Point well made, fellas. I guess I will be saving up for the better parts. I kinda figured that was the route to go anyways.

I finished a tie rod job on the 300SD tonight, so I will get it aligned this weekend and start driving that until I can get the money for the F250. I bought quality OEM parts for the 300SD, so it makes sense not to skimp out on the truck, either. I was looking at the Moog parts but I was told the Raybestos stuff was made by Spicer and I assumed it would be better quality. I really don't know but Moog is like the Marlboro of suspension and steering parts, so you know there is always at least some quality when you install them.

 

I think you'll get good stuff on the moog and raybestos as long as it isn't the cheap stuff. The raybestos stuff is spicer but either are good. I agree don't cheap out a grease those suckers. My tie rods have shot boots but i grease them and they have no play what so ever. Though i think i grease fitting just popped of one. Need to fix that.

 

The others are right don't cheap out on the parts. But I have seen worse going down the road. Just yours is the lower gvwr doesn't necessarily mean you have the lighter duty suspension and brakes. I had an early 70s F250 and every time I had to work on brakes or suspension if I didn't get the part for the heaviest 1ton listed for that year when I took it apart I would have to go back to the store for the right part

 

Is there a way to tell which I need? The pictures online all look the same for under 4200 and over 4200. What's the real difference between the two?

 

Obviously something they do cost more. Just go with whats specified for your truck and you should be fine.

 

I haven't driven the truck much lately. I replaced all the tie rods with Moog brand for about $400. I also replaced the adjusters because one looked like it was cross-threaded or damaged. RF tire is almost bald and it is maybe 2 years old. LF tire is not far behind. Both rear tires look great. Mind you these tires are Hancook Dynapros all around, so they are a good brand and deep tread for off road. I still need to get the front end aligned and I will probably do that this weekend.

One thing to watch for is the grease nipples. I had two joints where the supplied nipples did not want to thread in. I picked up an assortment of nipples and found some metric ones fit in well. They had more of a taper than the Moog supplied ones, so they went in fine.

I used two different sized tie rod pullers. The large one I bought and a smaller one I rented. The difference was the gap between the forks. I needed the smaller one to pop out the joint in the steering knuckle. The smaller puller may have and probably would worked just fine for all the other joints as well. I just had already popped the others with the large puller before I rented the smaller one.

 

Those tie rod ends and drag link, are designed to move in the direction you are moving them in order to provide steering at different suspension heights and road conditions. I can’t really tell anything with the camera moving like it is. Don’t test the tie rods this way and do not test them with a pair of channel locks (compression test). I have seen loose or easy moving ends wrongly condemned when they were perfectly fine.
Test these ends once they have been greased, if fitting is available, and by rocking the left or right front wheel from side to side and measuring the free play and checking against specs; this will give you a more accurate measurement. Zero is best.

Here is a quick way to tell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZDZUO0OUsw




http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=KBrTRhEl9_E




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so0vL...1&feature=fvwp

 

Just use a hammer to do tie rods/drag link. I did the axle in two days because of rain. Otherwise I could have done it in one easily, having never done it before.

 

So, the other day I went to Firestone to have an alignment done. The guy said they can't adjust my camber because my ball joints were the OEM factory originals and they didn't have an adjuster. I don't know what that is supposed to mean. Were they Fing with me or what? They did adjust the toe.

He also said that I need to replace my ball joints. I have been getting a serious shake in the cab and steering wheel for a while now. I thought it was bad tie rods like the case was with my car. I am still getting the shaking, though; usually above 50MPH. I have yet to inspect the truck but tonight, I think I am going to jack it up and test for ball joint play. I checked last year and it was fine.

 

I never enjoyed doing alignments back in the day (80's) because I could never make any money doing a proper alignment. On the other side where guys made money there was the saying "Set the toe-n-let her go."
Unless of course, you went in there screaming and yelling; demanding an alignment and after the shop refused to persuade you NOT TO DO THE WORK, and they told you that you were wasting your money, you got an alignment. The dealer/technician should never had performed an alignment with worn parts because when you have worn or damaged parts you must compensate and, with alignments, when you compensate you mast*rbate! On the other hand if all your parts are ok and your camber and caster are within spec's then you are fine.

Caster will not wear tires but MAY affect the steering ability of the vehicle and the "return to center" cancelation when you come out of a turn; it is the forward/rearward tilt of the pivoting axis.

Camber WILL affect tire wear because it is the inward outward tilt of the tire within the pivoting axis. Generally if the lower portion of the tire is outward more than the top the vehicle will handle better in corners because the inertia in the turn causes the tire to roll and when you roll past your tread footprint you lose traction.

If you don’t have any tire wear issues or drivability issues don’t worry about it. IMHO if you replace ball joints that aren’t worn, to pick up camber that isn’t affecting your vehicle you are wasting your money.

1. Check your shocks for dampness (fluid loss), worn mount, or perform a bounce test. For State Inspections back in the day you were supposed to fail shocks if they were damp or the vehicle went 1 full cycle (I believe) after you put your body weight on the corner of the bumper and released.
2. Barring any abnormal tire wear or damage have the tires balanced AFTER you have made sure there is no mud or tar on your wheels.

 

Thanks for your input, you sound very knowledgeable. I do have major tire wear. Both front tires are shot. They are also only a few years old. The right front is pretty much bald and the left front is better but nothing like the tires on the rear wheels. Keep in mind these tires are heavy tread off-road tires load range E.

Steering wheel shakes side to side when I get up past about 50MPH.

 

If you have NON DIRECTIONAL tires you can reverse the rotation by crisscross rotation and ALMOST double the tires life. Also, you cant maintain spec's in turns or especially tight turns and sometimes you can hear the tire squealing in the parking lot (so long rubber, see you new tires) so the harder you corner the faster the tire wears and doesn't necessarily mean your alignment is out. Also, you need to maintain your air pressure for the vehicle. Never exceed maximum! Put chalk lines across the tread and drive the truck around so it will give you your pattern. For tires that are properly fitted on the rim - If the chalk wears on edges; generally under inflation. Wears in the center; generally over inflation. You want the chalk to wear evenly. If the chalk wears off quickly across the tire you have some major tire wear issues or issues with your cornering habits; country roads are very bad.

Additionally, if you reverse the rotation, you reduce the possibility of developing a tire pull due to the crest of the road.

 

Eaton maybe your pivot bushings are shot. on the beams. I know the one on my truck looks pretty shot from what i can see.

 

Good advice to check this.

 

If the pivot bushings are what is pictured in the link below, I will check them out.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...look-like.html