I have an '04 F250 4X4 with the 6.0 diesel. Last year I upgraded my 265/75-16 tires to 285/75-16 Bridgestone Dueler Revos. That size only came in a load range D. I know, some of you guys will give me crap for doing this, but the load range E was not available. I only have 20K miles on the truck, and it seems the steering likes to wander, so I am wondering if it is because of the load range D tires I installed. The toe in alignment was off and was corrected. This did not help any. I also upgraded the steering stabilizer too. Any thoughts?

Thanks guys

 

did you put a dual stabilizer on it? That would be my recommendation. The D rated tire sidewalls will flex more than a e-rated because of the sidewall plys. So a dual setup may help.

 

No, I did not put a dual stabilizer on it. I figured a single aftermarket would be better than the stock one.

 

Dual stabilizer, re check your alignment and wheel balancing, also, tire pressures are really important, you may not be running enough for the weight of your front with the 6.0. There are schedules for how much weight, exactly how many PSI should be run front and rear. I would start at the max for the rating of the tire, adjust down in small increments from there to get the best feel. I had E revo's on my 2000 and they worked fine, but it was a 5.4. If the tires at max rating wont handle the front weight, this could be your problem, rotate often and replace with e rated tire would be the best you can do when you can afford it. Given your trucks age, when was the last time ball joints, full front service was done, this can all be reviewed when re looking at alignment, its easy to knock things out.

 

mhoefer makes great points, both about the weight on the front end as well as getting the alignment and front end checked. If you want them to check the caster and camber, you have to ask for it specifically. Most of the shops that offer the $60-$70 alignments on these trucks just set the toe.

If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can get a rough idea by checking a few things at home.

If you jack up one side at a time (parking brake locked, etc etc), you can check for play at the wheel. There shouldn't be any. If there is... you can put a length of 2x4 under the lifted wheel - and get a friend to push up on the 2x4 so that you can watch for play at the upper and lower ball joint, as well as the hub itself. Repeat for the other side.

A second thing that is easy to check for if you have a friend handy are the tie rod and tie rod ends, as well as the steering box. With the truck on the ground (you want both front wheels on the pavement so that the wheels will resist turning) and with the truck running (don't turn the wheel with the engine off - you'll spill fluid out of the reservoir), you can lie under the front of the truck and watch for play while your friend turns the steering wheel back and forth. It is again a good idea to have the truck in park, with the parking brake on for this. You friend only needs to turn the wheel a little past where they feel the play in the steering wheel. While your down there - watch the ball joints at each tie rod end as well as the steering box that the pitman arm is attached to. If you do much offroading - you can check to see if any of the steering components look like they've made contact with anything while you were out on the trail.

This should hopefully give you an idea of what may or may not be worn out - and what to expect when you take it in. If you're the 'do it yourself' type, there is an entire thread on changing ball joints and hub assemblies. :-) Keep us posted when you get it figured out.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=354091

 

Thanks for all the input guys! I will probably switch to load range E's when I can afford it.

 

i would still suggest that a dual stabizer setup will also be beneficial in the end as well.