I Think My Blazer May Be Crooked!

[BrianDamage]

I was riding home from work with dude I carpool with and a car in front of us was driving and it looked like the dang thing was driving diagonally! The front end kind of pointed left while the rear pointed right. I'm sure ya'll have seen something similar before.

Anyway, dude said "oh yeah man, I meant to tell you that your Blazer does that!". He said he noticed it the other day driving behing me.

I haven't been able to verify yet, 'cause the wife is out of town and I need someone else to drive it so I can get behind and watch it.

I'm worried because I totaled a guy's car in April and did not think I did any damage to mine.

I have looked and could not tell that there was anything wrong with the frame, but out of curiosity, I measured from the leaf spring clamp to the center of the bolt in the front leaf spring perch and had about 1/2 - 5/8" differance.

I'm just wondering if either the impact from my wreck or something else the previous owners may have done could have shifted the front axle a little? Would that cause this?

I put new tires on a couple of weeks ago, and had them align the front, but the place is really a tire store and not a specialty alignment shop. Just wondering if it would be worth my time and $$$ to have the local alignment shop check it out.

Anybody else experienced this?

 

[heavy4x4]

I'd bet your carpool dude is just being fooled by the fact that the rear axle is narrower than the front.

You see, with him in the driver's seat of a car behind your truck, he's looking down the left side of your truck. He's most likely just seeing the front stick out further than the rear which makes it look like it's "dog-tracking"

Then again, it is possible your truck does dog-track and maybe he isn't just being fooled. Best/only way to tell is to measure from the front tip of the left framerail to the rear tip of the right frame rail, then front of the right to rear of the left (measure the diagonals)...if the measurements are the same...you're fine.

 

[1972Blazer]

You might want to stop by a suspension shop and pick up a few center bolts for your spring packs. I used to work in a suspension shop and had to replace these all the time in lifted 4X4's. They can brake and do exactly what you are refering to. I just had to replace a set in my friends 85 Blazer, we put 32" tires on it and one side was rubbing while the other was good. Pulled it apart and both sides were broken and missaligned. It fixed it, give me a yell and I can walk you through it with a few pointers!

 

[Rolled]

I think AzKicken has 1.5 inch offset blocks for $40 (I think). This can help you straighten it out if it is bent. You should get a members discount as well.

Good luck

 

[4GUNZ4X4Z]

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I'd bet your carpool dude is just being fooled by the fact that the rear axle is narrower than the front

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I have to agree with that. If you find that your truck is "crooked" as suggested above checking the spring center bolts wouldn't hurt. I've broken a few. No big deal to change out.

 

[BrianDamage]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd bet your carpool dude is just being fooled by the fact that the rear axle is narrower than the front

[/ QUOTE ]

I have to agree with that. If you find that your truck is "crooked" as suggested above checking the spring center bolts wouldn't hurt. I've broken a few. No big deal to change out.

[/ QUOTE ]

that's what I'm hoping, 'cause I explained to him about the front axle being a little wider. Now, the car we were behind when this came up, I could see the driver's side front from where I was sitting on the passenger side! /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif


Can I just get under there and look and tell if those pins are broke? I'm not really sure where or what they are.

 

[Shaggy]

<font color="green"> My truck started doglegging at one point, it was a broken centering bolt. If you got in an accident and any of the wheels hit the other car than it's pretty likely that that's the problem. </font>

 

[Can Can]

I'm suprised nobody mentioned that it could be a front end issue, especially seeing that you were recently involved in an accident.

Have you given your front end steering parts a good inspection since the accident? Something may have gotten torqued out of place.