I took my truck into FIRESTONE to have it aligned. When I picked it up my steering wheel was offset to the left so I took it back to have them center the steering wheel. When I picked it up again I had a front end shutter that was not there earlier so I took it back again. When I went back to pick it up they told me my tires were out of balance (they were brand new and just balanced elsewhere). So I took my truck home and a couple of days later I took it to another FIRESTONE to have the alignment done again. They found the alignment was out and fixed it. Even though the truck feels better it still has a pull to the right. I have to keep a constant left pull to keep the truck going straight. Is this normal?

Because my trucks wheelbase is so long (EXT CAB w/ LONG BED) a lot of shops do not have a large enoug rack (there is a joke in that) so I don't have many choices on where to take it.

Is it normal to have this many problems? Is it normal for the steering to pull right? Should I have it aligned again for the 4th time?

I need your thoughts.

 

I don't understand what the length of You truck has to do with getting the front end on an alignment rack? I have never heard of doing a (4) wheel alignment on a 2WD vehicle. Perhaps someone is trying to pull wool over Your eyes! Or, maybe I don't know what I am talking about??

 

They claim that my truck will fit on the alignment rack but once they do the initial adjustments they do not have enough room to roll the truck back in order to reset the machine. Once the machine is reset they roll the truck forward and reverify the adjustment.

This is what FIRESTONE and several other tire stores have told me.

Is it right or wrong? I don't know.

I have never had any problems getting any other vehicle aligned. I will never take my vehicles to FIRESTONE again.

 

We had the rack problem 20 some years ago when extended wheel bases first came out. ANY and I mean ANY modern ALIGNMENT shop should have a rack that can handle an F-150. Even Sears has racks that would take care of this. I would be looking for a shop that is set up to handle your rig. By the way you aren't getting a 4-wheel alignment. The fact that the rear axle is fixed means that only a thrust alignment can be performed. In short they measure the thrust angle of the rear axle with respect to the center line of the vehicle and align the front wheels in accordance with this angle.

 

I know this may sound like sacrilege, but did you talk to your dealer?

My dealer here offers a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty on the alignment AND they have the benefit of having the right set-up and tools to handle any F-150.

I shopped around and found that their pricing was very competitive with any other properly equipped operation.

Of course, you need to confirm they have a good tech working on your truck but that holds true no matter where you go.

Just my $.02

Good luck and by the way, the truck should not pull hard in any direction (other than forward !!!)

 

One important thing to check before you go to get an alignment is to check the tire pressure. If you have a low right front tire (like 5 pounds) difference from the left front tire that could cause your truck to feel like it is pulling.

The bigger the tires the more you may feel a difference in air pressure between the two front tires.

Just something to look into. Other then that since your having problems with Firestone your best bet would be to take it to Ford. They will know the truck better then Firestone and have the right equipment. It may cost a bit more, but you shouldn't have to be taken it back time and time again.

 

One other possibility that no one else has mentioned is that most roads are built to have the water drain of to the right side. They have what they call a crown, the center is higher than the sides. When you truck is on the alignment rack it's perfectly level and that is how it is set-up.

If you can find a perfectly flat parking lot, try driving on that and see how your truck reacts.

Or you can try driving on the wrong side of the road and see if the pull changes to the left, just make sure there is no traffic coming

Rob

Or as crazy as it sounds, swap the front tires (from one side to the other) and see if it goes away. Don't laugh, I've done it and had it work. (small imperfection in the tire)

 

I have the same pulling-to-the-right-so-you-have-to-steer-left problem on my truck. Raising the front tire pressure from 40 to 45 helped a lot. I have 285 75's and the amount of lean in the tires (from the height of the side wall) along with the crown of the road seem to be the huge contributor to the problem.