I have an 04 F150, I have had an alignment done on it twice in the fall at my local dealership, it never seemed right, and they never said that anything looked worn (they would be the first people to tell me though) And i just dont think they have the right capabilities to do a good alignment (people wise, i know they have the equipment) So i made a appointment at a very reputable tire shop across town to get an alignment.

Here is what i feel happening while going down the road. And by the way if i look at the front of my truck it looks like the passenger side tire is facing outward in the front just a hair. Anyway when i go down the road i feel it pulls to the right, so i have to compensate to the left, but then once i ride a little bit while compensating to the left the truck then wants to turn to the left, so then i have to kick it back to the right a bit then im back to the pulling to the right. Im thinking that my passenger tire is kicked out hence pulling to the right, but after i compensate to the left, it straightens the passenger tire which then kicks the driver tire out and pulls me to the left. Does that sound right? Do you think it just needs a little tierod adjustment. I was going to try it myself cause i set toe in and toe out on the racecar i work on all the time, and all i use is a measuring tape, but i need another person. which i dont have.

So anyway its going for another alignment next thursday so hopefully i can get a good one this time. And when i put on my summer rims and tires should the alignment stay good or would i need another one? Thanks for listening to my rambling.

-Jason

 

if I'm reading you right, you may have a bad tie rod...sounds like maybe the right tire


the old measuring tape method is usually pretty good for getting an alignment damn close...I've done it on many vehicles before and had no issues.


jack up the right tire and wiggle it left to right. shouldn't be any play. check the left tire as well.

 

I just rotated my tires the day before christmas and check that stuff, and i checked the brakes around thanksgiving and check for play as well then too. Didnt seem to be any either time, ive sort of had this problem since the last alignment, so i think they just didnt do something right the first time and i just blew it off cause i was too busy to care then, so im not sure if its a part or not. Like i said ive have wheels off and on and been doing stuff to it plenty of times over the last three months and never felt any play.

 

Could you have excess slop in your steering? I had a 06 f-250 that would do like you described. It turned out being excess slop in the steering box. I also thought that I had a bad tie rod, till the ford dealer informed me otherwise. We even tried adjusting the steering box but couldnt get it 100%. Just a thought.

 

Not sure, but what really gives it away for me is that when the steering wheel is straight and you get out of the truck and look at the truck head on the driver wheel seems straight, but the passenger seems kicked out a bit.

 

Did you just do a 2 wheel alignment? Make sure it's a 4 wheel one.

 

It might have just been a two wheel job before, ill specify a 4 wheel deal this upcoming time.

 

Could be a bad tire as well. If the alignment doesn't fix the problem try rotating the tires front to back.

 

There's only so much adjustment that can be done on these newer Fords. Ford does make a camber kit that allows greater adjusment, but it's not a cheap part or install. I put Eibach springs on my '03 Expedition and it made a world of difference after the dealer put in the camber kit and lined it up. These cats knew what they were doing. I would find a bigger dealership or ask the local body shops who they recommend for alignments.

 

It sounds like the alignment... My son does it for a living... He has told me before he has worked at some places that dont calabrate there racks.... If its not calabrated right you wont get a good alignment... I would take to that shop your talking about & let them check it Do the 4 wheel... As soon as they get it hooked up they will be able to read the specs & find the problem ,,

 

Thats what im thinking, and the pull to the right isnt that bad, im just one of those people that cant stand that, i need to have a straight steering wheel that practically drives itself down a straight road.

 

Had it at the alignment/tire shop yesterday and they called me within 2 hours of dropping it off and said it was done and was completely in line. I said what? and he said its in all specs. So it was still ok from the last time i got it aligned. He even gave me the print out of the alignment with all the numbers and stats. So i told him about the problem i was having so he switch the two front tires across. No it seems to do the same problem but just a hair worse. But maybe its in my head. Maybe its not pulling and the steering wheels is just cocked to the left a hair.

Im almost thinking about putting a little extra air in the passenger front tire to balance out the slight pull to the right, and see if that works. Any ideas. The guy said that everything looked good, tires looked good, everything, i even had them take it back in and check the front calipers for dragging and nothing.

Maybe im just "Fix it" crazy from all the years of driving chevys!

 

If you have the print out, do the caster and camber angles agree. If the left and right settings are not within close relationship to one another, it will pull.

 

Here are the final caster and camber numbers:

Front caster left-4.58*
Front caster right-4.63*

Front camber left- -.48*
Front camber right- -.53*

The guy said that all angles were to Ford spec.

IDK

 

They're close enough to where you should be having an issue with pulling.