Bad alignment problems

[Crazymike187]

I think I have bad alignment problems in the front end because I noticed inner tire wear on both my front tires. Which resulted me in having my right front tire to blowout.
What I need to know is how can i fix my alignment problem?

I can also get pics of my steering rods and such tomorrow so you guys can have a better idea of what I should do.

[forrestbump]

Sounds like you've got negative camber.

Does your bump have it's original coil springs in the front end?

[390bump]

Sounds like a Camber problem. Good luck finding a shop that has the tools to cold bend the I beams:

http://www.fordification.com/tech/alignment.htm

[Crazymike187]

Sounds like you've got negative camber.

Does your bump have it's original coil springs in the front end?

I think so the last owner didn't do much matinence to the truck so I am assuming everything is stock.

[jzjames]

Did you check to see if your kingpins are worn? That can cause the tires to wear unevenly.

[forrestbump]

Did you check to see if your kingpins are worn? That can cause the tires to wear unevenly.

That's another Great point!

If you've got the original coil springs in the front end and they're sagging, that will give you Negative Camber. Replacing them will bring your front back up and you WON'T need to have your I beams "Cold Bent" for proper Camber.

With your Bump parked on a level surface and the front tires pointed straight ahead, lay in front of it about 5' away and look at the relationship of your tires to one another. Are they leaning TOWARDS from each other at their tops? If so, that's part or all of your problem.

[wildcard]

Mine had bad kingpins and was wearing both tires on the inside. Got the kingpins replaced and had them check everything else .Then took it and had the front end aligned. T he alignment was $14. All they had to do was set the toe-in.

[Crazymike187]

Ok finally I got some photos of my king pins and such would have got it sooner but I have been busy here the photos




















Thats pretty much the under side of my truck hopefully that can give you guys a better idea of what is going on.

[390Nut]

your suspension is worn out. Looks like it's all original (hard to tell about the king pins but that last pic looks like it is leaning a bit more than it should be) and as such I'm surprised it isn't worse.

The components are relatively easy to replace, the king pins being the exception to that.

It also looks like you are missing your steering stops in the i-beams (the hole in the beam in that last pic)

[Crazymike187]

I guess I need a parts list then but yeah like I said the last owners didn't do any matince to this truck.

[sargentrs]

Just as an example. My driver's side kingpin/bushings need replacing. You can see slop top to bottom at the knuckle. My left front tire wears out on the inside in a couple of thousand miles. You can hear and feel a solid "CLUNK" if you run over one of those yellow reflectors in the middle of the road. Passenger tire shows even wear and you get no clunk if you run over a reflector. Nice tight fit at the knuckle. I'm replacing my kingpins and all suspension related bushings in the near future.

[fordman]

jack up the truck. either both sides or one side at a time. grab the tire top and botttom. and pull it in and out. that will tell you two things. the wheel bearings have wear or the king pins are worn. if it doesnt move then i would consider having the i beams cold bent to reset the camber. alot of alignment shops will do this check for you for free too. there are other tests too. such as wiggling the steerign wheel back and forth before the wheel actually turns. that will show you wear a bad tie rod end is or if the rag joint is worn. that test takes two people to do. because one of them has to look at the steering stuff while the other turns the wheel.

[Crazymike187]

jack up the truck. either both sides or one side at a time. grab the tire top and botttom. and pull it in and out. that will tell you two things. the wheel bearings have wear or the king pins are worn. if it doesnt move then i would consider having the i beams cold bent to reset the camber. alot of alignment shops will do this check for you for free too. there are other tests too. such as wiggling the steerign wheel back and forth before the wheel actually turns. that will show you wear a bad tie rod end is or if the rag joint is worn. that test takes two people to do. because one of them has to look at the steering stuff while the other turns the wheel.

I know I have pretty bad steering already it takes about 3/4 turn before I can actually turn but that's mite be another problem altogether. However I mite take it over to an alignment shop after I get the new mufflers that you sent me installed " Thanks Fordman by the way " anyways having the shop take a look at it mite save me some time because I don't know jack diddley about alignment or where to begin repair. However I am just going to take this one step at a time and go from there.

[390Nut]

Like I said replacing parts is pretty simple and straight forward. The king pins are the exception to this, as you need new bushings put into the spindles, and they have to be ground/bored to matched the pins. Ask here for recomendations in your area, or find a heavy duty truck shop, they are more likely to be familiar with an I-beam suspension, and be setup to handle the spindle work. Might even be able to cold-bend the ibeams if that is necessary, but I would replace the worn out stuff first, or the alignment will be worthless (because everything is still moving around when and where it shouldn't be).

FWIW I rebuilt/replaced my entire front suspension, including machine work for the spindles and pressing in the new Ibeam pivot bushings, for less than $500. If you are not handy with a wrench, find a local member here and bribe them with some beer or BBQ (you are in Texas, afterall ) to help you out. It really is a simple task, just a bit time consuming and you need some good arms to turn some of the bolts/nuts (they're pretty big, and have been on there a lonnnnng time) and some patience trying to get the king pins out.

[1972hiboy]

A good place to start is to get the front wheels off the ground. and do the 9-3 o'clock shake back and fourth and the 12-6o'clock shake back and fourth and feel for ANY movement. Then take a very large pipe or prybar and put it between the ground and the bottom of the tire and push up pretty hard on the tire and feel for ANY movement. Chances are if you have a problem and a certain part is worn out you will find it doing this. if everything is completly tight then and only then would I even consider the coil springs. My first thought is king pins or wheel bearings out of adjustment.