My 2005 F-150 does not seem to track properly. I have taken it in twice for alignment. They said they aligned on the first visit but I have not noticed any difference (hense the second visit).

Anyone else experiencing the same problem?

 

Yeah, my 05 leads to the right. Took it in about 4 times to les Schwab and they showed me the specs and said they are maxed out without preventing abnormal tire wear. don't know if it could be the angle of the leveling kit or the larger tires. Somenone told me it could be radial pull(where a tire was molded improperly) so first I swapped out tires to see if it still lead to the right.I even bought the shim kit they said would get it DEAD_ON for 240 bucks and it still leads to the right. Many say it is the CROWN in the road I noticed it doens't do it sometimes and I have not noticed any abnormal wear. it can pull in the direction with two reasons. On the side with a negative caster and on a side that is too positive in camber.Good luck.

 

You mentioned negative caster and positive camber - is this something that the mechanic checks during an alignment or do you need to specify?
Thanks

 

During an alignment, camber, caster, and toe are measured. A vehicle will pull to the in the direction of the side with the most positive camber and the most negative caster. During an alignment, thoes angles would be set so the vehicle will not pull and achieve proper tire wear. As for a tracking problem, that can be corrected either by slightly shifting the rear axle on the spring, or a tracking kit (axle will only move so far due to leaf spring centering pin).

 

This helps explain alot. Click to bottom link to get familiar with these terms. It will help when they give you the specs for the alignment done on your vehicle. And also to know what to look for when you get abnormal tire wear and the difference between "pull" and "Lead" in regards to how your steering reacts and the effort needed in each. Hope it helps you out. Good luck.

http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm

 

The article was great! There is a statement in there that definitely explains my situation - "If the caster is equal but too negative, the steering will be light and the vehicle will wander and be difficult to keep in a straight line."

Eureka - that's it. Now if I can just get it adjusted properly.

Thanks everyone for your advice.