Hilux Pickup Rear Axle Out Of Line

[swampdog]

Hello to all,just joined and my first question is prob an easy one...just bought a mkIII pickup and the rear axle is sitting over to the drivers side by about an inch. not a great problem,but i'm very anal about symmetry.Also i,m pretty sure if i get the tracking done whilst it sits like this it will end up crabbing.is it just because the leaf springs are a little bent or worn? or could it be something more sinister?? any info or advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. Gary.

[Vince W]

Hello to all,just joined and my first question is prob an easy one...just bought a mkIII pickup and the rear axle is sitting over to the drivers side by about an inch. not a great problem,but i'm very anal about symmetry.Also i,m pretty sure if i get the tracking done whilst it sits like this it will end up crabbing.is it just because the leaf springs are a little bent or worn? or could it be something more sinister?? any info or advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. Gary.

Hi Gary, me again!

I'm not that familiar with the suspension set-up on the pick-up, but if the axel is shifted to one side it's usually to do with the panhard rod (lateral control rod) If the suspension has been raised, the rod needs to either adjusted (lengthend) or a drop bracket fitted to get it sitting as horizontal as possible.

Hope that helps.

Have a look on here....http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/index.php

It's where I spend most of my time and there's a couple of V8 pick-up guys on there who will be more than happy to answer any questions.

[swampdog]

That's the beauty(or curse)of being cart sprung,there's nothing as complicated as that,just a live axle bolted to two springs.No panard rod at all.(used to have a surf mysef so i know what your on about)i'm 99% sure it's just that the springs are old and have just twisted a little from carrying,or more likely that years of going round roundabouts has caused them to disfigure slightly,as it's nigh on impossible for the axle to slide across as it has seats that locate it in the springs.it was a dumb(ish) question really,just wanted to throw it out there to see what others thought before investing in new springs,as my wallet is a bit like ol' mother hubbard's cupboard right now.(only had the truck 2 weeks,as my swb 3.5 v6 shogun blew a head gasket)cheers for the thought anyhow. Gary