rear AXLE problem?

[bigjim247365]

so i was giving my X a quick once over today and i noticed that my rear Axle seemed to be shifted over by a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch to the right. i saw that my driver rear tire sticks out less than my passenger rear as if my axle shifted over or something. driving it nothing appears to be wrong so im hoping it just a simple re-alinement or its normal after a PML and swaybar delete. but it is freaking me out a little bit.

any ideas why this is happening?

 

[drbandkgb]

A alignment wouldn't have anything todo with the rear.. Sounds like you may broken axel

 

[bigjim247365]

A alignment wouldn't have anything todo with the rear.. Sounds like you may broken axel

i just looked under there and did a clean sweep of the rear end and test drove it, nothing appears to be bent or broken. i can take my X in to my tech school and have them look at it and see if they can re-aline it. and i didt notice anything when i drove it, even during turns.

 

[granitex]

It will be the leaf springs, and or the alignment pin in the center of the leaf. Could also be a bent shackle, but I would put money on the leaf spring the problem

 

[bigjim247365]

It will be the leaf springs, and or the alignment pin in the center of the leaf. Could also be a bent shackle, but I would put money on the leaf spring the problem

the shackles that are on my X are the big beef 1.5" lift one from 4x4 parts, so they better not be bent. i looked around the U blots and couldnt find any signs of movement on anything that connects to the axle. but i did check the pin underneath. ill go do that right now.

 

[bigjim247365]

im back, couldnt find anything the center that would be and issuse. i also did some mesureing from the U bolt assembly (top and bottom) to the back of the drum brake on each side, and it was even. i couldnt tell if the leafs had a yaw in them or not so that could still be a possible cause. for all i know it could have been like this since i put the pml on cuz i have yet to get an alinement done and i since my family has had this truck since 2004 and i asked my father if hes ever had one done on it before he sold it to me and he doesnt think so. so as far as i know my X has never had one done.

 

[metzican]

There is no alignment for our rear ends. They are the way they are. A shop can't do anything about that. There are hold ontop of the leafpring mount plate on the axle this is where the center pin from the leaf springs sits. then the springs connect to the frame. The only thing I can think of is if you installed one of the shackles backwards so it pushed it to one side. Besides this the only other thing that would make a wheel stick out further is if a axle was broke or popped out.

 

[bigjim247365]

There is no alignment for our rear ends. They are the way they are. A shop can't do anything about that. There are hold ontop of the leafpring mount plate on the axle this is where the center pin from the leaf springs sits. then the springs connect to the frame. The only thing I can think of is if you installed one of the shackles backwards so it pushed it to one side. Besides this the only other thing that would make a wheel stick out further is if a axle was broke or popped out.

hmmm i see. but i do know those shackles are on the right way. the wider top half bolts to the frame and the other to the leafs. as for a axle shaft being broke i didnt see anything strange around the back of the drum mets the houseing. and if it was broken, wouldnt the shaft just walk right out as i drive? i know i have power to both those wheels cuz i felt them both trade power durning the last snow storm here when i was in 2wd.

and its not like as soon as you walked up to my X youd see that the rear wheels where like that, i only notice tonight cuz i was checking to see if my rear was still at the height it was after the PML. you only notice if you stand right over the fender.

 

[NMTerras]

Measure your ride height, frame to ground, front and back both sides. Also check your bump stop gaps. If you cranked the torsion bars unevenly it might squat a little to one side and give the illusion of being offcenter

 

[bigjim247365]

Measure your ride height, frame to ground, front and back both sides. Also check your bump stop gaps. If you cranked the torsion bars unevenly it might squat a little to one side and give the illusion of being offcenter

that reminds me, when did crank the Tbars up the drive side was lower than the passenger before hand. so im hoping what your saying is the case. and will 300lb me driving it that would make happen again lol.

but tomorrow i will measure all that, and if it its not the case ill take it to my tech school soon and we shall figure it out.

 

[metzican]

hmmm i see. but i do know those shackles are on the right way. the wider top half bolts to the frame and the other to the leafs.

I was not saying flipped top to bottom more like spun 180 degrees look down from the top. I was thinking of second gen shackles. Now that I think about it, I think first gens are symmetrical side to side.

 

[Killswitch]

I highly doubt that your axle is off center. It's honestly more likely that you damaged a body mount or something and that the body is not straight above the axle. Because the X is a body on frame, you can't really use the body as a measuring point. Measure from the frame, make sure the axle is centered under the FRAME and you're all good. You're talking about a minimal difference here so I wouldn't be stressing this. I've been wheeling in some really off camber spots and actually had the driveshaft grind against the upright for my gas tank skid because the leaf springs were flexed out and the whole axle and leaf springs were pushed to one side. That same type of off camber spot puts stress on the body mounts so again, just make sure that the axle is centered under the frame, not the body.

 

[Killswitch]

Oh, and yes, it is very possible that you bent a shackle. Seen it happen on more than one occasion.

 

[bigjim247365]

well i now know why my rear end is doing what its doing!
today at tech school, i talked to my techer about my problem, and we brought my X in for a once over type deal. i told him what i put on it and blah blah, and he asked a very important question, "when you put the leaf into the shackle, did you have to fight it to go in becuase it was to far over?" and that was true cuz i remember the the axle moving around on the jack as i was trying to hammer out the old shckles.

so the short and sweet was when everything was all hand bolted on the axle still wanted to stay to the right, and when i torqued everything down that shackles didnt really have any room to straighten itself out between the tightened bolts. and we measured how far my axle was really over and it came out to be less than a 1/4" of and inch of to where its suppost to sit under the frame. its nothing to be to worried about cuz the tires didnt rub when i went welling in october, and i only noticed cuz i was messuring my ride height to see if anything sagged. btw this same thing happened to my teacher in his old yota.

so to fix this, this weekend ill lossen all the shackle bolts to see if the axle gets even with the help of pushing the truck to the right a little bit. but if it donest its something the truck can live with and be ok, its just a pain for me cuz i know its there now.

thank you all for your feedback!

 

[David Boland]

Uhh the truck might live but I don't think the tires will....by the sounds of this the rear axle is sitting at an angle instead of straight? You might not notice driving it but trust me rack up some miles and watch one side of those tires disappear.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bigjim247365]

Uhh the truck might live but I don't think the tires will....by the sounds of this the rear axle is sitting at an angle instead of straight? You might not notice driving it but trust me rack up some miles and watch one side of those tires disappear.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

well im still gonna try to fix it. if any thing the rear is dog tailing only slightly, and if it was bad id see it in the steering wheel. one of my work trucks has the worry dog tailing rear ive ever seen and those tires are fine.

edit: or is it called dog trailing, i dont remember.

 

[David Boland]

Good luck getting it worked out man hopefully it will be quick and easy!

 

[bigjim247365]

Good luck getting it worked out man hopefully it will be quick and easy!

thanks, and i hope so too!.

 

[yellowx16]

did u ever have any luck figuring this out? same exact thing is happening to me. I got about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch more sticking out on the right.