Rear end alignment question!

[hemiduster]

#-oJust did a rear end swap from a 7 1/4 to an 8 3/4. Got some BBP wheels and tires to throw on and discovered that the passenger side rear wheel is closer to the front of the quarter panel than the drivers side wheel and one wheel sticks out a little further than the other. I am not talking about significant distance more like a 1/4" at most. My thought is to loosen up the u bolts on both sides and try to make the adjustments. Any other suggestions.

 

[340mopar]

You shouldn't be able to move the rearend even if the u-bolts were loosened. The centering pins in the springs and the holes in the spring perch should be a net fit so there is no movement. I have seen this before and not just on Mopars and I attribute it to being a factory manufacturing deviation thing.


Chuck

 

[hemiduster]

Thanks for your reply. I thought about that because I saw someone else on this forum with the same problem but I couldn't find the thread. The only other thought I have is a spacer for the front of the passenger side leaf spring mount to straighten out the rear.

 

[340mopar]

You want the rearend square with the chassis and not get to worried about were the tire ends up in the wheel well. If you space the rearend to center the tire you could make you car track sideways(crab) down the street and you don't want that.


Chuck

 

[daredevil]

measure from front hub center to back axle center on both sides ,openings may be different from patch panel or accident. then measure diagonally front to back to make sure things are square. superstock springs have different spring rates side to side and can give this illusion also.

 

[340mopar]

Daredevil, you want to be careful measuring from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear hub and using only that as a reference because depending on the alignment one front hub could be further back (or forward) than the other and it is quite common for this to happen. It is best to measure to a fixed point on the chassis, like a locating hole on the chassis and use this as a point of reference. Also you should use a point of reference on the suspension and not the wheel or hub because it could be offset in the car which would give you a different measurement from side to side. The best senario is to measure from the spring center pin to a fixed spot on the chassis that is the same on both sides of the chassis.

Chuck

 

[adriver]

:scratch:1/4 inch sounds like something I would even notice.
But I would guess that a standard "four point" alignment would make things work ok.
That's the theory right?
Make the front wheels correct in reference to the thrust angle of the rear.
Just a uneducated guess on my part.:scratch:

 

[hemiduster]

Thanks for the responses, I will take some measurements and go from there.