I got a 96 F150 4x4 and the front wheels at the top go in the wheel isnt straight up and down (bowed out at the bottom) like this when looking at the truck in the front /\ . I was told it was weak springs or shocks anybody got any advice? I read somewhere on some models in that year model there is no camber adjustment unless you have an alignment shop heat and bend something.

 

Yep, the alignment is off for sure. I'm not sure about the camber adjustment, but I believe there are kits available. Your springs may be sagged out since it's a 96. I'd suggest installing a set of aftermarket lift springs.

 

yea the 96 have I beam suspension, just driving down the road the camber is going all over the place. Probably should replace springs to get it close. There really isnt much room to get back into specs with worn out stock equipment

 

Nah, with the right fully adjustable bushings...you can align nearly anything on a TTB Ford. It was only the old 2wd trucks with the king-pin style I-Beams that required bending to adjust camber.

Your camber is out because your springs have sagged. I'm assuming these are the original springs?? The reason I'm asking is because often, people will install the 2 inch lift springs and then the truck will settle back to stock height......leaving the truck to sit like //____\\ But, either way, you have a couple options. Easiest is just to get some fully adjustable alignment cams and have it aligned by a shop that actually knows what they are doing. Beware, the shop WILL charge extra labor for this. So you're looking at $75 for cams and a little extra on the alignment.

Or, if you wanna have some fun, I can explain to you how to fix your problem with just a few steel washers. Interested??

 

Don't know if I'll try it but go ahead if you want. I may give it a shot.

 

thats what I thought about the springs but wasn't sure. I tried some pop in spring rubbers just to see if it would help, it seems to help a lil but still does it especially i noticed when its parked and the wheels are turned.

 

lemme guess... its absolutely without a doubt the worst when you back up and then put it into "park".

driving down the road the tires stand straight-up but once you reverse into a parking space or driveway... dang, //____\\!!!!

This happens everytime with my 89 Bronco, wich has a3" body and 4" suspension lift(installed about 1 yr ago, so the springs aren't sagging). have had alignments since lift install and they dont help it at all, steering wheel will be straigh and truck will track down the road straight and tires wear mornaly but when you back up, BAM, they flop in.

Just back in a little extra into yer parking spot and then pull forward about 2', willing to bet this greatly reduces this "bowing"

lemme know

 

Ok, I'm not going to be at home tonight....so I don't have time to write much. But I need you to check one thing....and it's kinda what SouthernStyle hit on. I need you to pull straight forward for about 25 feet and check the angle of the tires. Then reverse it for about 25 feet. Does the angle change? It's NOT supposed to. The reason ShothernStyle's Bronco does it is because his toe is out of spec and/or his springs HAVE sagged. It only takes 1/4 inch sag to throw out toe. And bad toe-in is what causes the angle to change when you pull forward and back up.

So we need to figure out how bad the camber is out. And you can't do that until you get the toe close. Because bad TOE makes the camber WORSE. And bad TOE is caused by bad CAMBER. So what I'm getting at is that the problem compounds itself. The TTB Ford trucks are the most alignment sensitive trucks on the market. However, once you get it set right, it works perfect. And regardless of what you may have heard, it is possible to make it perfect.

 

Yep Thats exactly what it does, I can pull in foward and park and everything looks fine but if I back up and park, especially with the wheels turned it seems to bow in //--\\.

 

I'll have to make sure on the 25ft deal, but I'm pretty sure it will do it. Might take a couple of days to check though, I'm out of town and away from my truck right now.

 

I'll have to make sure on the 25ft deal, but I'm pretty sure it will do it. Might take a couple of days to check though, I'm out of town and away from my truck right now.

 

Ok, THAT is being cause by too much toe-in. It SHOULDN'T do that. You're gonna have to get the toe pretty close.....in order to see how bad the camber really is. What you need to do, is pick a tie-rod end.......and adjust it slightly. Is your steering wheel off-center when you're driving down the road? If so, adjust the side that your wheel is turned towards. Try one full revolution on the adjuster sleeve.....in the direction that spreads the wheels farther apart. Now back the truck up and pull forward a couple times and see what the tires do. Keep adjusting until there is no change from forward to reverse.

Try this and let me know what the angle looks like once you get it adjusted so that there is no change.