[gmpt444epsd]

i was just wondering if this is a common issue with these trucks. last summer i got an alingment but now my tires are wearing down again in the same way along the outside of the tread. and you can definately tell the tires are angled out when it sitting or driving down the road. could it be that the springs are getting old. i do have 223,xxx miles on the truck now but the truck has never towed on a regular basis till i bought it. and im only pulling 3k pounds. the rear doesnt squat at all when i hitch up or load the bed. i do also have 2 extra leaves on each side in rear and one extra each side in front. any suggestions?
thanks
geoff

 

[BurnedBronco]

they do wear out and cose problems, but most of the time its balljoints that casue the lean..........

 

[CascarFan]

Mine was doing the same thing when it was new. I took it into a heavy truck spring & alignment shop and they setup the eccentrics on the front end and haven't had a problem since! Make sure you take it to someone that knows what they're doing!

I'm not sure of the proper terminology, but there's different bushings or whatever they're called that they pop in on the top ball joints. This sets the camber.

I'd have to take a look at mine to be sure but I think I have negative camber, if you were to look at my truck from the front when it's empty the front tires look something like this now. // -- \\

 

[gmpt444epsd]

thats exactly how my tires sit now. they are wearing uneven and they "were" new but not any more. i asked because when i rebuilt my enegine this summer i took it out, but when the engine was out the tires sat like this: \\==// so i figured that maybe the engine weight has just worn them out. any idea how long it takes to chagne out front springs and cost?
thanks
geoff

 

[CascarFan]

[ QUOTE ]
thats exactly how my tires sit now.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm headed out the door for diner, so I'll take a look at the truck to make sure that's how they're setup. I'd say 60% of my driving is hauling the trailer around, although I've got probably 1000# in the box (generator, spare, wood for leveling), even when I'm driving around empty.

If your toe or your castor is out, that'll cause uneven tread wear too. Wouldn't hurt to take it in for a front end alignment maybe?

 

[PSDan000]

gotta love the TTB for this one

 

[BurnedBronco]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

If your toe or your castor is out, that'll cause uneven tread wear too.

[/ QUOTE ]
Caster is a NON tire wearing angle........

 

[NickKent]

Dude, it you are going to keep your truck until it rust away on you, bite the bullet and find a Dana 60 and put it in. I wish I had done it in mine. On my truck I put in 2-3" axle drop brackets and F350 springs. Also replaced rear axle spacer blocks with F350 spacer blocks. I paid to have this done my a spring place, and with an alignment I spent $1500.00. Granted the Dana 60 is going to probably cost you that, but if you do the work yourself, it won't be too bad. Plus, I don't know a soul who has regretted swapping out for a Dana 60. My axle works ok, but it has sagged a little over three years, and I still have to deal with balljoints every couple of years.

 

[Soaggydogg]

My springs arched and sagged differently side to side and caused alignment issues. I would say springs were $300-400 for the pair. Doesn't take long at all but being an Ohio truck I replaced the bolts which are a special metric hard to find, dealer only. So have them ordered.

 

[daveUza]

geoff , my 250 has no issues with the wheels with 328 K . my brother who owned it before me added a leaf and some shims , if you are interested in the exact thing he did PM me i will see if he remembers the exact procedure. but like I said he did it when it was at about 150k so it has worked for 150k and sits real nice ...on edit i should mention it also had a big plow on it which is another reason he did all the work to straighten the front out..

 

[gmpt444epsd]

so do you guys think it would be worth it to get the springs cause i got an alingment last summer right before i got my tires but obviously its not in alingment and i dont want to spend another 300 if it snot going to fix the problem.
thanks for the input
geoff

 

[daveUza]

geoff, not sure ..i will get the details on what was done to mine , it rides hard though .

 

[gmpt444epsd]

well is that a good kind of hard? i think when i go over the speed bumps in my dads neighborhood my front end hits the bump stops, so myabe i do need new springs.
thanks
geoff

 

[Pat_T]

You need new shocks not springs, if you're hitting the bump stops your shocks are worn out, worn shocks will also cause tire wear.

You may also want to look into bushing replacement, I just did it on mine and it made a huge difference. The pivots are a PITA, but the springs are easy. I also did the ball joints on one side so all in all the truck went up about 2" in the front. You can get all the bushings for about $100.

If I had the money though I would definately yank out the D50 and put in a D60.

 

[Kev]

[ QUOTE ]
and you can definately tell the tires are angled out when it sitting or driving down the road.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dana 50 I-Beam in front?

I had that piece of crap under my 97' and forever will hate it. It sounds like your leaf packs are SHOT...the problem probably really shows itself if you back the truck up at all.

Fix it for good = Dana 60 and still new springs

Fix it for now = New spring packs or have them re-sprung. If you like a lift on your truck then this is a good chance for you to purchase a nice suspension lift and change the packs out entirely.

I learned you can align that thing till your blue in the face, won't do ANY good until those packs are resprung or replaced.

 

[psu927]

you guys have a problem with tires angled out? Mine angle slightly in, unless the wheel it turned, then say if I turn to the right, the right tire angles out. Straight they angle in though.