rear axle offset to passenger side

324 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by mrscullini, 11 d ago

mrscullini

Discussion Starter · 14 d ago

hey guys & gals, need a reality check. after a search of the site and the web, seems this is normal. the tire sticks out about 1" more to the passenger side. never noticed it before, but just installed 1.25" wheel spacers and began to look closer. measuring off the frame rail to the inside of the tire, i have about 1" more on the passenger side. nothing about the rear suspension seems out of wack. normal?

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310z

· #2 · 13 d ago

When you measure from the lowest part of the fender opening on the front of the rear tire to the tire, is the measurement the same on both sides? And then the same measurement from the back of the tire to the fender well. The front measurements should be close to the same and the same for the rears. However, not the same for the front of the tire measurement and the behind the tire measurement the tire is not centered in the wheel well.

If these measurements are not consistent you may have a centering pin on your leaf springs that is broken and has allowed the leaf springs to slip forward and or backward. I found and repaired this issue on a friends truck after it had been to an alignment shop. The truck was scrubbing the front outer left tire badly. The alignment shop told us the thrust alignment was out but that the shop aligned the front axle the the rear. I did not like that answer so I started looking for the cause. I found the right rear tire had moved to the rear about 1 3/4 inch. This caused the truck to crab walk when driving straight all while grinding off the left outer front tire.

I jacked up the truck, placed the hackstands on the frame so the tire was only about 1-2 inches off the ground. Then placed the jack under the axel. Removed the nuts on the U-bolts and lowered the affected side to the ground. Placed all of the leaf springs togather properly with a new center pin and reinstalled everything. Then we took the truck back to the alignment shop and had the alignment done again.

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mrscullini

Discussion Starter · #3 · 13 d ago

310z said:
When you measure from the lowest part of the fender opening on the front of the rear tire to the tire, is the measurement the same on both sides? And then the same measurement from the back of the tire to the fender well. The front measurements should be close to the same and the same for the rears. However, not the same for the front of the tire measurement and the behind the tire measurement the tire is not centered in the wheel well.

If these measurements are not consistent you may have a centering pin on your leaf springs that is broken and has allowed the leaf springs to slip forward and or backward. I found and repaired this issue on a friends truck after it had been to an alignment shop. The truck was scrubbing the front outer left tire badly. The alignment shop told us the thrust alignment was out but that the shop aligned the front axle the the rear. I did not like that answer so I started looking for the cause. I found the right rear tire had moved to the rear about 1 3/4 inch. This caused the truck to crab walk when driving straight all while grinding off the left outer front tire.

I jacked up the truck, placed the hackstands on the frame so the tire was only about 1-2 inches off the ground. Then placed the jack under the axel. Removed the nuts on the U-bolts and lowered the affected side to the ground. Placed all of the leaf springs togather properly with a new center pin and reinstalled everything. Then we took the truck back to the alignment shop and had the alignment done again.

thanks. i'll pull those measurements and report back.

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mrscullini

Discussion Starter · #4 · 13 d ago

the measurements are pretty close to one another. i also measured from the spring perch to the front of the bottom leaf. it is 12" all the way around. this would tell me that the axle has not shifted on the spring pack. visually, it does not look as though the spring packs have shifted. you can see the witness marks from the springs flexing and making contact with one another.

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310z

· #5 · 13 d ago

I have also read that it is common for one side to be slighty farther out than the other. It usually seems to be the right side. It may be related to crankshaft and drive torque however it does not seem consistent across the board but common with leaf springs. The truck I worked on the leaf pack was very visibly the problem and it was an easy fix. Thought my experience might of helped.
I hope you are not hauling that wake board boat to a lake I ski on and messing up my glass?

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mrscullini

Discussion Starter · #6 · 13 d ago

310z said:
I have also read that it is common for one side to be slighty farther out than the other. It usually seems to be the right side. It may be related to crankshaft and drive torque however it does not seem consistent across the board but common with leaf springs. The truck I worked on the leaf pack was very visibly the problem and it was an easy fix. Thought my experience might of helped.
I hope you are not hauling that wake board boat to a lake I ski on and messing up my glass?

i've been reading the same about an offset to the right. your comments certainly helped rule out one possible cause, thanks.

haha on the wake board boat, would never think of messing up a skier's glass 😁

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Bendarrrr

· #7 · 12 d ago

I know I’ve read forums on this before just can’t find the correct ones BUT it’s been discussed and it seems like it’s a common thing with the tundras. If it makes you feel any better I have the same offset AND from drivers side to pass side I have a 2” drop. I had icon 1.5 add a leafs in the back about a year ago and recently started to notice the droop. For the life of me I cannot find anything in the back that would cause it.

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mrscullini

Discussion Starter · #8 · 11 d ago

Bendarrrr said:
I know I’ve read forums on this before just can’t find the correct ones BUT it’s been discussed and it seems like it’s a common thing with the tundras. If it makes you feel any better I have the same offset AND from drivers side to pass side I have a 2” drop. I had icon 1.5 add a leafs in the back about a year ago and recently started to notice the droop. For the life of me I cannot find anything in the back that would cause it.

thanks. the more i searched the web the more i found. seems to be common not only with tundras. i read one post on a forum that suggested it was due to the torque on the driveline under load, just as 310z has suggested. i just struggle to see the enter axle shifting to the left? i can envision axle wrap, but not a lateral shift. i think i'll have my kid stick his head out the window the next time i'm towing the boat.

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