moving front axle forward?

[kunar]

is it really as simple as it looks? the reason i ask, with my 31's, they are awfully close to rubbing in the back, but have plenty of room in the front. so if i'd like to move it a little closer to center in the wheel well. all i was thinking was making a 1/4" spacer (maybe a little more even, maybe like 1/2") to go on the end of the radius arm, to push the whole bean slightly forward. there should be plenty of flex in the axle pivot to compensate for that, and i cant imagine any problems in the axle shafts or drive shaft from that small movement. sound okay or am i crazy?

edit: i've considered fender trimming as well but i think even if i do trim them (and i will sooner or later) i still want to move the axle up just a hair

 

[michowski]

If your wheels arent centered in the well then I would suggest centering them up. Its better to have a longer wheelbase then shorter.

 

[4x4junkie]

I did just that on mine, no problems (infact, it'll help improve the steering ackerman angle slightly as well).

You can move the axle up to about 1 - 1.5" forward before you'll run into clearance issues between the pivot bolt supporting the driverside axle beam and the passengerside axle shaft (you'll want to maintain a minimum of about ½ - ¾" clearance between them).

Be sure to recheck your toe alignment afterward, as it will be way off (toe-out).