Still Pulls to Left After Alignment

[gavin]

Them are the alignment specs I was given. It still pulls to the left, yet the alignment specs look okay (except for caster on left front.. right at the minimum)?
I have checked everything... the front suspension and steering is tight.

I also have this weird "clunk" noise I hear (and feel) when taking fairly sharp turns at a decent speed (seems to be over 35 I hear/feel it).

I have no clue where to look...
any ideas?

 

[Homerexplorer]

I'd start with the ball joints and tie rods. The shop should have checked these before doing the alingment but maybe they didn't.

 

[gavin]

I have checked everything... the front suspension and steering is tight.

balljoints are good! Replaced 'em about 3 times in just over a year.
TREs look and feel good to me. No play in them.

 

[Homerexplorer]

sorry, I missed that.

 

[kbabiak]

pulls

hi i would try to change tires left to right and see if the pull changes .thanks,karl

 

[explrths]

Could be half shafts or wheel hub bearing assembles.

 

[dogfriend]

hi i would try to change tires left to right and see if the pull changes .thanks,karl

I second this suggestion - it could be a tire issue.

 

[gavin]

2 different sets of tires, same issue.
I had my 33s on, but had a harsh-ass ride... I figure they're not properly balanced.
So I swapped my stockers on... doin the same thing.
Bearing assemblies have been replaced within the last year... the driver's side was replaced twice within the last year.
And I know they checked that stuff when they did the alignment. Took me 4 tries before they would do it. First 2 times were balljoint issues. Third time was driver's side bearing assembly.

 

[jimbo74]

nobody mentioned this yet, but caster isnt right.....

also its very easy for alignment shops to manipulate the results...... you can physically go into the program and alter the specs so it falls within range, or simply jack up the vehicle and press print and completely change the readings

 

[dogfriend]

or simply jack up the vehicle and press print and completely change the readings

But that would be dishonest.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

nobody mentioned this yet, but caster isnt right.....

also its very easy for alignment shops to manipulate the results...... you can physically go into the program and alter the specs so it falls within range, or simply jack up the vehicle and press print and completely change the readings

Jimbo is right. Ford, usually, doesn't allow MORE than half a degree on caster. Your caster is what theproblem is. That's why your left caster is in the RED. Red is bad. And yes, he's even right about uhh...the "fix it" problems haha

-Drew

 

[jimbo74]

yes it would be dishonest..... thats why i do my alignments by eye in the street.... i used to do alignments at a shop, and i never fudged mine, however most of the guys i worked with would tweak their results....

probably the reason why the company i worked for didnt like me much, i took more time to do it right, then make them more $$$$$

also, i agree with dmb about the half degree, thats always what we used, even if it wasnt in spec to calculate .5 more on the right side

 

[dogfriend]

You are correct. Here are the specs from the 97 manual:

 

[gavin]

hmmm... ok.
So how do I adjust the caster?
and thanks for all the info!

 

[dogfriend]

Of course you need some way to measure, but here you go:

 

[dogfriend]

continued

 

[gavin]

I do believe I may have also found the cause for the odd vibrations, and possibly part of the issue with my truck still pulling to the left.
The tie-rods look good, both inner and outter. But, there's still play. When grabbing the tire at 3 and 9 and wiggling, there is about 0.5" or so of play on both the dri and pass. side. Well, maybe not quite 0.5", but enough to be noticeable.
Would this point to a bad steering gear/box?

 

[dogfriend]

Can you have someone else wiggle the wheel while you look to see where the play is?

 

[gavin]

I can see fine doin it all myself, except for seeing where in the steering gear; which I still wouldn't be able to see even with somebody else's help I know it's the steering box/gear though, because I see the inner tierod moving in and out with the tire.

 

[gavin]

how much play would be acceptable? The steering gear is a worm-gear type, correct? And don't worm-gears always have atleast a little bit of play?