I've heard many people (that own other truck brands and have test driven F-150s) always complain that the Ford cars never have that good alignment. I've had my new f-150 for a little over a month now with over 500 miles on it and the alignment is off a little. It seems to always want to pull to the right after a few seconds of letting the steering wheel go. At first I thought it was just the road/wind....etc. but I've noticed no matter what road it seems to like pulling to the right. Now is this normal? Is it something the dealer is responsible for? I only have a little over 500 miles on it. I've got extended warranty but I'm not sure if this will fall under that category. I'm not even sure if I have anything to worry about and maybe it's normal for them to be off a little.

 

Normal, maybe. Correct, no. Go back and get it aligned. At 500 miles, it should be covered.

 

Hmmm....anyone else? Is it uncommon for cars or trucks to come slightly misaligned from the lot?

 

It doesn't necessarily mean a bad alignment. It could be a tire with a shifted belt or some other problem. Also, low pressure in a tire on that side or a brake that isn' releasing all the way.
I would have the alignment checked as it is under warranty, but it could also be one of the other problems.

 

I have had this problem with other vehicles after replacing the tires and getting a complete alignment. The tire shop refers to it as radial pull. swaping the right front tire and the left front tire has normally cured the problem. If the pull switches sides then you probably have a defective tire. Either way I would take it in since its new and let the dealer figure it out. Good luck, BTW which tires came on your truck? I have Continentals and am pretty happy with them so far, 1800 miles...

 

I have the Michelin P255/65RX17 All-Seasons.

 

It's interesting that you should mention the pulling. I demonstrated the same to the Service Manager when we went for a ride. My truck pulled to the right while traveling on either side of the crowned Interstate lanes.

Since the steering rack is due (on order) to be replaced, he agreed that an alignment would be SOP.

I race SCCA events and am very friendly with my alignment shop. Alignments are cheap insurance (approx $50) and will save you hundreds in replacing rubber. Just be sure to find a reputable shop, preferably one that is run or staffed by car nuts.

Also, I suspect that new aluminum A-arm front-end is more susceptible to being knocked out of alignment, something that easily happens during exuberant test drives, or even when unloading the vehicle from the transporter.

BTW, alignment specs as recommended by the manufacturer are usually a compromise for 1) safety and 2) tire wear. I would suspect that as time passes we may find that going from slight toe-in to zero toe may improve the turn-in of our trucks. But then, I'm just guessing.

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2004 F150 Super Cab Lariat 4x2 5.4L LSD, Trailer Tow Pkg, Versacover, build date 12/03
At my expense, helped the nibble with four Kumho Ecsta STX 265/60-18 (road force balanced)

 

My truck was out of alignment also when i bought my truck and when i took it in to have a alignment done i was told that there is a kit that should be installed on these trucks to help align them properly called a cam bolt kit.

After having this installed and aligned my truck drives great. You can drive it with one finger if you dare too.

 

After 1500 miles I noticed some tire wear and found that my truck was also out of alignment...My service department told me that it's not uncommon for this to happen with new vehicles because they are often tied down very tightly to the cargo trucks for several days while they are shipped. During this time the steering bushings tend to seat in differently causing the alignment problem.

It would seem like it's a good idea to have a new vehicle realigned after a few hundred miles just to be safe.

 

NOTE TO SELF : Have truck aligned and tires rotated this week. 5050 miles on her and a slight pull to right.

 

Mine also pulled to the right. That seems to be a common thing in this thread. I wonder if it something with the manufacturing process.

F150Texan, only 5050 miles! She's still a baby. I've got 8000 on mine since Christmas. A buddy of mine got his around Thanksgiving and only has 2000 on it...I guess that's what happens when you live 2 miles from work.

 

I'm 48 miles one way to work, but I carpool and I also work shift work which only has me driving into work 7 days a month The shift work would also explain why I'm so active on the forum at night...hehe

Life is grand!

 

I'm 21 miles one way...but if I see my girlfriend after work it ends up being a 100 mile round trip...doesn't take too long to stack a few miles on...luckily I've still got a beater car to drive a few days a week that gets better gas mileage.

 

So would mine because the trips to the divorce lawyer would be about 100 miles round trip if my wife were to discover that excursion...hehe

 

Cellman4U:
Can you explain this Cam Bolt Kit some more? My front end was out of alignment after installing the Daystar lift kit and still seem to still have a very slight shimmy at 50-60mph. Front tires were rebalanced but still not as good as before the lift kit was installed.