Couldn't agree with you more. If they offered that course I would have been in. But I am not going to stop fighting until they fix the problem, I can atleast rely on my unrelenting persistency.

 

well...being a front end tech. let me start with....
you can NOT align a truck with loose or worn parts. it just WONT work.
it may NOT have fixed the wandering issue, but if the parts are bad they need replaced. and loose/worn parts will almost ALWAYS cause it to wander.

tightening up the box is a bandaid. and should not be used as a fix.

i doubt a new box will fix the wander. have u looked at the tires?
and just because they "supposedly" aligned it, it still could be off.

some of the ford frontends are hard to get PERFECT.

now let me finish with...

i have NO idea why ur truck wanders, without being able to work on it myself.
its hard to "fix" it online. all i can do is throw some suggestions out there.

oh and s/d's wander badly, as well as dodges....
my old ford(75) drives great, and straight down the road...go figure....

 

If your springs are sagged out due to age or overloadingtoo much or just from carrying
close to capacity, they can help contribute to your problem. maybe some air shocks
or helper springs could help bring it back to stock height and performance, If the front
is sagged you are hurting your braking performance too because the springs are compressing easier and taking some power away from your binders. I have never
brought a vehicle to a mechanic I just figured for the money I see everyone spend
on the repair bill I can just buy the tools, do it my self and save money in the long run
Of course having a free weekend is hard to do because family and friends always want
to have you check something out or fix this!! If I was you I would get a basic craftsmen socket set or at least the next teir down sears tools, A set of vice grips big to needle nose, a good set of craftsmen screwdrivers because you will strip the tips
and they will replace them, a decent set of wrenches I don't like all these new shiny
wrenches out now they are too slippery, add grease and you are going to bust your
knuckles!! Then either find a cheap motorcycle or car Check craigslist or in the paper
for a cheap atv or motorcycle is what I would get, Get a manual and find a good forum
Start taking it apart and take pictures with a digital cam so you can remember how
it goes back since manuals never have the pic you need, a motor that needs a new
crank or bottom end bearings would be a good thing to break you in on, You will need
to split the case I use a steering wheel puller but they have special ones for it.
tear into don't be afraid just do it!! replacing the bearings are pretty easy compared to rebuilding a crank
but you will need access to a press to put the motor back together, The thing with a
motorcycle is the transmission and lowerend are all one piece so you have to line it all
up but you will have a good idea how trannies work as well as motors. It isn't really as
hard as it seems read up on basic physics since the whole world works on that same
set of rules!! Spend $200.00 on tools $200.00 on a motorcycle and the knowledge
that you gain.... Priceless...... If it's not for you sell the tools and the bike parts on
ebay and at least you gained some knowledge.

 

I just put a set of Kumho’s on my 77 and it wanders so bad that I white knuckled it all the way North pulling my 5th wheel. I went back to the tire shop when I got back and they pretty much said “tough.”

I never had the problem with the previous tires, but I took it to a front-end shop just to make sure nothing was wrong with the front end. They said that everything checks out. This truck has never had this wandering problem in the 25 years of driving.

It looks like I am going to have to put up another $700.00 for a new set of tires or learn to live with it.

To answer your question, in my opinion, yes tires can cause you vehicle to wander.

 

Been awhile since I checked back with you guys, I appreciate the replies. Back to the wondering, it’s very difficult to explain...I know I am just being picky, because for a 1995 F350, 4x4, it rides incredibly smooth, but I am a perfectionist and I want it to be even tighter. Its not that the truck is out of alignment, it drives straight now, but the actual steering wheel has no tightness, its very easy to push, so it doesn’t lock the direction of the vehicle well, so the truck has a tendency to follow its own path oppose to mine, see what I mean? If the steering wheel isn’t tight on where I put it, it’s never going to instantly respond to me. I know I am not crazy because we have 6 other vehicles, and mine is the only one that has the uncomfortable feeling when I am driving. When I drive my pops truck, I put my hand on the wheel and it feels very thick and stiff, and it responds to my handling with very slight movements, in my truck I have to move the wheel with large corrections, even though its aligned, the corrections are way to large for all new front end parts....Anyway, I have given up I just don’t care any more, I am just going to live with it because no one knows what’s wrong with it and think I am crazy....

 

just a thought here. has anyone checked/changed the front shackle bushings inside the frame??
bad shackle bushings will do funky things to a front end.

 

Oh boy i got no clue. I think I will reinvestigate this matter next spring, because i dont go n more money to put into this problem, I need to get some headers!

 

Have you tried steering stablizers.I know people have different opinions on this but what can you loose.I have an 2006 F350 4x4 SB Fx4,level kit,air bagged rear and 20" 13.50 35,s and I still correct the wheel to much on the highway,its probably catching the ruts being such a wide tire,so Thats what I'm going to do

 

Thats had been a legitimate option for me, but my off road guy said that would only being hiding the true problem and he said he rather find the root of the problem before getting to that point, because my truck is stock, so theres no way why it should be wondering the way it does. Hes sold on the fact it is my shackles and bushings because if they are loose, it would allow for the truck to be moving around in the front end while its driving and pushing it side to side with the movement of the loose shackles ect...

 

what you are describing is almost the same thing i had... i changed EVERYTHING couldnt figure it out, ended up being the intermediate steering shaft. I changed ball joints, tierods, bushings, bilstein shocks and even tightened the steering box. ended up being the same intermediate steering shaft!!!

took me a long time, but finally got it to drive straight!! soooo much better now.

btw you dont need headers for your diesel...

 

I should look into that. She aint a diesel, shes a 460 Big Block I think headers will make this thing scream

 

oh my bad, that makes more sense!!

try out the steering shaft, made my life much better, i was really going crazy

 

Where in the sterring domain does that exist? Like, into the gear box or something? Its at the dealer as we speak getting an exhaust leak fixed, but i told them to look into it again while she was in there. I want to suggest that being the problem if i can, but sort of want a background on it first.. thanks man

 

yeah its the universal and shaft that go into the box from the wheel

 

Of course, the dealer came up with nothing. So I have officially given up. It drives smooth and all, but its something only a driver who drives it everyday notices. They said that alot of these older bigger trucks just wander naturally, not getting around it. So w.e, I will live with it...