Excellent post! I think understood most of it but if you wouldn't mind adding some pics to that explanation, it would be greatly appreciated by all.

Suspension and transmissions are more or less the two things I know nothing about!

 

caster is set with the top ball joint sleeves. a shim will also work but I would only do that if it cannot be corrected with the ball joint sleeve/camber bushing.

 

I have a friend coming over for me to do an alignment sometime this week. I can take some pictures of a few things to point out then.

Alignments really aren't rocket science. You just need to keep the suspension up on it's maintenance and the truck will be good to you.
Remember bad alignments are always caused by something either worn out or broken. Or several somethings. Tolerance stacking goes into effect then and you really have problems.


The two biggest problems I have ever had to fix prior to an alignment on Fords are improper tire pressure and saggy springs.

ALWAYS go by the door sticker for tire pressure.
When I got my newest truck it was all over the road and just plain dangerous. Almost all of it was because the tires were all filled to 80 psi and the steering gear was loose. It only calls for 55 psi in the front and that does make a huge difference in handling.

Caster adjustment depends on the type of front end. On most of our 4x4's the factory manual calls for the wedge shims between the spring and axle. ALignment bushings should only be used for camber normally and only for caster if no other means is available, like shims. That's what Ford recommends in the manual and what I have always done.
All of these adjustable caster camber bushings are aftermarket and in my opinion are not that safe and are definitely a pain in the butt to set correctly. All the ones I've ever seen from Ford come in fixed degree changes that you need to figure out based on what's already in it and the correction needed. So much easier than aftermarket.

 

Too bad you're in TX... I'd like to have someone that actually knew something take a look at my rig.

 

I'll be up your way sometime next year on a hunting trip hopefully. On my way to the far end of Alaska in my 94 f-350. I've been working on scaling my business back so I can take the family travelling more and I'd be happy to stop and help all I can if we get through there.

 

I'll take you up on that if you make it up this way.

 

RRanch, your explanation is the best one that I have seen yet. If more techs did it your way, a lot of the alignment problems would be a thing of the past.

 

I was thinking about replacing the leaf spring bushings before I pursue this any farther. Can the bushings be removed with the springs on the truck? Is there a metal pressed in sleeve that has to be removed? Any extra info on this would be great.
Thanks everyone for all the great info!!!
Budman

 

My wife drove my truck the other day and the steering slop scared her. All these years I just accepted that's the way Fords are.

 

To replace the leaf spring bushings, I highly recommend just letting a leaf spring shop do it. NOT a tire shop, a leaf spring only shop. They are still around. They can often do the job for about the same price you can get the parts for and the guy will be smart enough to tell you if there are other problems with the springs.

If you have to do them yourself, I use an air chisel with a hammer head attachment. Sometimes I pull the spring and either burn them out of drill them out. It's never much fun.

 

There are some jobs that are best left to the folks that have the tools to do it. This job certainly qualifies as one of them!

 

John, That is correct. I had to replace the spring bushings on a older GMC a few years back. It was a bear until I figured out that I could take them out using a large socket and a C-Clamp. After spending over an hour on one, it took about 30 minutes to replace the other three. One bit of advice though is to buy new bolts, washers and nuts and then torch the old ones off.

 

Budman, hi. Was just going over this thread and noticed your post about new tires and 85lbs in front. I drove with 80lbs towing and 70 lbs not towing and wandered a lot. While reading this thread I got courious and went to the door plaque which I thought said front tires should be at 65, it really says 55. I reduced mine to 55PSI even while towing and it made may steering a lot better. Try it, you might like it.

 

I would be very interest to see how your truck towed with the correct tire pressure. If you know the weight on each axle when loaded for towing please compare that to the manufactures recommended tire pressure per this chart.
http://www.goodyear.com/truck/pdf/da...dInflation.pdf
Note that all tire manufactures have to comply to the same Federal standards so the chart can be used for any company.

 

Several people have commented about the lower pressure in the front tires. I will definitely try it. I always use a equalizer hitch so I thought the pressure should be the same in the front and rear. I am going to grease the ball joints with the front end jacked up and try it with the steering stabilizer off. Thanks for the reply.
My old 97 f150 tracked like it was on rails but had no power. I traded for this f250. It has plenty of power but wanders.
Budman