I know one of you experts will be able to help here. I have a 1984 F250 that I bought new. It is an Agriculture truck and spends most of it's days (and nights) lazing in the barn. It has a whopping 40K miles on it. Over the years, the front wheels have begun to tilt inward. The top of the tire is closer to the frame than the bottom. The truck drives fine. I thought it may be ball joints so I replaced all four along with the pitman arm, tie-rod ends and drag link.....basically everything that moves. I have not brought it in for an alignment yet. I wanted to make sure there was nothing else wrong.

Any ideas?

 

Does this truck have a history of being parked loaded?
I'm guessing it has the TTB front axle, since I don't think 84 had the solid front axle as an option.
If it has the TTB, sagging springs would certainly cause this condition, just like jacking up the front makes the tires tilt out.
An alignment *may* be able to correct the tire camber issue. There is a certain amount of adjustment available at the upper ball joint, and a good alignment tech can set it correctly.

 

There are camber bushings for the top ball joints. they make them in different degrees. Find a front end guy that knows Ford TTBs. As said spring sag but unless it is way out the bushings will correct it. The bushings are about $20 per side. All TTB front end tilt some it seems.

 

When I changed the upper ball joints I saw those bushings and thought they might have some affect on the camber. (I couldn't remember the word in the original post) The Bottom of the tires are further apart than the tops if you were to measure the distance.

The truck sits on a wooden floor unloaded when not in use. It does have the TTB front axle, as you stated. The two leaf springs are not banjo-string straight, but I wouldn't day that they are sagging to the point of replacement.

Would it be better for me to inform the Front end guy of the problem first so he could order special bushings?

I think you guys hit the nail right on the head. Thanks

 

It's kinda hard to pre-order the bushings without knowing A) how much camber is needed to be dialed out, and B) what the current bushings are.
An alignment shop that deals with a lot of trucks should have these bushings either in stock, or close at hand.

 

That would be negative camber ...

Gasser or Diesel ??

I'd bet springs ... If it's a Diesel I'd say for sure! You said it gradually gained negative camber ... Sagging spring clue.

Measure the distance between bump stop and spring, that'll tell you your spring sag.
What it should be I have no idea.

If the springs are sagged you may not be able to get a bushing with enough offset to bring the camber into spec.

Sounds like the leveling Add a Leaf kit is exactly what you need.

Wow, You take good care of your farm truck ... Most farm trucks I know get no new parts, they get hacked, welded or whatever makes it go again with little care to how well as long as it goes!

And to pay some one to do an alignment on a farm truck ... I commend you on taking care of your equipment! Thats awesome.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

The place I go has been doing alignments for 30 years. From what you say, I would think they should have the bushings. I'm taking it for an alignment on Friday and will report the results.

Thanks to everyone. Some moron told me the frame was bent on this truck and this problem could not be fixed.. Like I stated I bought this truck new and keep it looking like new. All it does is carry hay and tow my boat to the lake. No dents, no rust. Never an accident. Bent frame??

 

Hi,

I have a 1990 Ford F-250 4 WD with a 4" lift that has a similar problem and it's getting worse. It has leaf springs on the front end. When I am parked or moving forward, my wheels are nice and straight vertically. When I reverse or stop after reversing I end up with big negative camber. Also when turning while reversing, I sometimes get a popping sound. I'll be interested to hear the outcome mrbeaujangles. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

 

Sounds like you have deeper issues.
If your truck has a TTB, Start by checking the axle pivot brackets and bushings. Those are prone to having problems when the truck has been lifted.
If your truck has a solid front axle, it should be inspected by a good alignment tech.
Leaf spring bushings should be checked, regardless of which style axle you have.

 

The bushings in the leaf springs go bad causing this also. The ones that really go bad are the front shackle bushings, the ones you can't see that are up in the frame. They have to twist with the axle as it goes over bumps, unlike a normal straight axle where they just go up and down with no twisting like on the ttb.

But your wheels tilting SOME when backing up will be normal.

 

Really should start your own thread ...

However, Check your leaf U-Bolts, if they are loose they pop when you turn, you can also see evidence of movement between leaf and axle/perch.

Also check the cross member rivets.

As already stated if you have the TTB it is normal for them to go negative camber when backing up.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

I have to thank all of you guys for your inputs. Basically you were all right on the mark. In my description of the problem, "front wheels with too much camber after much repair work" I neglected to mention one thing about the history of this truck.
details below>

After the alignment in the summer, the camber issue was corrected by the adjustment adjustments everyone spoke of. The wheels looked straight under all conditions, it drove nice etc. But a few days ago when I re-installed the Plow that hangs off the front of the truck all winter long. The problem came back...as soon as
I lifted the plow.....Poof...problem returns. You guessed it, weakened front leaf springs.

Being as frugal as the next guy, I wanted to know how much a new set of springs would cost versus those air-helper kits they sell online.

Do the Air-Helper kits by Firestone Work? They are about $250. a set.
see Amazon.com: ford f-250 truck spring: Automotive

The springs look pretty easy to change. Is it better to change those instead?
Where the hell do you buy new springs? I can't find them anywhere. This is a 1984 F-250.

I'll be waiting.

 

Perhaps you could find a good set of factory springs at a junkyard for cheaper than the price of a new set?

 

With stock springs it's going to sag when you mount a plow on it, even with new springs. Air bags would be nice since you can add more "spring" only when you need it. A lot of guys that plow use Timbren helper springs, they are cheaper and there's nothing to go wrong like with the air bags.

 

Yes, whether it's sagging because of worn out springs, the weight of a snowplow or if it's raised by add-a-leaf springs, lift type springs, etc., any change in ride height on the front end of these trucks will affect alignment.

I plow with my truck, and I don't have the plow on it that much where it makes any drastic affect on tire wear. I supposed if you plowed commercially you would need to compensate for it somehow, though if you charge as much as the commercial plow people do around where I live, you should have plenty of money to buy a new set of front tires.