'03 4wd rear axle alinement?

[camp]

Hello all,
Just bought my '03 4wd. It was hit in the pass side rear wheel and bent the axle... wheel, bed, and bumper. I replaced the wheel, axle, bearing, and seal...
I notice that my steering wheel is off center about 20 to 30 degrease. It makes me think the truck is dog tracking... a little, not noticeable from outside...
I'm thinking it pushed or bent the axle housing back a little...
Is there a rear wheel alinement adjustment on that truck..?
Could I loosen the rear spring and move the housing forward a little?
or would a alinement shop be able to adjust it back to spec?
There is no noticeable damage to the axle housing.
Could use a little input here...
Thanks...

 

[RonD]

I would definitely have it checked, usually about $60
There is not a DIY for alignment, the parameters are to precise for tape measures .
They can also set your steering wheel back to center, although 20degs is not bad for a Ford, lol.

You Drive a Chevy, you Herd a Ford.
Ford steering has never been what anyone would call precise

 

[cvar]

Hmm, did your leaf hangers just get bent?

Otherwise, it sounds like your frame is bent. Did you measure it diagonally, each way, and compare the 2 diagonal measurements? If you don't want to straighten the frame, and just want to shift the axle, then ...

First, there's no (factory built) rear alignment mechanism. The front hanger is fixed in place, and the leaf spring front-eye-to-center-pin distance is fixed, and these are what align your rear axle. So you're (normally) beat, except there are 2 kludges you could try:

1. Replace your front hanger with a slightly offset one, whose eye-bolt hole is shifted a bit (to front or back). Easiest done by slightly repositioning the front hanger's 4 mounting holes.

2. Alternatively, rather than repositioning the leaf-spring's center pin, you could take advantage of your 4x4 lift-block alignment pins, and shift the alignment hole in your lift-block by a bit, to make it slightly off-center. This would increase/decrease the front-hanger-to-axle distance on that side.

Why not let a collision shop repair it properly, to make it square again?

 

[camp]

Thanks Guys,
Good info...
Let me soak up the info and take a better look underneath and will get back to you...
I am old and kinda slow to do the work I used to, just bare with me.. lol...

 

[scotts90ranger]

Checking on the rear can be done at home, if everything looks fine, have someone follow behind you and see if it's going crooked...

When I rolled my truck, this happened to the rear leaf hangers:


This was the fix:


You might laugh, but it worked perfectly... and only cost about $25 for the wrench...

If the shackles look straight on yours, and it's doglegging, the frame might be tweaked. The way I actually realized the shackle angles were screwy was the rear axle wasn't centered anymore, easy visual check.

If the rear axle checks out, you can straighten out the steering wheel yourself by turning the tie rod adjustments 1/4 turn at a time in opposite directions (one side one way, the other side the other way), until the wheel is centered, but if it's been in a significant accident getting an alignment wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[cvar]

Scott, what's the Motorcraft P/N on that sexy tailpipe hanger?

 

[scotts90ranger]

lol, that was fixed a while after that: