Rear Axles are not Aligned

[STrider3]

I was looking at the truck (1980 M35A2) from afar last night and noticed that the rear axles do not line up. The rear most axle is shifted about 4" to the right from the forward axle. It could be that the front rear axle is shifted to the left but it looks more that the rear is shifted right if the steering axle is referenced. Is everything supposed to line up? I would think so. I had a Jeep Cherokee that had the rear tires taking a narrower track than the front tires but this was by design. I

Is this something that I should take to a truck shop to have checked and adjusted? The truck has a case of the jiggles @ 2100 RPM so I know I need something balanced anyway. I am thinking that a trip to Hogan & Sons in Frederick, MD is in my future.

I sure wish I had this on my checklist prior to purchase but this post may cause others to add it to their pre-purchase checklist.

Pictures of my new truck are soon coming. I found the camera cable but have to make them smaller.

I ran out of fuel yesterday.. I will share the story in my next posting.

 

[swbradley1]

I have seen a few trucks like that.

 

[gunboy1656]

I am going to take a guess you made a sharp turn before looking at the axles? Correct. If yes, pull straight forward then check again should be aligned.

 

[dilligaf13]

The axles were designed to "walk" back and forth during turning to lessen stress/prevent binding and breakage. Look at the ends of the leaf springs and you'll notice they have the ability so slide from side to side a few inches. Post some pictures and as long as it's not anything crazy your fine.

 

[spicergear]

You should take one for a drive with the box off and watch those suckers move!!!

 

[dilligaf13]

As far as the "jiggles" I'd start by replacing the front shocks. It's relatively cheap and easy to do. If it doesn't cure the shakes it will at least cut them down a bunch. There are a couple posts on front shocks and the correct part numbers.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/deuce/75322-gabriel-front-shock-number-m35a2.html

 

[big1096]

The axles shift quite a bit when you turn corners. Sometimes they don't get enough time to straighten back out before you park. It's not abnormal.

 

[gringeltaube]

................................
Is this something that I should take to a truck shop to have checked and adjusted?........

Suggestion: start reading here: https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/rear-axle-alignment.43408/#post484056 , then jack tandem up as explained; check it yourself and report back what you found...

G.

 

[FL_Frank]

I had this issue as well on my deuce - specifically that they articulated forward/rearward far too much for the tight clearances required by the 395s. Turned out it was my torque bars wearing - so fairly easy to fix relatively speaking. It does still move side to side a lot, but as mentioned above, just drive the truck straight a bit and they (mostly) line up.

-Frank

 

[STrider3]

I am going to chalk this one up in the "What did you learn at school today?" column. Thank you all. It completely makes sense. I was just out there looking at it and did not readily see where the axles attached but now I know. Go figure. Gotta love the deuce and I do more and more every day. I will continue will my reading lessons now.

 

[dmetalmiki]

Axle Allighnment

Suprised you haven't had the (huge?) "BUMP" ("What HAVE I hit??" ( jumps out in panick , looks..sees nothing!))when you turn/backup tight..makes you really jump if you aren't aware of whats going on!.. The rear axles "allighning themselves". Lube prevents this. But scary if not expecting it...or new to deuces etc.