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Upper control arms.

As for the ride height, I can tell you it's pretty low. Springs are old and worn out. In the front end seems like it's kind of low. I was told this just because it does a 6.5 engine and they are extremely heavy but I don't know.
 
Stoney said:
@dbrannon79 I replied passenger side spindle. I got it from junk yard . They pull the parts and delivered it so I can't tell ya what they took it off of ....
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I doubt this is the case, but I have seen (idiots) heat and bend parts on suspensions to get their lowered effects. My daughters husband has a 81 F-150 that the PO had heat and bent the i-beams for what reason IDK, but after he replaced the sagging springs his wheels are both leaning out from the truck. we had no idea this was done until he took it to an alignment shop.
 
I'm with BigT on it, I don't think your upper control arm is bent. I would try and eliminate the lower bushings as being an issue first, then pull the upper off the truck inspecting the bushings and ball joint. knock out the tabs in the holes and see what that gets you.

if you can't get enough adjustment from that, then it will be the eccentric bushings for the control arm to get you a little more movement. that is what I had to do on my drivers side.

This is what I used on my drivers side upper control arm

 
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if you pull both uppers and get the tab knock outs removed, taking it to an alignment shop they shouldn't charge you any extra to adjust camber and caster. at least a good shop shouldn't plus give you the before and after numbers too.
 
Stoney said:
@ak diesel driver I'm not sure if any of the ones on RockAuto are the TTX they don't say anything about it... Is that just a better quality ball joint in the control arm or is the whole control arm made by TTX?? Or is TTX just a brand of mevotek?
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TTX is the higher quality line of mevotech, so you can buy cheap mevotech or better quality mevotech denoted by the TTX labeling. They don't make TTX for all vehicles so if you don't see it listed in the premium section at RA chances are the don't make one for that vehicle.
 
ak diesel driver said:
I bought tierod ends recently and Napa wanted about 3x more than I could get the TTX for
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Your right about Napa prices.They are definitely much more expensive than anyplace else.I have four tie rods and pitman arm which are fleet line on the way for my 96 gmc.One of my tie rods right now won’t accept any grease and the same goes for the new pitman arm I just put on.The pitman arm is the proformer line sold by Napa which is the cheaper line of steering parts but after seeing what the fleet line is about I don’t think I’d switch to anything else even though it’s much more expensive.
 
@dbrannon79 ... just to verify after going back and reading your comments..when you said, "ok the rear are about centered and the front on both are slightly outward for their adjustment. there are a couple of other things to check before making any adjustment. with both tires pointed straight, eyeballing both left and right sides, which looks to have the tire where the top is leaning in? (the problem child)"
You are aware that all those pics are of the passenger side right?? I have not posted any pics from drivers side.. only reason I ask is because the way you worded that comment made me think some were one side and some were other side...
 
Yes I was under the impression the first two pics were the left and right for the rear mount on each control arm and the second set was the front on both sides. my apologizes. from what I saw, one bolt was in or about centered as far as it's adjustment in or out movement, the other was slightly more towards the outside. both still have some adjustment to move them out a bit, but you might see maybe 3/4" to 1" of tire movement with them both fully adjusted outward.

it won't hurt anything for you to jack up that side, support the lower control arm so the spring doesn't give you any unwanted surprises and pull the upper control arm loose from the frame. just take a paint marker or something to mark the position of the washer on both front and back so you can put it back in the same places if needed. you don't need to remove the upper Ball joint from the knuckle other that if you want to inspect it for slop. check to make sure the punchouts are in deed been removed. then if they are still there, remove them.

re-attach the upper control arm to the frame and tighten up the bolts but not fully wrenching down on them. set the wheel back down on the ground and then use a level on the rim (not the tire) up and down to see how much it can be moved. with it on the ground reach back in there and rotate the bolt head (not the nut) until the washer is fully toward the back and the bolt fully toward you on both the front and back of the control arm mounts. get in the truck and roll it back and then fourth about 5-7 feet just so the suspension will settle. get out and look at the level and eyeball the wheels and see if that helped. then go back and make sure the bolts are tight so they won't move.

keep in mind after any adjustments are made on caster or camber. your toe in / out will need to be re-adjusted. a helper is good with this.

I just use a tape measure to get it close. pick a spot in the tire tread that is as close as possible of a straight line all the way around the tire in the tread. use that point and measure to the same point on the other tire about mid ways up both in the front and in the back. take the difference.

you always want to be at ether 0 (dead straight) or at most 1/8" toed in. a much more accurate way is to lift both tires up to spin them. take a rattle can of white paint and paint you a line on the tread while spinning the tire. then take a scribe to the paint while spinning the tire. this will give you an exact straight line on both tires to use for measuring the toe. Just remember before measuring and making any adjustments you need to again roll the truck back and fourth about 5-7 feet so the suspension will settle after jacking the wheels off the ground.
 
Oh ya I almost forgot. when adjusting the toe in your driveway, ether park in some gravel, or if on a slab use some sand between the tires and the slab to make it easier for the tires to turn when moving the tie rod adjustments. and if you want to get fancy, grab four large pieces of card board (pizza boxes) or some sheet metal along with some grease to make a grease sammich for the two front tires to roll up on !!

once your toe is all good. if you need to straighten the steering wheel, just turn the key so it's unlocked. loosen both tie rod adjusters and rotate both left and right the same direction and the same amount of rotation while having you other boss sit in the drivers seat telling you which way to go LOL
 
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