Because of the integral relationship between the tie rod and the steering, if the tie rod end gets damaged or bent, it can affect how your Ford F-series truck trucks. An alignment won't fix the situation whereas replacement of the tie rod ends will. This is something you can do yourself.
Make sure you buy the proper tie rod ends for your Ford F-Series truck. Not only do the tie rod ends vary from model year to model year, they vary for the F-150 through the F-550 Heavy Duty as well. These tie rod ends often come with replacement nuts and cotter pins (think glorified bobby pins).
Loosen the lug nuts of your truck's front tires, but don't remove the tires. Jack your truck up, support it on jack stands, and remove the tires.
Use a wrench to loosen the tie rod end's lock nut and remove it.
Loosen the outer tie-rod end lock nut. On the F-350, use a marker or paint to mark the position of the tie rod near the adjusting sleeve, then take out the cotter pin and remove the castle nut.
Separate the wheel knuckle and the outer tie rod end with a tie rod separator.
Unscrew the tie rod end, keeping track of the number of turns it takes to do so, and write down that number. Take the tie rod end's lock nut off the inner tie rod.
Screw on the lock nut for the tie rod end, then screw on the tie rod end the same number of turns it took to remove the original one (see Section One, Step 5). Tighten the nut to 111 foot pounds. On the F-350, tighten the castle nut as well as the jam nut to 56 to 84 foot pounds. For the two wheeled drive F-350, tighten them to 85 foot pounds.
Put on the outer tie rod lock nut, and tighten it to 76 foot pounds.
Repeat Sections One and Two for the other tie rod end, then reinstall the tires. Tighten the lug nuts for the F-150 to 150 foot pounds, and the F-250 and 350 to 165 foot pounds. Get your Ford F-Series truck aligned.
