so suspension work ain't my forte and i need some expert advice. just about got the motor sorted out on the new ranchero (1965, 289, early c4, v8 rear, all original car) was taking it down the road on a test run and noticed a lump coming from what seems to be the front driver's side. at low speeds the car moves up and down like it's going over a series of small speed bumps, feels a little like having a flat steel radial on the front left wheel. there is a lot of bumpsteer/play in the wheel too, though i'm under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that this is pretty normal for these cars, so i'm thinking that the up and down movement is unrelated. the suspension is totally stock, 5 lug drums and manual steering. those symptoms ring any bells? anybody had a falcon do this?
bumps that come and go are between the spindle and the ground. Check bearings, lugs & nuts, wheels, tires.
What about shocks? ball joints? frozen A frame inner bushings?,,,If you "bounce" the front end , does it move freely?
You should really shake the whole front end down. I would bet on a loose idler arm, blown out shock or really bad upper control arm bushings. The upper arm bushings are a bit hard to check, but if you see rust coming out of the hex head bushings, they are probably shot. There is a neat replacement kit that uses the new press in type bushings instead of the screw in type. You get a new shaft with the kit. Also look at the tires, make sure you don't have a broken belt if you're running radials. Bob
old tires. my dumb ass has gotten used to posting on this thing rather that actually going out and looking at the car.
a mate of mine has an f350 ford that had a similar problem but in the rear. if the truck sat around for a few days or so and then was driven a short distance it would feel like it had a square wheel!! after a couple of miles it bashed itself back into some form of roundness and was all good till next time. dud tyre
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