I have a 2002 Lightning with stock suspension and about 20,000 miles. I've rotated the tires regularly. About a week ago the left front tire went flat, and when I checked it out, I saw the the outside edge of the tire was completely worn down, almost to cord. All the other tires had reasonably even wear. Ford tried to tell me this was normal because freeway on-ramps turn to the right typically. But I had noticed the truck was starting to pull to the left a little, so I made them check the alignment, and sure enough it was off.

So they put two new tires on the front, put in the cam bolt kit and did the alignment. Now the truck has a pull to the right.

I brought it back in to Ford today, and they refused to change anything saying that it was perfectly normal due to the crown of the road. We took it for a test drive on the freeway, and timed how long it took for the truck to drift entirely over into the next lane... 7 seconds. He said this is perfectly normal.. the "industry standard". And if he made it track perfectly straight, it would cause excessive tire wear and void the warranty on the the new tires.

So was he feeding me a line of bull, or is this really the case? I find it annoying that I have to fight the steering wheel constantly to keep it straight. Is that typical for these trucks??

FYI, here are my alignment specs:
Left Front Camber: -0.5
Right Front Camber: -0.8
Left Front Caster: 7.4
Right Front Caster: 7.2
Left Front Toe: 0.03
Right Front Toe: 0.03

 

I have had trouble getting a good alignment also, but when it is properly aligned it will not wander like that. Unfortunately the Goodyear F-1's, especially if you have been out of alignment, will wear out at about 20k and even less. Ask to speak to a manager about your alignment though, you are being bs'd.

Mark

 

But what were the final numbers from their alignment?

There is a large leeway on what FORD says is acceptable.

 

This was the shop foreman who was telling me this information.

 

Actually, these were the final numbers from the alignment. They did the alignment based on Ford specs, not "owner-specified" specs. So here are the ranges that Ford says are acceptable, and where it is at right now:

LF Camber: [-1.2 0.2] Actual: -0.5
RF Camber: [-1.2 0.2] Actual: -0.8
LF Caster: [5.7 7.7] Actual: 7.4
RF Caster [6.2 8.2] Actual: 7.2
LF Toe [-0.10 0.08] Actual: 0.03
RF Toe [-0.18 0.08] Actual: 0.03

 

alignments are tough because every customer (and the roads they frequently drive on) is different. if you set the alignment dead even on each side, then it will drift (not PULL) left or right depending on the crown of the road. some roads go left, some go right also depending on which lane you are in.

generally the caster is set up opposite of what you have, usually closer to a degree less caster on the left to help compensate for the crown on secondary roads. yours is set slightly less on the right, even caster or opposite of what you have would be better. and the right front camber is too much IMHO, that will probably accelerate inside edge wear on that tire.

i'd shoot for about .02 negative camber on both wheels

and get that caster swapped over so it's lower on the left side you want between .8 and 1.0 degree less caster on the left, so either increase the right or decrease the left.

that's causing your pull.

even though it's technically within specs.

good luck.

later,
chris

 

Screw the specs

I am tired of throwing my money away on alignment jobs.

My tires were wearing on the inside but it tracked perfectly going down the road.

So many things can change the alignment and the way the truck handles.

The rear end height in a truck (load or unload)
The speed your driving ( air lifts front end)
Your driving style
The crown of the road
The type of Road ( concrete or Asphault)

Now I do my own.
I was lucky and have a very level floor in my garage.
I brought the truck in and put a 6 ft level on the tailgate and the cab roof.
Both were very close to level with a typical 6ft carpenter's level.
I then to my 18" level and laid it on top of the 6ft on top of the truck. Both read the same. ( 18" aluminum stanley cheapo)

I then fit the 18" level verticaly on the inside edge of the wheel rim. It was a full 3/4 bubble off. (The top of the tire to the center of the truck.)

I went to Ford and bought the adjustable cam bolt set up and came home and installed them myself.

The rear upper set controls the forward backward movement and gives you the straight tracking when going down the road that you are looking for. I left the factory shims in and turned the cam to touch at the same point. I left the shims in place and tighten it down.

The front upper set controls the lean of the tire. I had to go all the way on the cam bolt to get the level in the center on my rim. I left those shims out cause they now served no purpose after tightening it down.

I then made sure my steering wheel was straight the way I wanted it and got out my handy dandy aluminum paint roller extension handle.

I use that to figure my toe in. You can't get it in the center of the rims because of stuff in the way but you can get under there and get a reading from about 4 O'clock and 8 O'clock on the rim. You want to just have between 1/8 and 1/4 inch tow in on the front. Which means when you get it back to the rear you have that gap.
Just put the adjustable handle up front and tighten it down the see what you get at the back. That will tell you which way to go on the tie rods.

When adjusting the tie rods go the same amount on each side so your steering wheel stays centered.

One other note: if you lift your vehicla up with a jack you have to roll the truck backward and forwad a few feet to let the tires settle back in to a normal weight driving position.

Whaaa Laaaa you got yourself and alignment.

Takes a bit of messing around and lots of folks will think your nuts for buying a truck like this and then being cheap about things but for me it is knowing what I have and doing the job myslef that gives me satisfaction. To many people are to scared or lazy to try things themselves and just want to take there vehicle to someone else to make changes. Then gripe about the end result and don't know why something doesn't work.

Don't get me wrong I am not cutting anyone down. Some folks just don't have the time or tools or space to mess around but want a nice truck.

I'm just suggesting that if you get involved with the project and understand what is happening you can make better choices. This forum has helped me in countless ways and I sure enjoy everyone being patient with an old fart who can't spell worth a darn.
I just try to give back something when I can or offer a few words of support, encourgment.

Anyway, sorry for another long post and hope your get results.
Greg

 

I actually bought a truck because of the fact it is easier to work on than any car I have ever had. (Except old beatle. However I am entrested in this, Did you get a book that showed you how to do this? If so could you point me in the correct direction, My SM doesnt say anything about how to align.

Thanks for the great post.
John