Front end shifted, Now with pictures, please help.

[olenmarmcr]

Following a collision with a telephone pole my axle is shifted. Looking at my blazer from the front you can see that my driver side tire sicks out to about the middle of the side mirror. its is pretty far out from under the fender. On the passenger side its under the fender. i have straightened the rear shackles because they were bent but it didn't help. Also my steering wheel is almost upside down and it wont turn all the way to the left. please help, this is my daily driver.
ps... Two body shops agree the frame IS NOT BENT.

Notice how close the shocks are to the springs

Notice how far these ones are

Pictures taken from t-case up

 

[4X4HIGH]

The oil leakage at each side of the front diff leads me to think the tubes have moved which is one problem. The passenger side lower shock mount appears to be bent up as well. I would start by removing/unbolting the sway bar and shocks and see what happens from there (doesn't cost you anything). I would also inspect the frame at the steering box EXTREMELY close as it could be cracked or bent causing your steering wheel to be off that far.

 

[Muddytazz]

My opinion is you snapped the center pins on the springs causing them to shift, hence why your axle shifted.

 

[olenmarmcr]

Thanks alot. when i unbolt them will it move back into place?

 

[4X4HIGH]

As silly as it may seem are you 100% positive that the back spacing on each front wheel is the same?

 

[olenmarmcr]

what do you mean? I know that one wheel is turned in a little, one seeems to be a little further back and that the impact cracked the sterring knuckle.

 

[4X4HIGH]

what do you mean? I know that one wheel is turned in a little, one seeems to be a little further back and that the impact cracked the sterring knuckle.

Ok, you need to fix that before you go any further. A casting will bend long before it break. This could be a GOOD part of your problem.

Back spacing is the distance from the wheel mounting surface to the edge of the rim.

 

[obijuan]

some kid pulled out in front of me and i hit him with my right front tire. sheared my center pin and bent my shackles. also bent the short side toob on the axle.


pulled down the right front frame horn and i got it as close as i could at home.
its not straight though.
my tires are offset just like you showed.

 

[olenmarmcr]

okay, how do i go about fixing it? and thanks a lot for helping me.

 

[olenmarmcr]

Will it be something i could fix myself? or do i need special tools?

 

[Silver84k5]

If its the center pins, you need to unbolt your ubolts, lower the axle away, remove center pins, and replace.... Use two c clamps, or big vise grips, to hold the leaves together when you remove the center pins.

Check your ubolts to make sure they arent bent. or cracked. you may want to replace them.

this pic makes me lean towards busted center pins. for sure

 

[sledheadak]

2nd the broke center pins.you an see a witness mark on the shock body whjere it hit the spring.also could be a bent upper balljoint due to the leaning of thw top of the right tire.

 

[79rustyk10]

I would find a different front axle rather than risk replacing the knuckle, to then find out you have to replace it all anyways. and replacing the pins shouldnt be bad, I would also get new U-bolts if this is a driver.

I have made far too many half assed repairs only to repair them again, better off doing it right the first time.

 

[sweetk30]

my dad slid in country ditch 1 winter snow storm. 10 mph 4x4 nice n slow.

never could get the lf tire to wear even again. prob had bad b/j or bent axle tube.

shortly after i went and got truck and swaped 1tons in it. problem solved i wore them fine. so i know it was the axle or b/j.

and dont reuse ubolts ever.

 

[dune jump]

yeah, in pic 4 of your OP, your passenger side tire looks to have some decent negative camber (solid axle should be neutral), giving the illusion of the axle shifting, I bet you did shear or badly bend your leaf pins, but that knuckle is probably toast. Like has been suggested, swap the front axle out, be way cheaper than buying new parts.

 

[olenmarmcr]

I would just like to thank all of you for your help. So... Thank You! i have a neighbor who has a axle he said i could have so ill swap it and replace the pins and u bolts. One of you suggested ditching the quad shocks, why? is it better with just two and if it is better which do i stick with , the front or back ones?

 

[4X4HIGH]

I would just like to thank all of you for your help. So... Thank You! i have a neighbor who has a axle he said i could have so ill swap it and replace the pins and u bolts. One of you suggested ditching the quad shocks, why? is it better with just two and if it is better which do i stick with , the front or back ones?

You MUST make certain that the axle you get is the same gearing as the axle you remove or VERY BAD things happen.

 

[KansasTwister]

You MUST make certain that the axle you get is the same gearing as the axle you remove or VERY BAD things happen.

Who runs a front driveshaft anymore?


But ya, if you swap axles, you might get the spring packs and shackles as well, and make sure its the correct gearing.

 

[olenmarmcr]

how can you tell the gearing?

 

[4X4HIGH]

how can you tell the gearing?

The ONLY positive way is to pull the cover and count the teeth and divied the ring gear by the pinion gear. This not only allows you to find out what gear ratio but also to inspect for any broken gears or damaged internals.

41/11 = 3.73
41/10 = 4.10
41/9 = 4.56