Front Suspension

[stewmeat]

While installing new fender flairs I noticed that the driver side tire extends past the fender about 1 1/2" farther than the passenger side. Upon inspection the front springs do lean to one side. The Bronco is a 72 model and drives great. As the suspension moves down the pivot arm does move the axel in the right direction but not enough for the rubber stops to be centered up on the frame.

Is this a major problem that needs to be adressed and how is it corrected.

Thanks

Stewmeat

 

[aqua_wonder]

While installing new fender flairs I noticed that the driver side tire extends past the fender about 1 1/2" farther than the passenger side. Upon inspection the front springs do lean to one side. The Bronco is a 72 model and drives great. As the suspension moves down the pivot arm does move the axel in the right direction but not enough for the rubber stops to be centered up on the frame.
Is this a major problem that needs to be adressed and how is it corrected.

Thanks

Stewmeat

Does the truck have a lift? Does the truck have an adjustable trac bar?

 

[Broncobill78]

Yup, the lift & track-rod questions are right on track. I'd also take the time to inspect the frame. The best measurement is diagionally from one side to the other but side-to-side & front-to-rear measurements are also worth getting. Bottom line here is that it's either in the suspension (you HOPE) or it's in the frame. If the springs are leaning and you have both a lift and the stock track bar then that's the quick & easy answer. Lifting the truck withOUT extending the track rod will cause it to lean like that. An adjustable track rod will fix it as long as the springs haven't taken a set, if they have then you'll need new springs AND the adj. track rod. Hopefully that's all it is and it didn't get whacked real hard at some point in the past. We may have missed something here but I'm reasonably sure S_bolt will have something to say soon enuf so be patient.

 

[Bully Bob]

Hay Stew

If your rig has a lift....(you didn't say) then you need a "track-bar drop bracket" (trac-bar & drag link should be parallel, or close to) This will cure "bump-steer"

You need to move 3/4" so if the drop bracket isn't enough (prob. not)...you'll need the "adj. track-bar" (usually needed with 3" or more lift)

HTH

B

 

[stewmeat]

Hay Stew
If your rig has a lift....(you didn't say) then you need a "track-bar drop bracket" (trac-bar & drag link should be parallel, or close to) This will cure "bump-steer"

You need to move 3/4" so if the drop bracket isn't enough (prob. not)...you'll need the "adj. track-bar" (usually needed with 3" or more lift)

HTH

B

 

[stewmeat]

Thank Guys,

Adjustable track bar is what is need. Lift was put in by previous owner, but looks like he did not make all changes nessasary.

Again thanks for the good advice.

Stewmeat

 

[Broncobill78]

Hay Stew
If your rig has a lift....(you didn't say) then you need a "track-bar drop bracket" (trac-bar & drag link should be parallel, or close to) This will cure "bump-steer"

You need to move 3/4" so if the drop bracket isn't enough (prob. not)...you'll need the "adj. track-bar" (usually needed with 3" or more lift)

HTH

B

That can be an either-OR-issue but every time I've lifted a coil-sprung Ford I used both. The track-rod drop bracket will usually install on the forward drivers-side shock mount (been so long since I saw one that WASN'T a quad shock I forget if the stock shock mounts in front or not /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ) Do yourself a favor and be sure the mounting hardware is in good shape. I installed one once and used washers that were too small. As a result the whole washer/nut combo got sucked into the frame and the resulting play in the front end caused the whole damn thing to be undrivable until I figured out what had gone wrong. Using BOTH the drop bracket and the adjustable track-rod is the way to go because then you're *sure* that you can get the truck sitting straight on the springs again. Coils are terrible for allowing the front end to be pulled off-center so make sure you use every part you can to keep it centered. The track-rod is probably the more important piece to have but the drop-bracket costs maybe $50 so it's silly to not use one