Alignment woes--rear axle problems?!?!

Ok so I've had my torsion bars cranked for a while now (about 7000km lol) and my tires are starting to show it. so i had my new shackles made up and put them on and then scheduled an alignment.

sit on my butt at the dealership for almost 1.5 hours and finally they say its good to go. 120 bucks later and im out the door. Driving down the highway i notice my steering wheel is a little off centered---then i let go of the steering wheel.......whoa--instant lane change (holy pucker factor batman) so i get on the phone and call the dealership up and complain. they say "oh well thats no good, bring her back in tomorrow and we'll see whats up)

So i let them work on it today and the shop foreman does the alignment. after about another 1.5 hours he comes out with this printout:





any ideas what could be up here? my first thoughts are broken axle locating pin, ovalized locating hole.

Oh my !! Has the truck ever been in an accident? I think it's time for a true lift kit. Check locating pins and holes. For the front maybe the torsion bar got screwed up.

WOW! Can cranking the t-bars really do that much damage? I thought it was fine if you had the front end aligned, but it still screws up your tires? I'm definitely not doing it if that is the result. . . . . . Your wheel spacers wouldn't have anything to do with it would they??

well I'm sure that my spacers and torsion bar crank did NOT do this damage--actually i believe they helped me FIND it. i wouldn't have seen it if i didnt get an alignment which i had to get because of the torsion bar crank. no accidents--i bought the truck brand new (15km on her)

drew this up to help everyone understand whats up. the front aligned fine, but the rear is all wacked out. tomorrow if its not raining im going to unbolt my axle and take a look.....



oh and im pretty sure my shackles aren't flexing



well im off to play some good old hockey to get my mind off my troubles....hopefully i can keep her out of the ditch until i figure this out lol

You might start by measuring. Pick a spot on the frame, like crossmember bolts and measure the distance to the rear axle. See how far out it is before you even start to loosen the axle u-bolts.

Isn't your truck still under warranty and did the foreman have any suggestions as to the cause of the problem?

With a proper 4 wheel alignment, the front wheels are aligned to the rears, so it's important to have the axle straight and centered.

Keep us posted.

pm sent chevylover,

did what you suggested just now, (in my boxers, in the rain no less ) and it seems my axle is square to the frame but shifted about .5 inches towards the driver's side.

my truck is technically still under warranty, but i have shackles on the rear so im not sure if its still covered.....i could always put the stock shackles back on i guess..

the foreman said it could be a lot of things, he told me to put it up on jackstands and look for any obvious bends, take a few measurements and such.....i hope this is an easy fix.


hmm what if i were to :gasp: shave down the sleeves in the shackle bushings to shift the axle back over?

I'd like to see a pic of the truck with the shackles. . . You say the tires will wear even after the t-bar crank if it is aligned?

ok heres my album on photobucket-----just puts some new pics on for the shackles. PHOTOBUCKET
even put my design drawing up on there!

How much were/ how tall are those shackles? and are those tires 235/75's?

8.75 total, 6.75 eye to eye. and yup stock tires 235/75/15

quote:

ORIGINAL: sledneck16

8.75 total, 6.75 eye to eye. and yup stock tires 235/75/15

huh? 8.75 total? 6.75 eye to eye? whats that mean... i need dollars and inches...lol what kinda rear lift di dit give you?

I just had a look at your photobucket......nice.
The shackles look like they're very good quality and they certainly should not be a problem.
Did you have a pull before your first visit to the dealer, or you just went in for tire wear.

I almost wonder if their alignment machine is out of calibration, especially after I've seen the measurements that you sent me.

I usually find the most talented people work in small independent shops because they are allowed to think about making vehicle modifications work well, rather than looking at a vehicle and saying they can't make it work because it's outside of factory spec due to modifications.
Actually, I'm sure there are many talented techs working in dealerships, but unfortunatly their hands are tied due to company policies.

Your best bet might be to get the opinion of an independent frame or alignment specialist. The money you spend will be saved in safety and tire life.

Total size=8.75"
Eye to Eye=6.75"

yea 20blazer00 has it

stock size shackles are 4" eye to eye, 6" total---it actually lifted it about an inch and 3/4.

intiailly i took the truck in because i cranked my torsion bars---which was causing the outside of my front tires to wear faster than the rest of the tire---the truck DID NOT pull at all until my first alignment appointment on monday. there was a small shake above say 60km/h but i could let go of the steering wheel for quite a long time and stay straight---now i can go around a few right handed curves in town with no hands.

im off early this afternoon so i'm going to talk to the salesman that sold me the truck and find out the real story---any policies like chevylover said. im trying to minimize my cost here--i find that the mechanics dont really care what the customers think, but because the salesman wants you to buy your next car from him and recommend him to your friends and family, he will try a whole lot more for you.

if he also says that they cant fix it then i will demand my money back for the first alignment (i mean come on, they made it way WORSE than a little bit of tire wear and a shake)

and then take that cash, put half in my pocket and give the rest to a shop that can actually do it right.

one more class today and then im going on a rampage to the dealership

should i ask for them to cover my gas expenses getting there and back 3 times? hahaha

Well im in a really good mood now--i went on a hunch and took my wheel spacers off last night and then dropped my truck off this morning....sadly no rental to beat on because im only 20, but no biggie

i show up back at the dealership and 10 minutes later my truck is pulled up, and the keys are handedd to me. tracks better than new now!! (apparently they were having problems because the wheel spacer moves the pivot point so far from the orignal) so i came home and put my spacers back on, and BINGO!!! still perfect!! (other than the fact that one of tires wore funny--and shakes the rear of my truck now --rotated my wheels in the process-- its KILLER!!

best part is i paid $113 for roughly 6 hours of work (GM rate is 99/hour)



now im off to go play in my straight driving baby

So you have wheel spacers on it or are you talking about your shackles?

Glad you got it fixed up!

I have wheel spacers and shackles on it---I took the wheel spacers off for the alignment and put them back on afterwards.

also I have my new foglights installed now

check it out---NEW FOGLIGHTS!

thanks for the help guys! (vote for chevylover for ROTM!!)