I've been looking for a set of I-beams for the 79 f150
I found a 79 in a junkyard and pulled the front end, when i got home i noticed that the passenger side looked bent so i put a strait edge on it and it was bowed out about a 1/4" in the middle

I got another pass side I-beam off of a 75 f150 (yard said 75-79 is the same part) and it was bowed out 1/8" both trucks had perfectly strait drivers side I-beams.
looked at 2 more trucks in the junkyard and they looked bowed too

Is there a factory bow in the passenger side I-beam or am I just finding trucks with bent I-beams?

 

As the only way to adjust the front end to specs is bending the I beams, my guess is that you are finding ones that have been "adjusted". It is not that big of a deal as long as it is not too bad. Even if you find a perfectly straight one chances are when you get it aligned they will bend it some.
Just make sure you replace all bushings and kingpins if needed, before you pay to have the alignment done.

 

thanks

i am definatly planning on replacing the bushings and king pins before they are installed

 

Go to www.specprod.com and get a copy of the 2004-2005 catalog - you will find spring spacers to adjust neg camber, and there is a caster adjust kit for the twin I-Beams!!! I THINK you can say good-bye to torching the beams!!!

 

They don't use a torch when they bend the I-Beams. If they do it ruins them. They are bent with a hyd jack and some heavy chain etc.

The company website above lists caster adjustment bushings but no camber adjustment for our trucks with king pins. You still need to bend the beams or get aftermarket beams for lifting or camber adjustment. Spacers can be used for small adjustments on ride height but if the ride height is not right for your vehicle it is time for new springs.

 

I have -0.1 degree camber on the RH side and -0.4 degree camber on the LH side with new Moog springs. I think the spacers will be all I need to take the inner edge wear problem out of the tires.

 

Spacers will make your truck sit "funny". If you put a spacer in one side it will sit higher than the other side.

To make camber adjustments after the ride height is set properly you need to bend the beams.

Of course if your cab mounts are shot, -spacers may make it "look" better.

 

Spacers are in, and she sits a little more level fore and aft. The front was a bit low before. I have not put a tape measure on her so whatever irregularities there may be, it is in the noise. You can visually observe a change in camber, but I have not measured it yet. For $32 and some hand tools I would try this mod for slight camber changes before I would bend the beams. The nice thing about the spacers is that they come in a variety of thicknesses, so if you want to play you can knock yourself out - heck, you could sand/file/mill on these spacers and get it dead on. All I did was jack the front, jack stand in place, use my floor jack to support the beam, remove the upper shock nut, loosen the 1-1/8" nut inside the bottom end of the spring till it came off, lowered the beam, and slide the spacer on to the bolt.

To each his own...