Front axle off set to passenger side

[iamtherealJayy]

I have decided to dedicate this issue to its own thread, since it has really started bothering me more and more not being able to figure it out.
I have a 1987 Chevrolet V20 and the front axle is sitting offset to the passenger side, no big deal except that the passenger side of my trucks stays filthy since the tire is way out of the fender. I have revently replaced the front leaf springs and all new steering(minus ball joints) the truck was off centered before and passenger side sat a couple inches higher than drivers side. The truck still isn’t level and axle is still out passenger side. When I got the truck it had aluminum lift blocks in the front, the passenger side had the alignment pin broke off in the spring perch(woohoo found the problem.. I thought) truck is sitting on pro comp 2.5” lift leaf springs front and 2” steel blocks in rear. I did measurements from brakes to frame in the front and came to a ~2” difference so the axle is offset around an inch. I’ve read several things on other websites about this being a fairly common problem for the front axle to be off center one way or another and it become apparent once you get different tires(I never noticed it until I got 16x10’s with “33x12.5”(it’s in metric like a 305/75/16 or something) the front sway bar is currently not on the truck as when installing front springs I was told removing sway bar could help some. Here’s some photos of currently

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[iamtherealJayy]

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

In my opinion it looks like both sides the leaf springs are bowing to the passenger side. Not sure in all honesty. Would reinstalling the sway bar with drop brackets help center it? It’s been almost two months since I’ve been able to drive the truck. I really miss my truck :’(

 

[Keith Seymore]

Make sure the gap from the fender to the end of the bumper is the same on each side.

One of the things that can happen is the cab can be set on the frame rails crooked (this is especially true with the regular cab, since it is so short in comparison to a crew cab or Blazer/Suburban).

That means the hood, which is attached to the cab, is shooting off to one side. In order to get the hood to look right the radiator support and front fenders get pushed off to that side.

The end result is that you have more tire exposed on one side than the other.

Since the bumper attaches to the frame directly it becomes a convenient place to measure from, to see if your front end is square, or skewed.

It might not be the case with yours specifically, but I've seen it enough times it should be checked.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

The bumper is also off center, but the drivers side fender is tweaked from tires rubbing because the drivers side sat so low. The truck was wrecked in 2004 I believe, so around 18 years since it was wrecked and fixed. On my other thread about having problems with the leaf springs someone mentioned the body could be off centered. I can fit my hand between the fender and bumper on passenger side but cannot on drivers side. Does this sound more like tweaked frame from wreck or the front clip is slid over
Edit: corrected running to rubbing

 

[iamtherealJayy]

If you have any ideas in particular I can go snag photos of anything that stirs your curiosity

 

[Strick]

I've had several of these trucks and the front frame rails get tweaked easily when tugged on. I bent the frame on the last CUCV that I had by pulling wrong on the D-Rings. The photos look like the differential is being pushed toward the right side of the truck as evidenced by the spring twist. If the sheet metal, bumper and hood are all off then I'd suggest getting the frame checked to see if it were out-of-whack. The gear box side is awful prone to cracking as well. I wouldn't be surprised to also find that the rear end was not tracking correctly as well.
Good luck with it, you have a great looking truck and the 87's seem to be "unicorns" as I have not been able to get one in my possession.

Strickland

 

[Redfish]

How important is it really? You have clearly been driving this truck for a while. Someone has been driving it since the 2004 wreck. You just replaced the front leaf springs and a lot of the steering components. It has to be better now than it has been for a long time.

Yes, it would bother me too. If it were a show quality vehicle it would be unacceptable. But it doesn't seem to be adversely affecting the safety of operating it. I would continue trying to figure out what and why but I would think it would be safe to drive for now.

 

[AuroraGirl]

few things
1) put your sway bar on!! sway bars normally are attached to axle and frame, or subframes(usually then rigidly mounted to unibody) and then to struts/control arms/etc and Im not sure about on squares but on a car its under tension when the car is sitting perfectly level and all things are perfect, think a new car. the bar has tension and when there is sway or roll, its going to be working to force that side back down , if you dont have a sway bar on id think its a matter of how level are you sitting on, whats the rear suspension doing , what are tire pressures, how much weight side to side, etc. im thinking a sway bar would be best on there so you know there is something trying to bring it to a "Returned" spot vs now it doesnt have so much that tendancy

2) Are you wheels the same? Hubs? SPindles? Knuckles(from that originally, rather)?

3) Do this visualization after its on flat pavement and everything else is how it should. and aligned. lol. Worry about alignment above looks, once you have everything as it nominally would be for use, then you are aligned, because your eyes truly cant gauge something as being "off" when sometimes its very far off. Its got to do with relation to things around it, how it was made, and expectations

youre looking for a problem atm and youre only going to see it, is what im getting at. get it proper and then revisit. also not all chevy trucks had the same front axle track so do with that as you will

 

[Frankenchevy]

Did you try measuring from the upper ball joint on the knuckle to the frame rather than from the backing plate to the frame?

 

[iamtherealJayy]

I’m all honesty I’m thinking about putting away bar back on but I feel like it’s going to be a pain in the arse since it’s off center but who knows it may pull the axle back over or it may destroy the fram and drop brackets for sway bar. @Frankenchevy ill go do that now

 

[iamtherealJayy]

From ball joint bolt to the spring bump stop is: passenger side~12 drivers side ~11

 

[iamtherealJayy]

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Drivers side bumper fender clearance passenger side bumper fender clearance drivers side leaf spring passenger side leaf spring photo of truck from a distance
My opinion the drivers side is still lower than passenger side. I can measure from top of tire to fender for a base reading.

 

[Frankenchevy]

Is the hole for the centering pin wallered out on either perch? Is the centering pin head on your aftermarket springs smaller than stock? It should be a pretty close fit.

I’d get it on level ground before making any assumptions. By your new measurements, you’re only offset by a half inch in one direction. Perhaps you can loosen everything up, get the front end up on jackstands under the frame, try to massage the axle into a centered position, tighten the u bolts back down, set it straight down on its own weight, then tighten the bolts at the spring eyes.

Another thing to consider…some of the aftermarket spring bushings aren’t a real tight fit. If they aren’t tight into your main eye hanger and the truck is on any kind of slope, the truck may shift a bit.

 

[Nonstop]

Might just be the photos, but it looks like a tire alignment issue. I know you took hard measurements, and the whole front end is legitimately off, but I would consider taking it in for an alignment and have them check it over as well. If your toe is corrected, it might not look so dramatic.

 

[iamtherealJayy]

The spring perched looked fine and I struggled getting it lined up but I figure that was just because of user error, I can get the truck on the flattest ground I can find and loosen everything try and move axle over and retighten. What’s torque spec for: Front leaf spring bolt, rear bolt, ubolt, sway bar to ubolt plate, sway bar to frame mount, lug nuts? I’ve read too many different numbers for all the same part, my tie rod ends and drag link ends are torque to 60 then plus whatever it takes to get the cotter pin in. I read everything from 45-80 so I went 60.