silver, i apologize for the rude imbeciles that find their way onto here. FWIW, i had a brand new 1989 Ramcharger that did the same thing. i eventually got used to it, and had that truck longer than anything else i have ever owned

 

Never. Shocks provide damping while the suspension is in motion, springs provide support (both static and dynamic).

 

Alot of the older f150's and rangers develop a twist/lean in the bed when you look at them from the back. My buddy had the problem on his so he shimmed the bed between the bed and the frame with some large fender type washers and it took care of it.

 

I have believed for a long time that my truck is leaning to one side. I took a tape measure to it late in fall on my driveway and it was out a bit, 3/4" front, more on the back but I don't remember the exact measurement (I know if I don't have it correct I'll get crucified on this site). I just measured from the top of the tire to the fender. But I have not taken the time during the winter to followup on this and check it on different surfaces (I don't want to get into an argument about how concrete is poured). I tend to notice it the most on my driveway that's why I want to see about other places.

 

YA I SHUR CN FIGURE IT OUT.

Fail.

 

such childishness

 

My 2000 F150 had a lean since new. About an inch to the left, But only the bed! Dealer laughed at me and it's like that today. Nobody notices but me.

Cheers

 

Although somewhat unrelated, I spent years developing suspension components for vehicles ranging from snowmobiles to military trucks and buses. One particularly interesting situation that comes to mind was with one of the major commercial vehicle manufacturers who had a Class 8 truck with a mystery vibration. The owner of a large fleet of trucks even threatened to go shopping for a new fleet of trucks from the competition. In the end, and after many replaced chassis and drivetrain components, it took dismantling the whole truck to determine that the frame rails had a twist in them caused by improper jigging. The twist exacerbated the harmonics of the entire system, causing unusual vibration at a frequency which corresponded to just around 55mph.

My point is that these things are usually manufacturing screw ups. An improperly arched leaf in the stack or a coil spring which is compressed incorrectly (causing it to take a set) during installation, or even a spring which is wound to the wrong length will change the corner ride height. It's also possible that the opposite side is higher than specified, causing the "low" side to appear lower than it should be.

Normal concrete surface variation DOES NOT really affect ride height measurements. It takes quite a bit of an angle to get the effect of weight transferring to the low side. There is normally sufficient suspension stiction to allow some forgiveness. If the floor is relatively level without a significant bank in any direction, relatively accurate measurements can be taken. Each corner will be measured independently. Record your results, find a dealer with a number of similar trucks on the lot and measure the corner ride height on 6 of them (that will give you a good statistical minimum). Average out the measurements by axle (rear ride height and front ride height) for all 6 "sample" trucks. Compare your readings to the average and armed with that information, call Ford to get some support. Us nerdy engineers love it when technically savvy people approach their problems in an intelligent, methodical manner. You'll have undisputable facts and will be able to confidently discuss your situation with Ford.

 

Spindoctor, thanks for an intelligent post! Very refreshing. Excellent thoughts on the lean.

The story about the Class 8 truck with the mystery vibration rings true, we had a truck like that years ago, spent alot of money and never got it fixed. Finally sold the truck.

 

Spindoctor is right- I had to have a new leaf put onto a 2001 Explorer Sport I bought new, about a month after I had it as it was improperly arched. Mine was leaning to the driver side about 1-1/4" and painfully obvious. Dealer handled it in a day. Ironic thing was, the loaner they gave me was my trade in truck (1999 Ranger) and they never realized it was mine. LOL!