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Help with rear end

Help with rear end
A

alabamaboy54

Jeeper
Posts
191
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Location
Alabama
Vehicle(s)
1985 cj-7.
258 I6
T-176 w/ D300
D30/AMC20
My jeep has been wandering all around the road and after checking all the normal things (tie rods, ball joints, toe-in and such, I had an alignment shop put it on a computer and they said that the rear end wasnt following the front end like it should. I pulled the tires and brake drums off and i can grab the middle part, (the hub?) like where the studs are and i can physically move it about 1/4 in in and out from drivers to passenger side. Both sides move in the same way. Is this normal? if not any suggestions on what might be wrong?
 
Measure the distance from the front hubs to the rear hubs on both sides. Are they the same??
somehow I don't think the 1/4 inch is what they are looking at.:D
 
That is your axle shafts that's normal for an older axle what your shop is talking about is as IOPORT suggests is to make sure the axles are parallel with each other
 
the shop really didnt tell me anything other than the fact that the rear end wasnt tracking right. They didnt suggest any culprits or reasons for it. I will measure the distances between the hubs as mentioned and post back. And its probably slightly less than 1/4 in but not much.
 
I dont know about your axle but most are held in by c clips and they will move in and out a little.

I'm guessing your shackles are worn out. Take a look at those bushings.
 
I actually just installed a lift and new shackles (no lift in the shackles), so it has new bushings. But apparently this is a common issue now that ive done some homework so im going to leave it be for now and plan a future 1 piece axle upgrade
 
alabamaboy54 said:
I actually just installed a lift and new shackles (no lift in the shackles), so it has new bushings.
Click to expand...
Was it doing this before the lift? How big a lift?
 
Maybe your rear end is not anchored to the leaf spring properly and one side has moved forward or backward. If one of the rear spring center pins is sheared or not in position, your rear end will not track straight. (It will DOG TRACK). Have you ever watched a dog walk away and his butt is off to one side.

An earlier post suggested you measure from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear hub. This is what the machine at the alignment shop did and it came up with a problem. It will be very hard for you to do this at home because you would have to have your front tires perfectly straight to get an accurate measurement. The other possibility is that your rear end is bent. If that is the case, only one tire is tracking wrong.

Did you get a print-out from the alignment shop. They know what the problem is. Maybe they could explain it better for you.
 
Yes it was doing this before the lift. We were told that a new lift with new bushings might fix the problem, it is a 4in lift, with new bushings, drop pitman, shocks. and new stock length shackles.
 
It appears that only one tire is off, looking at the print out sheet from the shop. I believe the "pins" you are talking about might be sheared are the ones that the spring pack settles into? If so, they are good on both sides. And the shop basically said, you have a problem, but we dont know what to tell you so good luck.
 
Does the jeep track to one side as you let off the gas and then track the other way when you give it some gas? If so the u bolts on the rear leaf springs may be loose. I had that problem with I got my CJ and another member recently had that issue on another thread.

Otherwise it sounds like your jeep is dogtracking. This is what Jeffgtoman is saying.

jeffgtoman said:
Maybe your rear end is not anchored to the leaf spring properly and one side has moved forward or backward. If one of the rear spring center pins is sheared or not in position, your rear end will not track straight. (It will DOG TRACK). Have you ever watched a dog walk away and his butt is off to one side.

An earlier post suggested you measure from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear hub. This is what the machine at the alignment shop did and it came up with a problem. It will be very hard for you to do this at home because you would have to have your front tires perfectly straight to get an accurate measurement. The other possibility is that your rear end is bent. If that is the case, only one tire is tracking wrong.
Click to expand...

Sometimes this isn't noticeable by the driver but have someone drive a car behind you. If your jeep is dogtracking the rear tires won't follow exactly behind the front tires. This is caused by the rear end being out of alignment. Some vhicles need a 4 wheel alignment. Not the CJ. The rear end of the CJ is not adjustable but if you replaced the springs it is possible one side of the rear axle is farther forward than the other.
 
