1965 to 79 Ford truck 2wd instructions, 5-inch lift
1. Jack up truck and remove front tires and wheels, shocks, brakes, hubs and tie rod ends
2. Remove spindles from the beams, unscrew endcaps and remove the retaining bolt, then knock out the kingpins.
3. If the kingpin is frozen in the beam (a common problem ) try penetrating oil first. A little heat on the beam will usually free the grip on the kingpin. If not you will need a press to get them out.
4. Remove coil springs and large bolt holding the beam and radius arm together.
5. Remove the inner beam pivot bolt from the frame brackets and take out the beam.
6. Remove the radius arm from the original pivot bracket, then remove the pivot bracket by drilling out the rivets and removing existing bolts.
7. Remove the tie rods from the pitman’s arm
8. Now center the steering gear to the wheel by counting the turns full lock to lock and putting the wheel on straight in the exact middle. This is an important step for proper alignment here.
9. Using the following diagram locate the Autofab pivot brackets to the frame as shown.
Note: there are 2 holes on the bottom behind the pivot point on the new bracket. The inside holes usually will line up with the first transmission cross member mounting holes. Having this cross member in place is an important structure now with new pivot brackets.
Assemble the left side beam to the radius arm and into their respective mounting points and cycle the beam up to make sure it clears the pivot bracket for the right side beam. Putting the beam as close to this as possible moves the tire forward in the wheel well and makes for better clearance when turning etc.
reassemble spindles to beams, then brakes, etc onto spindles
IMPORTANT: Before installing tie rods check the steering box for the center. Ford power steering is 4 ¼ turns lock to lock. Come back 2 1/8 turns and make sure your steering wheel is positioned correctly. If not pull the steering wheel and set it straight while in the gearbox center of travel.
Install new adjustable drag link from pitman’s arm to right spindle.
Adjust the drag link to make the right wheel as straight as you can.
Assemble left tie rod to new drag link and left spindle and adjust to fit with the left wheel straight, rough adjust to zero on the toe in keeping the steering wheel centered. The idea here is to have the steering gear perfectly centered while going straight down the road with the steering wheel looking straight.
If you are on a garage floor to set the toe will require rolling the truck back and then forward for at least one turn of the wheel. Do this every time you make a change until your toe is equal front and rear. Let the alignment shop do the final adjustments. Ideally, 1/8” toe-in is used for big tires.
When the toe is right your wheels will not change camber when you roll it forward and back. If a change occurs the toe is still off. It is best to use turntables but in a pinch rolling the truck works.
If the left side tie rod is too long, change the left inner tie rod end using the Moog ES413R or equal, it is about 1″ shorter than the earlier tie rod end and should solve toe adjusting problems.
Install coil springs into the coil bucket rotating into a place where the end of the wire fits into a lump in the bucket.
Install retaining washer and final nut from inside the coil and tighten securely. We shim the coils if necessary under the coil seat. The shims are used to correct for unequal ride height from side to side. this is common with old Ford as the engine is offset in the chassis to the right-hand side almost 2 inches.
You are ready to install the shocks and set the truck down and send it in for alignment now. If any problems occur for your alignment people please have the mechanic call our tech line for advice, 619-562-1740
