I posted this in the axle forum and got no responses hopefully i dont get in trouble for asking again here. I have a 71 F250 4x4 with the drum brake dana 44 front and the bottom of the tires are out noticeably farther than the top of the tires to the point that it wears the inner part of my tires more than the outer. I've had i in the shop and spent substantial money trying to get it fixed with no change whatsoever. I see these axles under a lot of fords that age and many do what mine is but many also sit straight as an arrow so i know there is a problem here. Has anybody ever tried to fix this problem and had success or am i up the creek with no paddle until i upgrade to the 60? I've done wheel bearings a number of times and it also changes nothing. Could the ***** that it steers on be worn out? Surely i cant be the only one

 

No yours is not the only one. Since you didn't post what the shop did I may cover things you've already checked but here goes. First jack up one side at a time. While you are raising it watch the lower edge of the tire to see if it moves inward. If it does grab the tire top and bottom and try to rock it. If it moves you'll need to look at the steering knuckle bearings. These will fail over time. I just found out from another member here that these are still available from Ford. If you don't get any movement next I would pull the drums and hubs. Look at the spindles carefully. These are prone to cracking on the lower side where the inner bearing rides. If they are cracked it's going to be a problem since they are obsolete and getting hard to come by. Oversize tires tend to greatly compound both problem areas. If everything checks out okay then I'd suggest having the alignment checked to see exactly how far the camber is out. If it's beyond correction then the housing is bent. If it's close however there are shims available that are placed between the spindle and knuckle to correct camber. If the housing is bent I'd suggest updating to an open knuckle, disc brake 44 or 60. A bent housing can be straightened but it's usually not worth the cost when the money would be better put toward a stronger axle.

 

Very well worded post Redcat Diesel. Chances are that the axle has been bent, and no amount of shims will correct this.
I might add that the king pin itself can be worn out as well as the bearing. Yes these closed knuckle axles use a very small king pin cap.
Throwing an amount of money at these is sort of a waste since these axles are just not supported by the aftermarket very well anylonger.
The best upgrade for these early drum brakes is to replace the entire thing with a later model open knuckle design and perform the disc brake upgrade at the same time.
You will be time and money ahead.

 

I just went through the same thing on my 68 f-100, The bearing on the bottom had not just worn out it had exploded and allowed the bottom king pin to have about a 1/2 inch of play in all derections. You might be lucky and only need a new bearing and race but it could be something else like said above. when i jacked it up and took the wheel off it was perty easy to see where the play was coming from. ive just got mine all put back together and looks and steers perfect now.

ive found most of the parts that are needed to repare, most of them not being listed to fit my truck even though they do, but rather a f-250 so if your looking for parts it should be easyer then it was for me.

its like 67-71 f-100 4x4s were never made.

good luck, need any info let me know

 

im emabarrassed to say that i have no clue what the shop did it was long ago but my guess is that they did bearings and not much else. Im much more mechanically inclined now and i will be looking at it myself and i will check everything you guys have talked about. I do run 35's but this axle was like this with 31's before i ever put the bigger tires on it. this is the most helpful info i have ever recieved on the matter and i thank you all very much i wish i would have asked sooner

 

Please post your findings.