Rear end 1997 ranger

[Tlee1214]

1997 ford ranger 2.3l 2wd. Hey everyone, so I've noticed something about my truck that is kind of bothering me. Earlier this year I hit a culvert and snapped a leaf spring, which tweaked my axle pretty bad. I had a new leaf put in and everything is ok. But now I've noticed if your standing perfectly behind my truck, and you drew an imaginary line right down the center, the rear diff seems to be slightly to the right. Also the tire sticks out a little more on the right than the left. It still drives fine. Tires are wearing down normally. So my question is can I fix that? Just loosen the rear end and slide it over? Any info would be great. THANKS GUYS! (Sorry for the long post)


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[holyford86]

The diff isn't designed to sit in the center, its off a couple inches by design all the way from 83 to 2012

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[tmcalavy]

Bee dammed..who'd a thunk it? Never noticed the offset before.

 

[Tlee1214]

Alright thanks. Was worried about nothing then


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[Tlee1214]

Does that mean the trans is offset too? Or is the driveshaft angled a little


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[Captain Ledd]

Driveshaft is angled a little. Lots of people make a big deal about it being centered but it doesn't have to be, the angles change all the time during normal driving. U-joints take care of it as part of normal operation.

 

[Mac]

Having a compound angle to the drive shaft nothing to worry about, more to wonder why the one side sticks out more that the other. By how much is the difference?
Dave

 

[Andy D]

A bed that shifted by hitting the culvert ? If the truck tracks OK, fuhgeddabboutit.

 

[adsm08]

It's actually good to have the diff offset to the side a hair. Running u-joints flat is actually bad for them, it lets flat spots form on the rollers. Having drive-line angles lets the joints articulate and get the rollers worked around so they live longer.

 

[Tlee1214]

It sticks out probably 2-3 inches more on the right it's weird. But to be honest I don't know if it were like that before the accident or not.


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