the pinion angle is still very acceptable. Opinions are welcome from the forum members:
Finally I took it to have an alignment done. I need to find my previous alignment sheet but if memory serves me correctly it was at 5° before so the radius drop brackets added roughly 4° of caster.
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While 9.2° of caster looks way high on paper, the pinion alignment is fine in my opinion and the truck drives so much better at speed that there's no way I would go back to the way it was. I think I am going to put the factory caster shims back in place and see how it drives. I believe that should drop the caster back closer to 6° or 7°. I bought the lifetime alignment plan from Firestone when I bought this truck so it has already paid for itself twice over. If I get the shims swapped and another alignment done I will update this thread with the new numbers and how it drives. The Firestone alignment plan says I can have an alignment done every 6,000 miles so it may be a bit before I get it aligned again. .
This reminds me of a Powerstroke help video I watched awhile back, I think it was called death wobble extreme solution. They had installed caster shims previously but felt it needed more. So in addition to the shims they installed adjustable radius arms and drop brackets haha. It was on an Excursion and caster was over 12 degrees. They said it drove great on the highway,
I've seen some post that lower caster makes for easier steering, high caster would make for heavier steering. I know there are some who already have a hard time at factory spec.
Weird that you couldn't find drop brackets for 2019. All the radius arm drop brackets I've seen say 05-22. They come in varying amounts of drop intended for varying amounts of lift.
Some interesting discussion on caster in this thread. It is from the steel body generation but as most know, very little has changed in the front end components and geometry. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ch-castor.html
I searched online and found radius arm drop brackets from multiple vendors. All of the units I found said they didn't fit a 2019 but I figured they had to be close so for $100 I took a chance and ordered a set. They are made from 6.35mm steel, they are powder coated and they came with steel spacers and Grade 8.8 bolts. All told the hardware weighed right at 16 lbs. - very substantial. When we test fitted them they fit perfectly width and length-wise but they did not seat far enough upwards to allow the rear mounting bolt holes to align. We were able to determine that the very rear of the bracket, on the corners, was about 1/4" too tall. We broke out the cutting wheel and a file and modified the brackets, cutting the corners out and leaving a tab sticking up to contact the frame, like this: .
Care to share what brand drop brackets they are, and where you got them? My truck drives great stock, but if I were to have DW in the future, I'd rather go this route rather than mess with shims and such.
And grade 8.8 bolts are just the metric version of grade 5 standard hardware for those who don't know. Plenty strong enough at that size though.
This reminds me of a Powerstroke help video I watched awhile back, I think it was called death wobble extreme solution. They had installed caster shims previously but felt it needed more. So in addition to the shims they installed adjustable radius arms and drop brackets haha. It was on an Excursion and caster was over 12 degrees. They said it drove great on the highway,
I've seen some post that lower caster makes for easier steering, high caster would make for heavier steering. I know there are some who already have a hard time at factory spec.
Weird that you couldn't find drop brackets for 2019. All the radius arm drop brackets I've seen say 05-22. They come in varying amounts of drop intended for varying amounts of lift.
Some interesting discussion on caster in this thread. It is from the steel body generation but as most know, very little has changed in the front end components and geometry. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ch-castor.html
I must not have been looking where you were because I only found 1 pair that said 05-22 and they look identical to what I bought so they wouldn't have fit either. They are the ReadyLift ones that are $60 more than the ones I bought.
Please post a link to the adjustable ones - that may be a better way for me to go than to buy and install the original shims to get a little less total caster.
Are you saying that added caster will cause front suspension parts to have a reduced lifespan?
In my post when I say ”im not sure” it means I am wondering why most people recommend lower caster. I have always heard people say stock levels can be kind of low and when they make a suggestion it’s usually no higher than 5°.
I’ve had good luck there also and I’m curious about going so high as over 9° and what effects it could have.
The only thing I can say for certain is I probably wouldn’t buy radius arm drop brackets based on cheapest price. I would rather spend a few more coins and get something a little beefier and reputable. That or some radius arms instead of drops all together. Theres a few options that don’t cost an arm and a leg that work well.
FWIW I didn't buy the cheapest - I bought what looked to be the most reasonable for what the brackets are. The ReadyLift brackets are the exact same thing I bought - except mine came without the $60 name brand markup.
Little to no caster makes for a very light, responsive steering feel - with reduced high speed stability. Great for sports cars on twisty tracks, not so good high speed straight line driving in a 4+ ton truck.
High caster makes for heavier steering but increased higher-speed stability. 5° is what Ford specs as the maximum for my truck but I can tell you that is not enough with how my truck drives at 60+ MPH. My previous F-150 drove so much nicer on the Interstate but the front end is obviously completely different.
I am hoping to get to 7° or so AND have the stability it exhibits at 9° now. I'll be watching the tire wear patterns but my buddy that owns a tire / wheel shop tells me the additional caster is only a concern for pinion angle - and after looking at mine he sees zero issues with it.
Please post a link to the adjustable ones - that may be a better way for me to go than to buy and install the original shims to get a little less total caster.
Weird that you couldn't find drop brackets for 2019. All the radius arm drop brackets I've seen say 05-22. They come in varying amounts of drop intended for varying amounts of lift.
I misunderstood - you were saying they come in varying amounts of drop, not variable amounts of drop.
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