Got my truck back after my crash & somethings still wrong (1 Viewer)

[EDPA]

Well, I got my truck back after 3 weeks of having to drive a Chevy Classic. It was so low to the ground and so soft that I got motion sickness every time I drove it. It was a classic POS is what it was.

So after the initial repair I took it for a post-collision repair inspection. It was pointed out that, despite the frame being laser aligned back into specs the rear axle is still moved over to the passanger side. I got home and took a 3' metal level and placed it against by tires and marked the fender flares on each side. Sure enough there is a 1" difference. The truck drives fine though. I know they loosen the bolts that hold it to the body before straightening it, but could they mis-align it by 1"? Could the rear axle be bent or maybe the control arms?

On a positive note I ordered Outback roller drawers from Christo just before the crash. I installed them today and man are those sweet!!!

 

[Cruisin'Carolina]

Take it back immediately. 1" is too much IMO

 

[Bear80]

sounds like a rear panhard bar problem, check to see if it is bent. Depends on the type of impact, but other than that it could only be the frame is still not straight.

 

[Josh83]

How much lift do you have? The lift will cause your axles to do that.

 

[Darwood]

How much lift do you have? The lift will cause your axles to do that.

What he said. Your axle is going to be off center if you have any kind of lift without addressing the panhard arm. The higher the lift, the more your axle will be off center. The axle will be pulled towards the passengers side in the rear and towards the drivers side in the front.

 

[cruiserdan]

According to the sig line it's got a lift.

Since most people don't do anything about the track-bar (panhard) that's prolly it. It was like that before it got wacked and you never noticed it til after the fact when you "started looking for things" That happens often in post-collision "inspections". stuff that was there all the time gets "discovered" when the vehicle is under the mocroscope when it comes back.

Don't measure from the body, measure from the outside of the frame rail. The body is prolly not exactly centered on the frame. I know mine isn't and it has never been wacked. It's prolly more like 3/4 of an inch off and an adjustable panhard (like Slee offers) can be made 3/8 of an inch longer than stock and you are back in the center.

 

[Riley]

>> axle is going to be off center if you have any kind of lift without addressing the panhard arm <<

So why does this happen and doesn't it cause driveability or tire wear issues?

I guess with a mild lift it's no biggie?

 

[cruiserdan]

It's not that far off at even an inch as it would only be 1/2 inch off-center. In fact, the axles are only perfectly centered in one "sweet spot" no matter what the length of the arms. As the axles travel up and down they move side to side.

 

[Josh83]

>> axle is going to be off center if you have any kind of lift without addressing the panhard arm <<

So why does this happen and doesn't it cause driveability or tire wear issues?

I guess with a mild lift it's no biggie?

If you look under the rig, you will see that the panhard rod is attached to the USPS of the frame and the USDS of the axle(in the rear). This rod is there to locate the axle side to side. As the axle gets further from the frame(by adding lift OR articulating) the rod stays the same lenght. This causes the axle to pull towards the passenger side. Shouldn't cause any issues with tire wear or drivability at any sane lift height.

 

[EDPA]

So I measured the tire space from the frame rail and it is about an inch or so further out on the passenger side compared to the driver side. The lift is the 2.5. The inspecter said it might be the panhard rod but said it should be confirmed by having the rear axle "scribed", whatever that means. The inspecter was also concerned about some rear camber, toe, and thrust angles. They are as follows and BTW the before and actual are the same except for the thrust angle: Cross camber 0.05 degrees, total toe 0.13 in. , thrust angle before 0.46 degrees/after 0.45 degrees.

Thank you all for your input!

 

[ryanjl]

>> axle is going to be off center if you have any kind of lift without addressing the panhard arm <<

So why does this happen and doesn't it cause driveability or tire wear issues?

I guess with a mild lift it's no biggie?

This thread from a couple of months ago exhausted the explanation to death.

Worth reading if you want to know.