Thread: Check tire's before suspension

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I will try to keep this a short story the motto of the story is look for simple things first. Have a 65 ford f 100 nice truck when I bought it it had 73,000
oringnal miles ran straight down the road it started pulling to right took it to 3 tire shops. First one to busy to help looked at tires said try rotating font to back another shop put on liftr told me my king pins where bad and they didn't have tools to fix it. called another shop they they could put new king pins in and bushings for 1200.00 WOW. So I took it to a old mechanic friend of mine he checked every thing could only come up with king pins might be bad.
I proceeded to tear into font end after taking whole front suspension off found one axle bushing was a little war some one had replace king pins before using plastic bushing. I repaced with brass took to machine shop after 8 phone calls found a shop that could do this. after several days getting wrong parts finally put truck back together took to alignment shop took 8 phone calls to find this shop seems no body works on these front ends any way guy puts truck on rack sets the toe in I came close setting up front end to get it there
proud of that as I have never done this before any way he asked is truck pulling to right I said yes bad he took it for a drive jumped out and said I have a bad tire sure enough left front spun tire could see a bumb around center of tire put new spare tire on ran straight and true. Maybe all along it was just a bad tire???? Wel learned alot truck has all new font suspension including drag link and tie rods this might help some one before they tear there front end down check those tires.

Sometimes the obvious eludes us.... For alignment work on that truck, find an older alignment shop that works on big trucks. Camber is set by bending the I-beams.... Most of the kids in the alignment shops don't have a clue how to do it... I have my own caster/camber gauge and turn plates, don't have to keep educating them anymore!!!!

Thanks Dave the last shop was equiped to bend I beam just hard to find truck is fine know I had to drive close to 30 miles to shop I can't believe I missed that bulge on tire even sitting in back of truck tire looks good the guy at shop said it was a band in tire let loose. Never have heard that before live and learn