This thing goes both ways whether im on the gas or not. There is no particular way direction, just whichever way it wants to go at that very moment.It does appear that only one tire is off, as yall refered to as "dog tracking". So is a bent axle the only cause of this and a solution simply swapping axles? or is there another option i could check before i spend that money on a new axle to still have the problem
 
why don't you try having a friend drive it and you follow along behind? I am a bit disappointed that the mechanic couldn't tell you more about what your problem is and even have a possible solution.:cool:
I think I would have another talk with him.:D


alabamaboy54 said:
This thing goes both ways whether im on the gas or not. There is no particular way direction, just whichever way it wants to go at that very moment.It does appear that only one tire is off, as yall refered to as "dog tracking". So is a bent axle the only cause of this and a solution simply swapping axles? or is there another option i could check before i spend that money on a new axle to still have the problem
Click to expand...
 
If your jeep is dog tracking it doesn't mean the rear axle is bent. It means it is at an angle. I sometimes see old pickups that have been abused dogtrack down the highway. Sometimes it is caused by one rear leaf spring that is bent. As jeffgtoman said it could be the center pin is sheared. Since you have a new lift these 2 possibilities are not too likely. It could be the front bushings of the leaf springs or some other problem with the installation of the lift.
Take a look at this picture:
dogtracking.jpg

Since the rear axle is at an angle the front compensates by having the steering turned slightly to the side and you go down the highway at a slight angle.
We are not sure this is your problem. To make sure drive down a highway or other strait road and have someone follow you. Ask if your rear is tracking to the side slightly.
The rear tires should follow exactly in the tracks of the front when you drive strait.
 
Last edited:
I will try to do a follow along tomorrow, but honestly this thing wanders so much i doubt anyone will be able to get a good look because of the constant side to side motions. and i could be wrong but i do not believe it is a problem with the bushings in the spring or a problem installing the lift because it was doing this even before the kits was installed, we were told that new springs and bushings might fix it but it here we still are.
 
IOPort51 said:
why don't you try having a friend drive it and you follow along behind? I am a bit disappointed that the mechanic couldn't tell you more about what your problem is and even have a possible solution.:cool:
I think I would have another talk with him.:D
Click to expand...
Ive actually taken it to two shops as well as having a friend who builds old cj's from the ground up check it out. None of them can tell me anything, nor can they tell me anyone around here who has a good deal of knowledge in the area that might be able to help. In addition to following behind the jeep and watching it, i have arranged to have the friend who builds cj's drive it this week and see if he has any new suggestions.
 
did they say the camber and castor were good on the front axle
??:cool:
 
alabamaboy54 said:
honestly this thing wanders so much i doubt anyone will be able to get a good look because of the constant side to side motions. and i could be wrong but i do not believe it is a problem with the bushings in the spring or a problem installing the lift because it was doing this even before the kits was installed, we were told that new springs and bushings might fix it but it here we still are.
Click to expand...
You're right. This no longer sounds like a dog tracking problem.


IOPort51 said:
did they say the camber and castor were good on the front axle
??:cool:
Click to expand...
Now IO may be on to something. Tell us more about the front axle. Is it original? Did it come off another 4x4?
Were all the suspension bushings replaced?

EDIT: And shackles! Bad shackles or bushings can cause this!
 
The axle is the original Dana 30 to the jeep, the shackles were replaced when i installed the lift as well. The shop said my castor angle was slightly low but it was still good, but i do plan on putting a 2degree shim on each side in a few days. I was informed that the castor angle might be a problem so i decided to install the shims, but i was told that the rear end was still another problem area in addition to the front end. I found the print out from the shop and in the rear end, the toe for the drivers side tire in the back is .31 degree, while the passenger side is 0. I never noticed this before, but that doesnt sound good.
 
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