Tire shake

[LA350]

I have a shake in my front end when doing 65-70 once I break the 70 mark it calms down. But while doing that speed the shifter shakes and my passenger side fold-back seat shakes pretty good. It feels like it is coming from the right from like it is out of balance.

I stopped @ a tire joint near the job and they told me they couldn't do much as they didn't have a spindle large enough to handle the rim they told me the tire was cupping and showing some other signs of wear, but it didn't look to be out of round. Then they told me to take it to a truck stop to have it looked at, and rotate the tires.

I need to have the front end aligned too as it pulls to the right pretty good. I guess my Bro-in-law messed it up when he had it who knows.

Any suggestions? What would an average price to expect for an alignement?

Thanks!

 

[icanfixall]

Very few tire shops have an alignment rig big enough for our trucks. If you have a single cab maybe but the crewcabs can't be handled easily. Roataing the tires will help but you may still have the problem up front. Check the brake caliper sliders. If they are not free the caliper will stick and the brakes on that side will drag causing tire and pad wear. It also could be the brake hose to that wheel. Somwtimes they go bad but its on the inside wear you can't see it. Maybe change the on the next brake job. Something to start you off..

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Maybe they have a really crappy tire balancer. I was balancing dually wheels in the early 90's with no problems. They have to mount the wheel with the tire away from the machine, and they may have to bypass the hood safety if the hood will not close all the way.

Most likely the tire wear is causing the tire to go out of balance. Once that happens it starts cupping. First thing you need to have the front end checked for worn parts. The Ford Twin I beam is very robust and once it is in alignment, it will not change except for parts wear (and wrecking the truck).

Now this is important - most shops will not want to fool with doing a proper alignment. They will want to set toe-in and that's it. You need a shop / technician that knows how to work with Ford's caster/ camber bushings. You WILL need to spend substantially more to have it done right.

Most modern alignment machines have printers attached. Let them know up front that you will require a before and after printout of the alignment, and that them being paid is conditional on the two printouts and that the alignment be done close to optimum (not just "in spec" which is for checking, not setting alignments).

Alignment specs

Camber Optimum .5* +- .5*
Caster min 1.0*
Caster max 4.5*
Total toe optimum .06* +- .25*
Camber split optimum .0* +- .4*
Caster split optimum -.5* +- .4*

Camber and toe in are critical and affect tire wear. Caster does not affect tire wear except when sides are uneven and a pull is induced.