Hey guys, i have an 83 f250 4x4 and was just wondering if it is normal for the front wheels and tires to look a little bit crooked. they slant in on the bottom and out on the top but are straight front and back...from what i can tell at least. the tires dont seem to be worn unevenly and i have noticed the same type of thing on a few other later model Fords too. im used to the good old solid axles...any thoughts?

 

Oh the great world of IFS. Mine slant in on top and out at the bottom. Yet they wear evenly, go figure. You can buy adjustable camber bushings that will help to correct it. It's best to have a computerized alignment shop check it out and see how much you're off by. I'm off about 2 3/4 degrees on one side and 4 1/3 degrees on the other.

 

I had the same thing when I bought my 94 F250 4x4 Supercab longbed, used a few years back. Slant in at top, out at bottom. I was told by wife's cousin, a professional big rig mechanic that it was normal. Still I was uncomfortable with that, so I took it to a shop that had the special rig to handle a long truck, only 2 or 3 in Portland Or, so they are uncommon. The special tooling was so they could align front and back etc. Yeah I know "you don't need to do a rear end align on a solid axle" but supposedly it does pay to line up the front end with the back. They were highly recommended by several other short truck only places, so I assume they are at least a little reliable.

When my truck was done, they showed me the computer read out, "Before and After" and there was a big difference and the before was well out of spec in several areas. After the alignment, the wheels were even, ie there is no longer any slant and truck seemed to handle better.

Maybe the alignment shop was doing a selling job on me but at least it looks and drives normal. That was 30K miles ago and the tires are wearing fine.

Jim Henderson

 

If this helps, on my 93 flareside I get the same slant if I back up and then stop. If I go forward, the slant is gone.Go figure. Was told also that this is normal. Steve...

 

hey jim, how much did they charge to do your alignment? i think i should probably get that done because i do notice a slight "shimmy" at highway speeds.

 

To 79supercab4x4,

It was 3 years ago but I think it cost me something like $80-$90 bucks for the truck. Like I said they did a front and rear align which probably explains the higher(in my opinion)price than the usual 2 wheel align.

Every shop I talked to that had the short rig said I really should go for the long rig shop since everyone recommended a 4 wheel align. SO I assume it was the truth since the short rig shops lost my business, at least on the truck.

Dredging from memory... they said a wheel align will work ok if you just want to A) save money and B) only care if the front tracks true. When they align the rear, normally there is no problem with the rear just by itself, but it may not track behind the front, it may be off to the side a little. We have all seen those trucks that go down the highway kind of sideways. Some of those did have correct alignment but not front to back, of course others had other problems some major.

Jim Henderson

 

I have a 1997 F-250HD now F-350 Front and rear that i pulled in my garage on a saturday and on sunday it was done. tossed the dana 50 which was busted anyways and put in the strait axle. Also was able to go to lighter front springs with dana 60 than 50. vertical support instead of the twist and rebound of the TTB Twin traction beam IFS

Dusty

 

I had a similar experience with my '86. If you change the ride height in any way, it will throw off your alignment. If you get a "regular alignment" all they adjust is the toe end (??spelling??). The camber which is changed in your case and must be corrected by using a bushing kit. The first place I went told me that the only way to change the camber on my truck was to bend the I beams!!! So go to a trusted shop.

 

93flare steve, the problem you have is tie rod ends change them and your problem will be gone some times you have to change the draglink too. but that is worn frontend parts. John

 

Fatforty, thanks for the info.I don't doubt you but I wanted to give some more info. The truck has 69,000 highway miles.The slant or tilt is fron top to bottom when viewed from the front. When in the slant, the toe-in toe-out doesn't change(stays in specs).Also if I back up fast, the slant is not present.It's only at parking lot speed.If I pull afead 2 feet,the slant goes away. I'm on the second set of tires.The factories dry rotted on me,and I have had the truck since new,and regularly greased everything at 3000 miles. I hope I didn't offend you,please tell me of any impending doom. My dealership told me this was normal,but they have replaced a lot of good people. The new people don't seem to know a screwdriver from a bus driver.
Thanks, Steve......

 

Steve, I had an 87 F250 did the same thing dealer told me it was normal. It started to wear tires not drastically just a little, so I took it to a front end shop and when they checked it they said everything was fine when I backed out the owner hollared out to me when I stopped it was tilted in he told me that it needed the frontend parts I had never noticed the tilt until he showed me. I don't know if yours is the same but the tierod ends couldn't be greased they were some kind of hard rubber and it had softened enough to let the tires tilt and had started to wear tires. If yours has the same front end I would change the tierod ends they are cheap If it only does it when the wheels are turned then it is normal but if it does it when the wheels are straight then it is going to need the front end work. John

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 18-Apr-01 AT 05:33 PM (EST)[/font][p]John,Thanks for the info. I will change them as soon as I can. This site is so helpful. Steve...