Another skyjacker question...

[yyc_tbird_sc]

Yes, I have done some searching and could not find the answer.

I've finally finished up with my rebuild after an accident this summer and done installing a Skyjacker 4" lift kit, but I've got a problem with the wheelbase now. The passenger side is 3/4" shorter than the drivers side (verified by the body shop when they were done straightening everything).

I did some inspecting and the only thing I can come up with is that the radius arms weren't assembled correctly. And here's why:
Drivers side radius arm measured from the curved washer to where the first weld is:

And the passengers side same thing:

Sorry, was trying to balance tape measure and camera at the same time. From what I can gather, there is about a 1/2" difference side-to-side. Has anyone else run into this problem?

 

[rickcdewitt]

that body shop should have been able to say which of your wheels has the set back,front or rear,left or right.in the back you can loosen the u bolts and get a little some times.you can also loosen the big bolts that hold the radius arms to the beam and move it a little as well,or shim the radius arm bushing.my 91 has been in 3 rear ender's(only one time was 50% my fault,i rear ended a van full of crack head mexicans in an illegal van with no brake lights who fled the scene to get rid of their drugs,the previous owner hit someone and i had a dumb chicken head rear end me while waiting for preschoolers to cross a crosswalk) and bent the frame pretty good.i don't know how bent your frame was but these trucks are pretty forgiving as far as alignment since the suspension doesn't attach until 2 feet back on the frame.i hope its a radius arm but watch out for shoddy work by the frame shop(i ought to know i work at one).they should be able to tell you where the problem is unless they pulled that lame excuse"its lifted now so it can't align"-that just means they ran out of time to work on it or they don't know much about your truck.they don't work mostly on honda's do they?

 

[metalmacguyver]

dont try to measure it like that. measure the whole length of the arm to common points. dont use welds as reference points because they are not exactly the same. it is very likely that when the arms were being made, the forward parts were not exactly the same so when the part with the bushing is added and welded in, they are made to exactly the correct length at that point.

i dont know what exactly what the problem could be though.

 

[yyc_tbird_sc]

Thanks for the replies guys, I did not base all my measurements on just where the welds are located but rather I took about 4-5 measurments on both sides from different places along the suspension. The front passenger side is 3/4" towards the back of the truck. Everything else is right dead on.

I was at the body shop when he was finishing up working on the frame and I trust the work that he did. He said that there should be no problem aligning even with the lift.

If it was just out, I'd shim the radius arm forward, but there is not enough thread on the radius arm in order to do so. So....I guess I'll be pulling it apart and see what I can find.

 

[rickcdewitt]

you might be time and money ahead if you take it back to your frame guy and let him look at it before you go and tear it apart.