has anyone out there replaced their front coil springs? i just got a diagnosis from the garage that a badly needed front alignment would be impossible until i replaced the coil springs. the drivers side is the only problem area ( because of bad toe the inside of the new tire is bald- and they wouldn't be able to put i beam spacers enough to correct it unless that got done). i didn't know if you would need a hardware kit etc., also....? thanks

 

The diagnosis sounds kind of fishy, is the ride height way off side to side or very low compared to a stock truck?


What year truck do you have?

Did they give you a print out of the alignment check?

 

well let me first say that i am by no means an expert on the ford i beam suspension. i have gathered over the years from those who know more than i do about it that you have washers that are inserted to give you the 'toe' adjustment. the tech showed me what he was saying with the truck on the rack and i had no reason to mistrust him. but this is why i posted the question in the suspension section- to see if anyone had some experience similar to my own. the passenger side front tire has worn as close to even as i could ask ( i had put almost new tires-about 5K on them about 10K miles ago). but the drivers side could not be worse- the inside 20% or so of that tire is nearly showing the metal on the other side. and too- to look it over-as i did 3 years ago when i bought it- there seems no doubt that most of the entire front suspension is factory original.

 

as an update i have been checking the raybestos brand coil set but am waiting to hear back from my email to customer service. i asked them whether they make a set for my truck since they list their sets by wheelbase- and mine is the big one-125.

 

Without the year of the truck that I asked you for it is impossible to try and help you.

Generally speaking all ford Rangers that i know of have a factory TOE adjustment which is done with the tie rod ends, some Rangers with a I beam suspension would not have a camber or caster adjustment.

When a camber or caster adjustment is needed to make up for bent or fatigued suspension parts a bushing is installed with a offset hole in that allows for some adjustment potential. ( this is what you may be referring to as a washer ).

To better help you we need the year of your truck what size engine if it is a 2 or 4wd.

A printout of the thrust angle alignment can also help us diagnose the problem.

The only reason to replace the springs for an alignment is if the ride height is off.

So have you measured the ride height to confirm there is a difference from side to side? and do you know for sure the rear springs are also not different from side to side?

Again this sounds fishy but I think something is not being translated properly from your mechanic to us.

 

sorry-gave my data when i posted in general tech and was just sure here also.....95 model 4x4- 3.0V6. havent measured but feel certain that the drivers side front is lower-definitely visible at about 10 feet. also know the infamous rear spring shackles were replaced prior to my purchase from previous owner.

 

also just read nathan cairns post of week ago with the same sagging driver side-although the guess on his is something on the rear. not sure what else could cause the sagging and the resulting uneven tire wear on one corner like this-other than the spring being severely worn. i should mention also that the previous owner had put one of those one inch spacers inside each front coil spring. i didnt discover it for a year or so after purchase. another heads up that i need to insert from my other post in suspension tech- the drivers front stabilizer bar link is broken and i have been able to determine that this accounts for part of the sagging.

 

You do not want to bring it back to the alignment shop with the ride height off.

Get the measurements so you have a base line to know exactly how far off the truck is.

 

let me see here, you brought the truck in for a front end alignment and the shop sent you packing because you would not buy springs and have them installed. yet they did not mention the broken end link?

Why would you not mention a known broken suspension part when you have a suspension question?

Better yet why is the link still broken? get your before ride height measurements then replace both end links and re measure the ride height.

If your ride height is still off replace the springs.


If you do not want to wait until you replace the end links to know if you need springs just remove the passenger side end link and re measure the ride height to see if the truck levels out.

 

just to be clear i mentioned the broken link beforehand and they noted and listed it in the diagnosis as well. i do think they failed to appreciate the difference in height when you lifted up on drivers front until the mount holes lined up to the broken link. i will take it elsewhere but have noticed there are fewer and fewer shops that invest in the equipment to do these alignments. thanks for the help.

 

I re read this entire thread and there is no mention from you about the broken sway bar link.

I suggest before taking the truck anywhere for anything replace the sway bar links and bushings, check the air pressure in the tires,then measure the ride height.

When your confident the ride height is correct or at least even side to side, then get a thrust angle alignment insist on getting a before and after printout, with these readings we can tell if your alignment was done properly.

BTW to find the thread you created about your shocks and broken sway bar link I had to search your user name for post by you.

Please do not assume because you posted one or one hundred threads that we know you or your truck it takes many post and or threads by you for us to get to know you and your truck especially with a generic user name like yours.

I feel your pain about automotive shops of today, even if they have the proper equipment they rarely have qualified and caring technicians willing to do their job properly.

Most shops that provide alignments today will only do a Toe and go alignment because the technicians or the shop do not get paid enough to try and tweak caster and camber adjustments even if the vehicle has the capability to get these parameters adjusted.

I am lucky enough to have Weber wheel alignment, All they do is suspension work and wheel alignment yet to get a proper 4 wheel alignment on my Wife's old HHR they wanted $300 plus shims and labor to install the shims for the rear if needed.

While this sounds expensive I can say it is well worth the cost If it is done properly.

I worked as a Automotive technician for years and to get a good alignment done is time consuming and requires information from that is rarely provided by the customer or service writer, unless there is repeat comebacks on the alignment.

For example in the late 80's I did a standard 4 corner shock replacement 4 tires and thrust angle alignment on a fairly new at the time Monte Carlo.

I took my time I got the before and after printout showing a perfect alignment all parameters adjusted and the road test was perfect even the steering wheel was nice and straight.

The customers picked up the car and came back a few weeks later with worn tires and they were mad as hell. ( rightfully so )

I rechecked the alignment and even re road tested the car, I found nothing wrong with it at all.

At that point I knew I had to speak with the customer in person, To my shock and awe both the owner and his wife had to be 500 to 600 pounds each!!

Yet with the customers weighing this much neither the Shop owner or service writer felt the need to inform me which would have dramatically changed the way I did the alignment and road test.

When we had heavy customers or customers that carried a lot of weight we used sand bags to simulate the weight to get a proper alignment without this added weight we had a snow ***** chance in hell of getting a good alignment

My point to this is we had a good shop and good procedures in place to get quality work done yet the work load caused the service writer to forget to pass on important information.