Hey all,
I'm new here and have a question for you. I got new tires on my 1992 f-150 flareside about a year ago. along with the tires i got an alignment and balance. i've rotated them once since then but the two front tires are almost already bald? i just got back from monro, they put it on the lift and said the only thing they could think of is the steering box and the shocks? i know i know, it's monro but has anybody else had this problem? the steering has always felt "loose" from day one.
thanks for your help

 

Are they wearing evenly across the tread or just on the outer or inner edges?

 

Have the shop check ride height on the front. The twin I-beam setup itself is tough but it's also tough on shocks and springs, when the front sags it will give you negative camber.

 

it looks like they are wearing mostly on the outter edges

 

yeah, i remember him saying the front end looked a little low. so what would i have to do to fix that?

 

The front of the older F150 looks low to begin with. This is especially true on 2wd but I have seen 4wd that looked that way too. If you have too much negative camber you will see wear on the inside of the tires and too much positive camber would cause excessive wear to the ouside of the tires. The shop should be able to install different alignment adjustment cams to correct for this. That is unless you installed lift springs with out the suspension drop brackets.

 

thanks for the tips!
mine's a 2wd. the *** end is higher than the front end and that's how i thought they were supposed to look. i think i'll just start chipping away a problem areas one by one. i don't have a lot of money but i have a friend that can get me good tires cheap. does anyone know where i good get a good set of shocks for cheap? i don't want to go all out with this thing. just want to make it comfortable and reliable you know?

 

Good seldom comes cheap. My only advice would be to watch for a sale and hope for a good one.

The rake on the 2WD is very noticeable, but improves some when you do replace the OE shocks and get the alignment right. I never had severe edge wear issues, but did get a little cup wear on the fronts with the previous set of tires. Cup wear is usually due to weak shocks or worn suspension. I've got 143K on my '92 now, and still working on the 3rd set of tires. Came with General's on it, first replacement was Goodyear Wrangler HT's, and now I have Michelin XC LT4's on it. Got about 50K on the first two sets, and this set looks like it's gonna do 75K minimum. So, don't accept any bull about Ford Trucks with Twin I eating tires. Make sure the alignment cams aren't worn. I had 'em put on when I bought this set of tires, and believe me, I don't regret it. It'll fix the wobblies right up.

One more note about the alignment. When I had mine done, I had the shop set the toe in about 1/2 degree more than the Factory spec, and camber about 1/4 degree more positive. That way, running on the highway, it straightens the wheels up very nicely with the downforce. On a flat straight, I went two miles without touching the steering. You can feel the difference in town at 30 mph or so, but you'll see much better tire life if you drive a lotta highway miles.

 

thanks for the tips old paint!
i got new tires, an alignment, and balance from firestone about a year ago. do you think it'll be worth going down there and bitching them out? they obviously didn't do a good job.

 

looks like i'll be going to the bank on lunch break to try and get a loan. i brought the truck to another garage for an oil change but as he had it on the lift, he looked at all the other crap wrong with it. it needs...

- oil pan
- water pump
- shocks
- tires
- front breaks
- exhaust
- allignment

 

a friend of mine helped me out with a discount on tires. wrangler rt's. 4 of them for $340 bucks. i spent about $100 bucks on 4 monroe shocks. he also used the lift at his work to throw the new tires on and he only managed to get the two front shocks on. he had to break one of them off. they were rusted on. i'm having someone else do the rest of the work. here's what it looks like i'll need to get done...

-rear shocks
-oil pan
-front breaks (mayber roters too)
-water pump
-radiator

this thing's a money pit but i love this truck too much to give up on it. the body is still in pretty good condition. i'll post a pic sometime soon if anyone's interested?

 

Watch your language, Flaresider. I don't think we're allowed to say words like Firestone in here.

Is your Flareside 2WD? If so, and you have access to a floor jack, it'll take about 1 hour per wheel for the novice to change out the front brake pads, and that includes the time to jack up the truck. There are no bolts holding the calipers on. Just two rubber pins with steel sleeves that can be driven out with a drift punch. Knock the caliper off, compress the piston with a C-clamp, drop the new pads in, slide it back on, and drive the pins back in. My mouth flew open when I saw there were no bolts in the calipers.

Changing the front rotors isn't much more difficult. You can do most of the work before you jack up the truck. Since the rotor also houses the outer races for the wheel bearings, you can press in the races in a new rotor, pack the bearings, and install the new seal before you even jack up the truck. Then, jack it up, remove the wheel, remove the caliper (see above) pop off the grease cap, take the spindle nut off, and yank off the old rotor. Clean it up as needed, slide the new rotor back on, preload the bearings with the spindle nut and close it up. If you did the rotors and pads at the same time, it'll cost you about $50/rotor, and anywhere from $30 to $400 for the pads, depending what you want to spend on 'em. Before I spent money on new rotors, though, I'd get the old ones checked for thickness. If they haven't been turned too much, and aren't grooved too badly, you may be able to have them turned at your favorite parts house or Express Oil, Jiffy Lube, etc. Any place that offers brake service. They'll probably charge as much to turn the old ones as a new set will cost though. One thing to bear in mind, do NOT buy cheap rotors, ESPECIALLY composite rotors. If you don't have the jack to go to Ford for rotors, at least get BENDIX rotors.

 

well... one thing after another. i got the new tires, shocks, oil pan, all installed and ready to go. but now low and behold my door won't shut! i just picked up a new hinge and pin set from autozone. i have no idea how to replace them but i'm outside right now just taking the door off and going from there? any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks!