Been to 2 places and I can't get a decent alignment on my 94 Ranger

[19Walt93]

It sounds like you're describing loose front end parts to me. Do they know what to look for on a TIB- radius arm bushings, etc? Any alignment tech should first check the tire pressure, then for loose/worn parts, then the ride height before doing the alignment. My guys always did but we were not flat rate so they didn't have to cut corners to make a living. I would request a printout and that everything be set to the preferred specs- not just "in the green". For example, the toe in could be at max allowable and the camber could be at max positive allowable and both would be "in the green" but the vehicle would chew the outside of the tread right off.

 

[Shran]

Radius arm bushings, pivot bushings and a damaged radius arm crossmember are all really likely problem areas and sometimes not obvious unless an experienced tech look at them. The crossmember in particular is known to crack around the bushings - seen a lot of those. Drove one like that about a block onto a trailer, the driver's side radius arm was completely disconnected from the frame. Owner said it "drove funny", understatement of the century, it was totally out of control, almost undrivable.

In the 80's, F-100s and 150s were known for cracked frames around the steering box. Ranger frame is similar but a lot less prone to that although it should still be inspected.

Checked your cab mounts? Pretty common for them to rot off (maybe not in Vegas) and the bushings to disintegrate.

Steering column shaft? Rag joint ripped? Also very common. Broken leaf spring in the rear? Shackle/spring mount rusted off or broken?

If you've ruled out shocks, your wheel bearings are tight, ball joints tight, tie rod ends tight, alignment in spec, it is almost certainly something else other than an alignment issue.

 

[BrightCalypsoGreen]

No I did not have the tires in the air. Dummy me. I'll give that a try tomorrow if I have time. If not it'll have to wait till next week as I have another project going this weekend. Thx.

Rear suspension very good. No rust, no broken leafs, no bad shackles. The truck sits level/equal side to side. I did adjust the streering box a little tighter. Not much just a little and it did help a little. But the internet has me worried about overtightening that adjustment so I only moved it a little bit and it seems about right. The slightest movement of the steering wheel just starts the tires to turn. Rag joint looks fine. Steering column I think is fine. Not sure what could go wrong with that. Cab mounts? I have no idea. "Radius arm bushings, pivot bushings and a damaged radius arm crossmember" I have not checked because I don't really know what I"m looking for. The truck has 90K miles in Arizona and Nevada. Never been out of this area. No rust to speak of. But the dry heat does a number on rubber (and plastic) things.

 

[SenorNoob]

The pivot bushings are circled in red. One of the Radius arm bushings is circled in blue. The other one would be just of the bottom of the image.

If you can get it jacked up far enough to get the front tires off the ground, it makes looking for loose things really easy. That a pretty tall order without having access to a lift or a 3-ton chain hoist and appropriate framing.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

The pivot bushings are circled in red. One of the Radius arm bushings is circled in blue. The other one would be just of the bottom of the image.

If you can get it jacked up far enough to get the front tires off the ground, it makes looking for loose things really easy. That a pretty tall order without having access to a lift or a 3-ton chain hoist and appropriate farming.

A couple floor jacks under the frame under the cab and some jackstands is how ive done it

 

[BrightCalypsoGreen]

Yes, the one in blue is the one I'm concerned about. I will check them both. Thank you!

 

[Curious Hound]

The pivot bushings are circled in red. One of the Radius arm bushings is circled in blue. The other one would be just of the bottom of the image.

If you can get it jacked up far enough to get the front tires off the ground, it makes looking for loose things really easy. That a pretty tall order without having access to a lift or a 3-ton chain hoist and appropriate framing.

Wow! Not much left of your truck since we last saw it.

 

[SenorNoob]

HAHA...

It's not far off now.. Time for another rebuild. Seriously tho, that's the D35 right after it came out of the 93 (I think) Explorer in Pull-A-Part. It's even still setup for single piston brakes.

 

[BrightCalypsoGreen]

Just an update for those who want to know...

I really made some progress this weekend. First thing I did was add the balancing beads to all 4 tires. I did this because of a vibration at 60mph+. The tires and wheels were purchased together and had dynamic balancing done, but still had this vibration. I put half a bag in to each wheel and it made a big difference on the vibration issue.

I also put it up on jack stands and checked the tie rod ends. They have a little movement. The driver side outer will 'compress' with a pair of huge channel locks about 1/8" maybe 3/16". I think that is worn out. The passenger side outer is about 1/32" of an inch movement. The inners all seem to be fine. Is this normal, that the outers will wear but the inners stay okay? (truck has 90K miles on it.)

The other thing I found was the the hub on the passenger side was not installed correctly. There was a very small gap where it did not fit flush against the rotor. I pulled it and rotated it until the found the spot where it went totally flat/flush with the hub. I think this was a big part of the problem.

So my main questions are on the tie rod ends. They are relatively cheap on Rock Auto, and normally I'd just change all of them, but I have no desire to spend time and money that I don't need to. What's the opinion on that? And it seems everything is made in china now. I can't find where the moog or trw or ac delco, etc are made. Does anyone know of suspension parts that are made in the USA or anyplace other than china?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[rumblecloud]

I think you are right about the hub being a big part of the problem.
Assuming it's still up on the blocks and you want to take care of the tie rods before taking it out for a drive...
If money is an issue, i think I would take it out for a spin and see what you find. To me -- and this is just me, not a perfectionist -- i don't think that 1/8th of an inch is gonna be a big issue. Again. my thoughts.

Doing the tie rods now is also a good idea. Of course you'll have to deal with the alignment regardless unless you're lucky and get the tie rods back into the same position as they came out. Counting the threads/number of turns is ok as long as the new ones are the same as the old ones.

All things considered.... nice work

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Check out jeffs bronco graveyard. I think they sell made in USA tierods and things for these trucks.

I know i ordered a shock mount from them for my 77 F250 and it was every bit as stout as the factory one.

 

[Josh B]

I drove twin I beams in the 70s and 80s on a 73 Econoline one-ton van and it never was hard to drive, even when the bushings got worn and had play from around 270 to 90, it just kept bobbin right along.

When I did get the gumption to tear it down and put new pins and bushings it wasn't complicated either, all I had to get pressed were the king pin bushings.

Afterwards it felt like a new truck all over again with no further alignments necessary, that was one tough truck

 

[BrightCalypsoGreen]

I checked out the Bronco Graveyard but they didn't have some of the parts in stock. I bought the Moog stuff over on Rock Auto. I'll report back when I get it.

 

[RangerRough]

sounds to me like you need to rebuild your front steering, i had the same issues as you. scary as hell to drive and the bump steer was insanely dangerous. I replaced my tie rod ends, my upper and lower ball joints (all MOOG parts, you can buy everything on Amazon for like 30-50% off), 6'' drop pitman arm, I installed a steering stabilizer, steering box, and power steering pump, now my truck drives down my East Texas back roads at 40 mph with 2 fingers, through the potholes and ruts with ease.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

sounds to me like you need to rebuild your front steering, i had the same issues as you. scary as hell to drive and the bump steer was insanely dangerous. I replaced my tie rod ends, my upper and lower ball joints (all MOOG parts, you can buy everything on Amazon for like 30-50% off), 6'' drop pitman arm, I installed a steering stabilizer, steering box, and power steering pump, now my truck drives down my East Texas back roads at 40 mph with 2 fingers, through the potholes and ruts with ease.

Where did you get the steering box and who makes it? I probably need one.