I drive a '99F-250 Lariat 7.3L psd, my father has a new '05 of the same (lariat with the 6.o psd) my old truck was an '85 F-250 diesel (6.9L), except the old truck, the other two are offroad 4x4. My brother, with a Ranger, (which he got rid of) all these trucks had (have) the same problem. They pull to the right. Even after alignment, all is well, for a few months, then, pull to the right. My old '99 has gotten bad enough that it chews the right front tire. It was aligned half a year ago. My dads pulls, and its only a few months old (about 5, or 6 I think). Is there an inherent problem with Fords that this occurs so often?
Environment: Rarely do I go offroad (time was, I did, and I will, when hunting season rolls around) the truck is treated well, and well maintained. My dads' truck hasn't even BEEN offroad, and my old truck, well, I aligned it (and this one) after the hunting season (this last one didn't see any use on my truck) but the alignment doesnt stick. Last time, I had ball-joints and assorted other parts replaced, but again, here I am.
I love my truck, always have, and expect to. I rely on them, and love the 7.3L turbo-charged diesel guzzling beast under the hood, but I wish I could keep on the road without getting stronger arms in the process.
Anyone have comments?

 

203,500 miles 3 sets of tires and never a tire wear problem!! 01 7.3 CC LB 4X4

 

My '03 doesn't pull to the right or left, nor does it drift when I let it go down the road. But, every other lug on the MTs has worn down and they are starting to roar a little. About 25K on the MTs...

 

I've never had an alignment problem, truck goes straight if I let go of the wheel and no pulling. But I did have the lug problem on BFG MT's. Turned-out I was just keeping them a little to under inflated. I was running them at about 55-58psi cold for a little smoother ride. Once I aired them back up to the recommended 65psi they started wearing normally. Unfortunately I run them on an '04 dually so rotating the worn tires off the front probably isn't going to happen. Just to big of a PITA.

 

Straight as an arrow always....You have an issue that needs a professional ..

 

I used to have the same problem with my fords pulling to the right. I quit picking up fat chicks a couple of years ago and now I only pick up skinny ones. Never had that problem again. Also my truck is much cleaner now, no fries and burger parts left on the floor.

 

Hehehe, Ok Prarie, well, I married mine (she ain't skinny, but like me, shes' a dedicated biker and she likes trucks -hey, not a bad catch in that light, eh? )
Well, I see that the problem isn't widespread, so maybe I'd better find a dedicated heavy-duty alignment center in another town. I want to be able to go straight down the road, and not chew my front tires to pieces, too. But thanks for the answers, I was beginning to get concerned (just too many instances, and when I say we maintain our trucks, I mean it -check the air in the tires, keep 'em balanced -when an off-road venture damages the tire (rare) or knocks a balancing lead off (rare, but it has happened) it gets fixed/replaced. Fluids, etc etc. The truck works hard, and I want it to continue to work (and play) hard.
Well, thanks again for the responses, and keep on truckin'!

 

Nightbiker,

Make certain you have someone do the front end and alignement work who knows what they are doing. In other words, avoid the local Firestone or Pepboys. If youy go to a dealer, you stand a better chance of getting a good front end guy but it's not a guarantee. Try to learn a little about the guy who will be doing the work. If you know someone that had a good experience with this type of thing in the past, go where they went.

I had the front end aligned on my 93 F-150 the day before moving from Houston to Atlanta back in 99. The Houston dealer screwed it up worse than it was when I brought it in. Dealer in Atlanta straightened it out and I never had a problem with it ever again (sold the truck in January of this year). Also, the Atlanta area dealer (Billy Howell Ford in Cumming, GA) did not charge me one red cent to correct the problem. This was a 6 year old truck with 75,000 miles on it and no extended warranty. They apparently worked something out with the dealer in Houston that I will allow to remain nameless.

Moral to the story - your problem can be fixed but be very careful who you select to do the work.

 

Make sure you don't have a brake or wheel bearing dragging. Check for same heat on both sides after 5 mins of driving. Also check for bad ball joints or bent parts. Good luck..

 

Could be a crown in the road for water runoff! Mine pulls as well and I have had it in many times to the dealership and they always say...."straight as an arrow" I asked how straight are arrows! Good Luck

 

The trick with the 250 and 350 is to find a shop that can fit the entire truck and do a 4 wheel alignment.

The supercab/crewcab/extendedcab etc do not fit on most alignment jigs so a shop can do a partial alignment but not the complete truck. Some shops won't tell you they can't really handle your truck.

I had to shop around to find a shop that could handle my supercab 94 F250. In Portland I only found a couple.

I have also noticed that many of the 250/350 that seem to have the front end sagging which allows the wheels to splay out. This will wear your tires quickly. Mine had the problem until I got it properly aligned almost 40K ago, and I haven't had a problem since.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

I will have to shop around -probably out of town, though. The two shops its been in said they did work on my truck series -one of 'em screwed it up pretty badly, so I took it to the other (after a few not-so-short words with the manager of the other) and the alignment took for about 5 or 6 months, then its out again. The second one lists themselves as a heavy-duty full-size pickup work shop, but I may have to look elsewhere. Dunno. I really hate to go to a dealer for it, but I may have no other choice. A new (well, few years old) ford truck dealer is open just down the road, trucks are their main name. Perhaps I'll give 'em a ring , but not until I get a new set of tires (no point in trying to align on old rubber, I expect). The new rubber will likely set me back about a grand, so I need to shovel in some overtime (grin) (or more accurately, GROAN! ) -the wife seems to be taking it in stride, though (haha)

 

Don't bieve that crown in the road bull, it is pure bull ,they can get it right if they know how

 

Straight as an arrow, unless there is a slight crown in the road. I often wonder if I whacked my alignment off on some roads, then on other roads it is straight as an arrow. Thats how I know it isn't the truck

 

Nightbiker,

Don't be afraid of the dealer if you are concerned about price. You will probably find them to be in line with other shops on this type of service. My wife and I bought a 03 Jaguar two weeks ago that needed an alignment when we bought it. I had the "Jag dealer" do it and cost was right at $100.00. They did a great a job ( was pulling to the right and now goes straight as an arrow) and I did not find the price to be out of line (no pun intended). I just didn't belive it was worth the $20.00 or so that I may have been able to save by price shopping.

Bottom line, I wanted it done right and was more concerned with quality of work than I was with cost (within reason). I expected to really take a bath on the alignement at the Jag dealer and was quite surprised to find they were that reasonable. I think you find the Ford dealer to be every bit as reasonable. Hope you get it straightned out.