ive got a 81 f-100 2wd with some front end problems...i took it into a shop to find out why my passenger side tire has such an extreme camber to it...wearing the tire on the outside really fast. He said it couldnt be adjusted, but i had some other major front end problems causing the camber. he said i had 3 worn tie rod ends (all of them except the right outer) and a seized kingpin on the left side.
what i want to know is could the worn tie rod ends have anything to do with the camber? i dont see how because the tie rods can be adjusted to change the toe setting. Ive already paid for the parts..they wernt cheap at all so before i start i want to make sure its going to fix the problem.

another thing is when im going around corners at a high speed..around 80 km/h, and hit a bump, the truck will jump to the left. My guess is it could have something to do with a siezed king pin, because the one tire wont want to turn, but when it hits the bump it knocks it over causing it to jump like that. another guess might be a loose bolt the mechanic told me about on the frame, not sure where it is, but he said it causes the 2 parts of the frame to slide together.
any thoughts or suggestions would be awesome.

 

Any worn parts need to be replaced. PERIOD!

After that, if it still has issues, there are things we can troubleshoot.

Your truck only has two tie-rod ends, btw. They are mounted on the outer-most steering arm(near each wheel) on either side. There is one other similar joint, but it's mounted to the pitman arm on the steering box.

Those can cause severe camber/castor issues. If your truck is a 2wd, kingpins will more likely cause hard turning issues, rather than jumps, unless they're worn well past any servicible level.

I'd be looking at changing both kingpins, ball joints, tie rod ends and the link on the steering box as well, if it's this bad.

From there, there are very few things left to change, but they may need to be....your rubber parts are also likely worn, and most people exclude them.

C-bushings that mount the trailing arms to the front diff(arms that run back to the frame) the bushings that also mount at the rear of these arms. ALL rubber protectors that cover ball joints and tie-rod ends


You can buy a kit from Energy Suspension that will do the works, and will last longer than the stock units, and install it at the same time as the new parts. Well worth the buck.

 

There are three rods on your truck and a drag line that looks like a long tie rod. They will not cause camber issues but they should be replaced if bad because they will cause excessive tire wear, toe issues and wandering and could cause your jump.

The camber could be caused by bad kingpins or the bushings where the I-beams connect to the frame pivot brackets on the cross member which will cause tires to wear on the edge and could also cause your jump.

The radius arm bushings where the radius arms connects to the frame can cause castor issues which can cause wandering problems and your jump if bad enough.

The steering sector if out of adjustment or worn can cause wandering.

As you notice all the front end parts work together and should be checked and fixed if bad because most could cause your problems if bad.

 

The early 80's (80/81) with kingpins wore the front tires terribly on the outside. You should replace all worn parts while you are at it. The only way to change the chamber on this model is to either lower it a bit (which I did for years, and it worked, went from 10,000 miles on a set of fronts to over 35,000 before they were worn out), or go to a place that will bend the I beam (the Ford manual shows how to do this). It won't be cheap and it takes time, thus you might just install lower springs or torch them a little at the bottom (start at the bottom on do a little at a time).

Kenny
81 F150 2WD Flairside

 

As a quick fix, if you live near Spokane, WA, you can have my old kingpin front end (kingpins are 2 years old and smooth) with my torched springs. I have just converted to the later model front end with 3 inch drop beams and 4 inch shackle/hanger drop. Boy...there is some work!!!!!

If anyone wants to try this swap, contact me for the issues I have found.

Kenny

 

thanks everyone...i started doing the work already, and found the left side king pin to be really seized, could only move it with a hammer, and it was a helluva job to get the pin out. so i think it could have been causing some of those problems, and the tie rods looked bad too. Just so i know for sure, can worn tie rods have any affect on the camber/caster? i didnt think they would since they can only be adjusted to change the toe setting. but it would be good to know
thanks.

 

I agree with all the above on replacing worn parts. The steering is nothing to mess with and worn parts are just asking for trouble. The tie-rod ends will not affect your camber and caster but will change your tow-in or toe-out. Worn king pins can change camber a little. Camber is not real hard to fix on the twin I-beam front ends just take a little work, a chain and a jack. Done many of them and it takes just a few minutes if you got everything set up.

 

Hey there I have a 2WD 95 f150 and put new coils and shocks in the front to give a 4" lift and new radius arm bushings and drop brackets and cross member but discovered a camber problem when i was done, any more info on your soloution with the jack and chain would be greatly appreciated thank you very much,

Wellys

 

Well I had a little easier time since I had access to a front end rack which allowed me to drive up on it. If you do not have this then a couple things will work. You would need a set ramps in which to drive up on (make sure it can stand the weight of say 12-20 thousand pounds) Then get a chunk of I-beam or RR track and lay it on a couple 4X4 (need to be able to get the chain under the beam)(the beam needs to be under the ramps to use the weight of the vehicle from popping up the other end, or you can use a second jack to balance it out). If you want to increase the camber put the chain around the trucks I-beam between the wheel and spring mount. Take the jack (10-12 ton bottle) and put it on the other side of the spring mount towards the center of the truck. Start jacking slowly this will bend the I-beam down. Be extremely careful and use a high quality chain (not just a ordinary log chain), stay out of the way of the chain for I have seen these break while doing this procedure. To decrease the camber put the chain inboard of the spring mount and the jack outboard towards the wheel. Follow the same procedures.

When doing this I can't stress enough to be extremely careful, if the chain breaks it will whip out good and hard, I have broken two toes, a foot and cracked my leg doing this. If done properly though it is the only way I know of the adjust the camber. Some have and will say that heating the I-beam makes it easier but I do not like to do that, for I think the heat weakens the I-beam. If you have never done this then it might make sense to take the truck to an alignment shop that has the capability.

 

Sounds like a great idea!

 

The bearing that i took out of the left side king ping was completly rusted...even after soaking it in diesel for a few days it wouldnt budge. so hopefully my new kingpin set will help the problem a bit. the tie rods looked real bad too

 

For those of you with later trucks, DO NOT bend the I-beams, the balljoint trucks have an eccentric cam on the upper balljoint to allow for camber adjustment. Any good parts store or alignment shop can get them for you of the stock ones don't have the proper adjustment for what you need.

 

I've got an '83 with ball joints. I just got it back from my front-end man. It was eating the outside of the left front tire. He told me that the thing is in like new condition. Someone spent alot of loot on this front-end. Only problem, these cams on the upper ball joint... They were installed 180 degrees wrong! Now, its tight, and it steers vastly better than before.

Gave my wallet a good workout, too.

 

I just recently replaced the upper and lower balljoints on my 2000 F-250 PSD...They were so bad the guy at my trusted shop thought twice about letting me drive it in that condition! I don't understand...because it only had about 59,000 miles on it at the time, and it was never used as a plow truck...only thing I can think of is the tires...315-75-16 BFG's////and they do look cool...LOL
Cobra

 

You can buy extreme camber adjustment pins from most places that sell lift kits as well. I had to use them on my truck due to camber problems. I think mine added 3 1/2 degrees of adjustment.

Just an idea before you hurt yourself.

Good Luck,

Lee