smae

I have a 1995 F150 ext cab 4x4 with the 4.9L. The truck is in the shop currently so I gave the mechanic a set of CC824 springs for the front while he had it up in the air.

He called me today to come look at the alignment with the new springs. He said it is way off, the tires are inward like this \ / he said that the alignment is so off with the new springs that bushings wouldn't correct it enough, and that I would need some kind of brackets and new shocks as well to have the wheels align properly, so I told him to go ahead and put the stock springs back on for now.

This was surprising to me because none of the threads I've read here seemed to imply I would need these extra parts with the 824 springs. Has anyone here had similar issues to mine, and if so what did you do?

clarkbre

The truck needs to settle a bit on the springs prior to making a judgement like that. By nature, the front suspension will tuck under like \ / until it is driven and settled. This doesn't take much (100 yards maybe?). When I installed the cc824's in my pick up the tires were like that. After backing it out of the garage and driveway the tires sat much more straight up and down. After that, different camber bushings (installed by a reputable alignment shop) will do the trick.

How much did the 844's lift the front of the truck anyways? I would imagine you would need 3+ inches of lift to really make it so bad that it couldn't be aligned.

Also, not to bucket mouth your mechanic, but don't listen to him. You go to the doctor when you're sick and a dentist when you're teeth need work. You go to the mechanic for car repair, you go to an alignment shopt to get the steering set perfect.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Your alignment was probably set up for the old springs, which have probably sagged. 822's would bring it back to stock, 824's closer to level (a little higher than stock).
When you raise the frame in relation to the tires (which are still on the ground) it lifts your attachment points and tips the top of the wheels out (camber). You just need an alignment shop to set the camber for the new height. You might want MOOG adjustable upper ball joints if you don't already have them.
Fltdriver will tell you which ones.

smae

thanks for the info guys! I'll just get a different shop that specializes in that kind of thing to install the springs and anything else I might need. there's a reputable shop like that right down the road

fltdriver

You will need a set of , they have the most adjustability (+4-4) for both caster and camber. I got 824's and used the K80109's on both sides, put the springs on and bushings in (set to true zero) myself then took it in and got an alignment printout, adjusted them myself and saved just over half the cost of the alignment. They come with a chart and you just match up the numbers on the printout to the chart and set them accordingly. Now if your toe needs adjusted you might as well just let the shop do the whole thing.

smae

the mechanic still had the moog springs on today, so I told him to drive it around a little. Now only the right wheel is still out of alignment, so he's looking at the moog adjustable bushings. Thanks for the info

Ford 4x4

Beat me to it. I have BDS erratic casters that I bought in case I needed them, which surprisingly I didn't even after the lift was installed.