Decent day Good Lads, gonna keep that short

I was wondering if anyone in the SoCal Area, Somewhere around Oceanside, could tell me if they know of any alignment shop that does it the old fashioned way. Meaning, without the computer, but instead with string and markings. I've taken my truck to 3 alignment shops and 1300Mi or so, im already showing signs of uneven wear. All the shops said I didnt need any parts changed. I've read on the forum of people taking it to places that did it the old way, and had great luck. So I wanna give it a try.

Thanks!

 

Do what you want, but that sounds like an awful idea to me. I highly doubt anyone who does alignments professionally does it without a laser alignment machine (that measures accuracy to the tenth of a degree)

 

What else is there for me to lose but another set of front tires. Might as well give it a try since the alignment is about to take its toll on my current steer tires. I get what your saying, but if what they're saying is factual about not having to replace parts, then I would like to try it a different way before I tell ford to Start swapping parts.

 

Hespen, if you've had it to 3 alignment shops and none of them could tell you why it was wearing tires when it is within specs, you've been taking it to shops that could use a computer, but don't know much about alignments. ANY decent FEA tech should be able to LOOK at the tires and tell you what they are indicating. I did alignments for a # of years and the reason I did was because we had such poor luck with getting proper alignments from supposedly high quality alignment shops. Some of what we got back was unbelievable and that was trying different shops.

 

Code is right. I work at a shop and our guy that does alignments is brilliant. He can tell you whats wrong before he's even pulled the wheels off. I would suggest trying another shop that uses a computer.

 

If you're having that much issues, check out some speedshops that do alignments. I had to have the springs in my TBird replaced the other year due to cracking. Ford dealer did it, new ball joints and tie rod ends too and aligned it. You'd go down the road and if you got near a crack it would literally try to throw you into the ditch. Took it back - everything within specs. Took it to another place, same report - nothing wrong but it drove like crap. Finally went to a shop that worked on hi-performance cars and the guy there described what was happening even before I got the full description out of my mouth. He did some adjustments and it was like a totally different car - drove perfect. He said in my case when springs are replaced you have to modify the alignment a little the first year till the springs settle in.
That was a few years ago and that car was tranformed from a terror to a joy to drive and it's driven perfect ever since.

A good alignment person can do wonders, best to keep looking for the right person. Good luck.

 

depending on the type of tires you have, and how often you rotate them, that could be your problem

 

There not stock replacement for my FX4. Their goodyear SR-A. Does Ford Calibrate the alignment to the stock tires? I'd think that wouldn't matter.

 

When the truck is built on the line, it may not even have the tires on it yet. There are plenty of cars built that get the alignment before the body is even painted, in the case of welded or spot welded alignment plates. Don't know exactly how it's done, but know it's done that way. Not sure about the trucks, but wouldn't surprise me. If so, I'm sure there's not some guy down in a pit doing the alignment while the truck is moving down the line.

 

I agree with the speed shop response completely.
Check out a local SCCA website and see where they take their cars or even see if anyone can help you out or even check some of the drag forums for a chassis shop.
W/o having the truck in front of me its hard to say what the problem is but it could be in the rear of the truck. if the rear is at even a slight angle it will try to push the front at the opposite angle down the street. for a basic start you can check it yourself w/ normal tools. park on level ground and get the front wheels as straight as possible. measure from a common point on both sides from the front wheel to the rear wheel(edge of hub opening works well). they should be exactly the same. from there measure a common spot on the frame to the center line on the axle, the closer to the wheel the better your chances of seeing an issue.

On the front, it could be something is slightly bent so pick a few spots and make some measurements there too. We're talking about differences of 1mm in some cases that can cause substantial problems.

can you explain how its wearing the tires? inner/outter, smooth & even wear, chunky wear, etc. does it have any grooves in it? are you getting any weird bumpsteer or tramlining(picture a trolley going down the road on rails jerking around left and right)

 

Do you get vibrations at speed? Might want to have the balance on your tires re-done. Uneven balance will cause uneven wear.

If you let go of the steering wheel on a straight road and the truck goes left or right, its probably the alignment.

 

I've gotta pull the steering wheel at least a quarter inch to the left to keep it going down the road straight. When I hold it straight, it pulls towards the right shoulder.
As for my rear end, that reminds me. I noticed my Axel isint exactly center on my frame. Its off to the left about half an inch. This has been like that for two years. I was rear ended, and the shop putting it back together put the Axel on in such a way. I just never noticed it till about 6 months later.
That was two years ago though, so I dont know if that would have anything to do with my alignment now.
My front end doesnt really shake at all. My tires were just rebalanced about a month ago, before my alignment was done.

As for wear of my tires, the driver side is wearing on the inside, as the passenger side is wearing on the outside. My previous alignment, it was only my passenger side wearing on the outside, and the driver side was fine. So I know they got one side correct at least.

 

sounds like your rear end is dog tracking, you need to get that fixed before an alignment will help

 

I finally got a life time alinement from Firestone for my bronco and excursion. I also replaced the plastic bushings with steel ones. Bear alinement did that for me. Thanks for reminding me about this issue. I will take my F150 to Bear Alinement to check if they are still using plastic bushings. Maybe this is only my experience, but alinements don't last very long. Check your a arms for plastic bushings.

 

The way the rear axle mounts it would be very hard to put the axle assembly in in such a way that it would be to one side. The frame may have been bent and not straightened correctly, or missed (not straightened at all). On poor boy way to tell if the rear end is tracking correctly is to use a couple of thin strings and stretch across rear tires at center and then across front tires equally. I used small 3 pronged fish hooks on each end to hook around the front of the tire and the rear of the rear tire with thin string type elastic in the center for a couple of feet. Trust me, it will detect ANY diamond in the frame or misalignment of the suspension. (meaning tracking of the front wheels in a straight line with the rear) It even works with a different width track front and rear, which MANY cars have and even some trucks and vans.
I realize there are a # of owners who have noticed the rear end to one side by about a half in., when the truck has never been in an accident. Trust me, this kind of glitch is not uncommon in vehicles that are MASS produced, and COMPETITIVELY priced. I worked in the trade so I noticed it, but MOST people are never aware of it.
By the way, camber and toe will cause tire wear, but caster won't. All 3 CAN cause pulling.