Took the X into my local shop and had them run the alignment number for me. Turns out the X and the F 250SD do have the same castor specs but the range is HUGE. It goes from 1.5 - 5.5 degrees, with 3.5 being optimal. Mine came in at 3 and 2.5 (adjusted for road crown) so I got the boys to order a set of adjustable castor gizmos (not quite sure what or how the adjustment gets done but will report back after Thursday). I'm taking the castor to 5 degrees and may equalize both sides as I'm mostly on divided highway so the biased castor for road crown doesn't really make sense as I'm in the left lane just as much as the right. I did tighten up the steering box again when it was in last week, but the steering is still super sensitive to steering imputs, especially at highway speed.

I will give a report on Thursday or Friday as to what kind of a difference having the castor raked out made. I figured this was my cheapest starting point in trying to fix my steering 'float'. Total cost for the adjustable thingy's and the alignment will be around $150.

I will be getting new Bilsteins in the near future which will help alot I'm sure. After that it will be V/B springs and probably a swaybar. I'm hoping the 'float' will be gone before I do the spring swap... if it is, I may just throw some shackles and blocks on her for the small lift I want.

 

Ken,

I have those adjustable camber gizmo thingies on my Ex...(I hope you find out what the REAL name is!)

I wasn't as adventurous as you...I only had him take me to the high positive end of the Ex spec (I went to +1/2 ° and the high spec is +3/4°)...BUT I was at -1/2 or somewhere there...

Price down here for the gizmo thingies were in the $60 for parts and my total job was real close to yours for parts, installation and alignment...I LIKE the way the Ex tracks even with my small positive camber...I was nervous about tire wear so I chickened out from going any more on the positive side...but now that i have the adjustable thingies...I can always if needed add more...

Let us know how it works out...

BTW...you'll like the Bilsteins...they give a good responsive feel IMO...and the rear sway bar will help A LOT!!!

Good luck!
joe.

 

Ok, just got the truck done and had it down the highway for a test drive.


WOW!!!

What a difference in the wander! I would say 95% of the problem is solved. Will still adjust my steering box slightly but the difference is night and day.

Here's what they did.... installed two Moog camber/caster problem solvers ( thats what the mechanic said Moog calls 'em). Set castor as far positive as the adjusters would allow, ensuring the camber did not go out of spec (1/2 degree positive) The caster went from 2.40/3.00 to 4.40/4.65. The total job was $250.00 which included the adjusters ($65 ea) an hours labour and an alignment charge. Very pleased with how it turned out. When I do the spring swap/ rear sway bar it will only make it that much better.

I would recommend this for anybody that is forever correcting their steering as they roll down the road.

 

Canadian I am not familiar with this camber/caster thing. What is exactly?

 

VERY interesting. This is something I've suspected for a long time, but never followed through on it.

These guys gave you no grief about re-aligning to the F-250 specs? I'm having a hard time finding someone willing (or even able) to do it...

 

Canadian,

What did he actually set your camber to? I believe the SPEC on the Ex is +1/4 +/-3/4 or could be a range of +1 to -1/2. I suspect that since factory simply uses hard shim material and sets it anywhere in the spec range...those on the negative side of the spec MAY have the wander issue worse...my original factory set was -1/4 I have since had the shop set it to +1/2...he could have set it as high as +1 and still been in the spec range...he told me if I didn't like the first setting he would modify for me and add more...at +1/2 camber my Ex tracks VERY TRUE...

Just curious as to what he actually dialed you in at...and what you started at...

Perhaps we can figure out what may be going on with these front ends...since Ford can't!!!

joe.

 

For reference:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/se...&N=10346&Nty=1

 

This is the part they used... Moog part number: MOK8967... you'll need two



It replaces the hard shim. My hard shim was a 0 castor/ 0.5 camber. When the tech set up the ajustable shim he set it to the highest castter setting while still maintaining the 0.5 degree camber. It added 2 degrees to my caster. It's kind of hard to explain but the shim has a double adjustment.... an eccentric position and a angular plane adjustment...if you get one you'll know what I mean.

Greg, I too thought there was a different spec for the F250 but it is the same as the X. The caster range is from 1.5 degrees to 5.5 degrees... it's huge. My truck was at 2.4/3.0 when we started, which was on the lower, or less positive, side of things. The only adjustment that can be done without inducing tire wear is the caster, the other two, camber and toe have to stay within a pretty tight range. I guarantee if you get this done, you'll notice a huge difference in the way your X steers. I had an Acura Vigor that had steering that was very 'weighted' for high speed driving... the X feels more like that now.

Veddy nice...

 

Canadian,

I did this last spring...I WISH I was MORE observant or had a better memory as to what he set my CASTER to...I only remember my final camber number...dang...we MAY well be on to the root of the problems here...

So you are saying you had him set the CASTER to as high positive as the shim would allow while maintaining an in spec (+1/4 nominal with a range of +1 to -1/2 camber reading)?

joe.

 

Ken, you sure? Do you happen to know what the reference was for that? Reason I ask, I found a web site that shows specs to differ, with the X having less caster:

http://www.caesionline.com/wheelalign/specs/ford4.html

Regardless, since I bought this truck in November (moved from an E-350 van that did not have this problem) I've been fairly convinced caster was a problem. The truck drives fine except for that small area +/- dead center, and the symptom is that the truck doesn't have enough centering forces at that small turn angle to make it come back straight-ahead. That's controlled by caster.

So, Ken, you nailed it, thanks for the effort. I'm glad someone took the initiative to illustrate this. Once I find someone local willing to take on this job I'm doing it as well... - Greg

 

I did the same thing to my Ex last year. It was pulling right and the first shop to do the work told me "they all do that". Then I went elsewhere and had the adjustable shim installed. It wasn't Moog brand but came from NAPA where the shop buys all their replacment parts. Major difference in driving. Didn't think about using the F250 specs though. My final caster was +2.8. Caster normally doesn't affect tire wear because this is putting the centerline of the axle behind the centerline of the wheel. This shifts the point of weight application and being behind the wheel centerline results in the wheels wanting to go straight and stay on track. So more + Caster is good. Toe in will cause wear to be uneven if it is incorrect by wearing inside or outside depending on adjustments. Camber affects the tilt of the top of the wheel either to or away from the chassy. If it is too negative inside wear will occur and could look like too much toe in. Too much positive will cause outside tire wear and could look like toe out. This is why you need alignments on this to drive straight. But using F250 numbers, Great idea.

 

According to the Bear alignment machine my shop uses (new, within a few months) the specs for the X and the 250 are the same. Its the huge acceptable caster range that is the problem. there's 4 degrees of variance built in. If your X was spec'd from the factory towards the lower end (mine was slightly so) then your road manners are going the reflect it. The adjustable shims will take your caster +/- 2 1/4 degrees in theory. There is some loss of adjustability of caster when the camber spec is kept within range. I got + 2 degrees taking the caster from +3/+2.4 to +4.6/+4.4 ... if I could have taken it to the max spec of 5.5, I would have.

Git it done!!

I'm calling this the Smokie Mod...