alignment issues?

[dougdodgeman]

I have 2 trucks that I wanted to have the alignment checked on them since neither 1 drives particularly straight down the road without constantly wandering back and forth across the lane. One is an '08 5500 4x4 w/18,000 miles and the other is an '09 4500 4x4 w/7500 miles. Both trucks have the mud and snow Goodyears and have 12' platform dump beds w/ 12" sideboards. The '09 drives the worse of the 2 and seems to get worse the more weight we are carrying. We equipted both trucks in our shop, starting with cab and chassis. I've had both trucks to my preferred independent 4x4 shop for alignment checks and the results are similar. Both trucks have different caster readings from side to side, with no way to adjust like my 3500 has. Both trucks have had regular tire rotations around 5,000 miles and don't seem to wear the tires any more than expected for the tire design and use of the truck. Tire pressures are kept near max inflation all the time and have not been experimented with. Has anyone else had any experiences along these lines? My alignment guy is unaware of any way to adjust caster without potentelly using adjustable ball joints, which I've never had good luck with, nor do either truck need.

 

[RVTRKN]

I can't speak for the 4500/5500 (look at sig) but I know from experience that Ford Vans in the 250 or 350 front ends are not adjustable, and when you load it to the actual working weight, the Camber is out of alignment, and you have to install an adjustable type if you don't want to keep going through tires every 25K miles like my work van did, until I had it done. The reason why Ford did that, knowing your going to add weight to it, is beyond my thinking. But then again, its what I would expect from a Ford. My 3500 C&C front end seems solid and is a dream to drive considering it weighs empty at 9. 5K and was ordered with HD front springs and the stiffer rear leaf spring setup than a regular 3500.

 

[HBarlow]

I have 2 trucks that I wanted to have the alignment checked on them since neither 1 drives particularly straight down the road without constantly wandering back and forth across the lane. One is an '08 5500 4x4 w/18,000 miles and the other is an '09 4500 4x4 w/7500 miles. Both trucks have the mud and snow Goodyears and have 12' platform dump beds w/ 12" sideboards. The '09 drives the worse of the 2 and seems to get worse the more weight we are carrying. We equipted both trucks in our shop, starting with cab and chassis. I've had both trucks to my preferred independent 4x4 shop for alignment checks and the results are similar. Both trucks have different caster readings from side to side, with no way to adjust like my 3500 has. Both trucks have had regular tire rotations around 5,000 miles and don't seem to wear the tires any more than expected for the tire design and use of the truck. Tire pressures are kept near max inflation all the time and have not been experimented with. Has anyone else had any experiences along these lines? My alignment guy is unaware of any way to adjust caster without potentelly using adjustable ball joints, which I've never had good luck with, nor do either truck need.

I don't have anything useful to say about front end alignments on our trucks so haven't commented.

I did, however, notice back in late 2007 when the 4500/5500 trucks first hit dealer's lots that all of them had the same problem. I was excited about buying a new 4500 back then and hurried to a dealer that sold them to inspect and drive the brand new 4500s. I drove three or four of them at different dealers over a period of several weeks. All the 4500s I drove squirmed all over the road requiring constant steering correction.

I figured, at the time, that part of the problem was due to having no weight on the rear wheels. These were stripped chassis cabs without aftermarket beds or loads. But I also thought another part of the problem was the stiff 19. 5" wheels and tires.

The squirrelly handling, rough ride, and 76 mph speed governor scared me away from the 4500s. I didn't think I could handle one as an unloaded daily driver for the advantages they offer when towing a heavy trailer. I ordered a 3500.