My truck is pulling to the right. I believe I need to take it to a alingment place. However, I thought maybe there was a few parts I might be able to check and replace before I have to pay someone else to do it.

The steering wheel has some play in it.

I was just wondering where to start?

1986
F150 2WD
5.0 FI

 

Welcome to FTE..

There are several things you can check before you go to have a front end aligment done.

Look at how your front tires are wearing. could be low tire pressure,shocks need to be replaced,wheel bearings inner&outer, then your ball joints and tie rod ends(inner&outer) also check your bushings all of them if there is one broke or missing that will throw it off too.
It should all be tight and not alot of play or no play at all.These are what I would check since they are the most common.I'm sure I missed a few things that deal with Fords there are more knowledgeable people here I'm sure they will cover anything I might have missed.

 

^^^^is right about the ball joints. seems like fords are bad about that, at least all the ones i've owned. also remember tie rod ends, check calipers for sticking too.

 

The excessive "play" may be in the rubber/fabric universal joint between the lower end of the steering column shaft and the steering box input shaft. Worn steering box, tie rods, bushings, etc. all can contribute to "play". On most of these trucks "toe" is the only adjustment. A weak front spring on one side can also cause "pulling". OBTW, if the truck hasn't been wrecked, lowered or lifted, beware if the alignment shop guy says he will have to bend components to correct camber or caster. With all correct/good suspension components bending to align should almost never be required.

 

Thanks For the advice. I have just replaced the bearings. Both inner and outer. When I was there I did take a look at the brakes. Nothing seems to be stickiing there. Both sides are wearing the same. The play problem seems to be getting worse. I am suspecting the steering box is the culprit there. I will try an adjustment of that this weekend.

Otherwise, How would I know if it was ball joint? Is there a test for that.

I looked at all the tie rod ends and such but did not see any noticible deteration.

I also recently replaced the front springs. I also put in air bags inside the spring to help bring the truck back up. The air bags help they bring up the truck about 1.25 inches.

The tires do wear after a while. I just recently replaced the front two. The old ones had worn on the right side. The passenger side worse though.

If anybody has any other ideas I would greatly appreciate them!

 

You can check the balljoints by jacking up the truck, put one hand on the top of the tire and the other hand on the bottom of the tire, and try rocking it up and down. Make sure your bearings are torqued preoperly as this will also reveal any play they may have as well. Rocking the wheel side to side will also help diagnose your tie rod ends.

 

You know the one great things about booking an appointment at an alignment shop is it takes the guess work out of what it needs.
The alignment guys won't align it unless everything kosher. Best of all, it's usually free.

To powerspeed,Welcome to FTE
Request:
Please title your threads with the topic in it .

It makes things so much easier for when others do a search for the same topic and it lets us know what the thread is about before we open it

 

Check Your radius arm bushings. They always wear and cause steering issues, Happened to every ford ive ever had with the I beams.

 

Thanks Everybody. I will title my post better next time.

 

I took a good look at what was going on after I jacked up the truck. I have determend the bearings needed some retightenting. After that the ball joints were just a liitle loose, about an eight or so of movment on the passenger side. On the drivers side I did not notice movement on the drivers side however. I did however notice the drivers side has some movement in the tie rod area.

So I have concluded that I need some new tie rod ends and ball joints to get the truck to the point where it can be aligned.

I took a look at all the raduis arms and axle pivot areas. They seem to be fine.

My next quesiton is do I need to ask is. Can I just replace the ball joints on the passengers side and the tie rod end on the drivers. Or do I need to replace them on both sides. Also do I need to just replace the outer tie rod ends or the inners as well. I didn't notice any movement on the inner ones.

Also when looking at online parts places. I noticed they all had a house brand and they had a brand called Moog. The Moog claims to be better but at three times the price is it worth it.

The only other thing is, Upon inspection of the drivers side I noticed the upper ball joint had no grease cert. Just a flat plate. Is this normal?

Thanks, for all the advice.

 

I like to renew the complete side instead of just a portion ...and I'm a thrifty guy.

For ...Steering & Brakes.... I don't compromise safety.


I prefer Moog over TRW.


How are the coil springs ?

If the springs are worn out they can't do an alignment.

 

The springs are new, Although I bought smooth ride instead of heavy duty. That was the reason I needed the air bags. This combination provides a smoother ride than before.