Well.......glad to report that the truck has been running 100% perfect since I purchased it but I've recently come across some front end problems. First off, the truck had quite a lot of play in the steering wheel and I noticed that when I test drove it but figured no big deal. It's 20 years old and I expect it should have some wear and tear on it by now. I also noticed that somebody had installed an aftermarket steering stabilizer on it. Well, as I went along I found out that the driver front tire would make contact with the threads on the stabilizer shock if you turned to sharply to the right and the truck also wanted to wander a good deal, especially at higher speeds. After inspecting the inside walls of the tires I found that 3 of the 4 had deep grooves cut into them from the stabilizer........guess the previous owner just rotated them around as they got worse. I replaced the stock 235/58/16's with a set of 255/70/16's that I picked up used (but pretty decent) from a buddy and they cut off enough diameter that they wouldn't rub on the shock. I put some more miles on and one day I got the death wobble really bad. It happened several times on my way home so after a nice, long, white knuckled ride home I took a look and found that the stabilizer had busted. I purchased a new one and put it on, it cured the wobble but the truck still wandered a lot. I tightened up the steering box adjustment to get rid of some of the excess slop in the steering wheel but it obviously didn't help a great deal. I've made an appointment to get the truck into my local alignment shop but I'm trying to see if anybody can give me any insight to the situation. I'm a bit strapped for cash at the moment and I can't afford a huge repair bill right now. Is there something common that fails up front on these ol 2wd trucks? Maybe something I could check into myself. I've also replaced the shocks all around, not that it matters a whole lot. I've taken a couple pics here that I'll put up showing the front stabilizer in relationship to the front tire......I'd like to be able to ditch it so that I can run the stock size tires. Any info that anyone could provide would be helpful. Thanks in advance and sorry so long winded.

 

I am in the process of getting my frontend straightened out. The first thing I noticed was all the bushings in the frontend were shot. These were the two inner bushings that the axles swing on, and also the ones on the leaf springs and the upper ones on the front shackles. I went ahead and got the poly bushings and replaced them all-what a job.

While I had it tore down, I put a pry bar under the brake rotor, and pried up. Both balljoints are worn on the driver's side, and the upper one is worn on the passenger side, so I have more work to do.

Get under the truck and look at your leaf spring bushings. The bolt that goes through should be centered in the leaf spring eye. If it's off-center, that means the bushing is bad.

Jack one side up with the jack under the suspension arm, not the frame. Get out and wiggle the tire back and forth and see how much play you have, and where it's coming from. It's easier with two people. Also put a pry bar under the tire and pry up while watching the balljoints.

 

most common on the wobble is the ball joints.
most common for the wander is drag link tie rod ends.
get somebody to rock your steering wheel back and forth while you are looking at the moving parts doesent take much slack to cause this.
the frames have been known to crack and cause this also rivets in crossmember getting loose will cause a wander. nothing should move when rocking the wheel.

 

Thanks for the info Franklin..........I don't know why but I haven't checked the leaf spring bushings yet. I'll have to run outside and do that. I did jack up each side and tried to tug the wheel around to see if it had any play but both were pretty solid. I need to check those ball joints too, I didn't have anything to apply leverage with when I had the wheels up in the air........just my hands. I suppose if they're bad the alignment shop will let me know. If it's just a couple bad bushings and ball joints then I'm sure the repair cost shouldn't be too bad. I'll have to wait and see. I just wasn't sure if there was any major suspension parts on these that were failure prone. I'll head out and get to lookin at those bushings though, thanks again.

 

Okie dokie. Are the tie rod ends pricey on these guys?

 

Haven't bought any in a while. The short ones are not too bad the long one is pretty spendy seems like it always wearsout first for me.

 

Okay, well.......I guess I'll just have to wait and see what all is goin on up there. I'm not very good when it comes to suspension. Like I said, I'm just concerned about having a big bill right now with Christmas coming up. On the plus side I've looked the frame over pretty thoroughly and I haven't seen any type of damage to it.

 

Just a quick update here. I picked up the truck from the shop yesterday and all is well. Good call Starmilt.........it was the long one and yes it was pricey. I'm sure it had plenty of markup on it as the shop ordered it so the part alone was $171.83, install labor was $55.00, and alignment was $45.50. After tax my total was $285.01. It was more than I had hoped for but as I always say.......it could have been worse. The difference though is dramatic. I no longer have to fight the truck to keep her in a straight line. She tracks nice and true now and they confirmed that all the rest of the front suspension is in very good shape. They said that there is a little play in the tie rod on the other side but it was very minor and shouldn't become a problem for a while. All in all, money well spent for a safer truck for my family to ride in.

On a side note, I've noticed this nuclear orange colored canister hanging down beneath the engine sooooo........time for an oil change. Got a nice motorcraft filter that needs to be there and some fresh Rotella. Thanks for the help guys.

EDIT: Checked the invoice. It was actually the drag link that was bad. I should have remembered that seeing how the tech said that it had a bad joint at the pitman arm.