2001 Dodge 2500 Rear Axle Alignment

[craneop]

My truck is a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500, Cummins Diesel, 4x4.I am having an issue with truck wanting to steer to the right. Replaced all the front end components (Big $$$) and then had the front-end aligned at a local shop. The tech there told me everything was perfect in the front end, however the rear axle is 1/4" front-to-rear out of alignment and that he is not allowed to do anything to the rear axle because its non-adjustable. He asked me if the truck had been in a wreck (no), and if I had done much pulling (yes). I have pulled sevral trailers cross country with this truck.So I drove the truck home, looked at it real good, I can't see anything wrong or broken. Is it possible the axle has shifted 1/4" by itself from pulling or hitting a pothole or something? Is there a procedure, measurments, etc to go by to fix this problem, or some surefire way to reconize damaged parts that might be causing this issue? I don't really want to start taking stuff apart back there till I'm sure I have an idea what I'm doing.Any help or sugestions appreciated. I'm stumped!

[JAG1]

Do you have a 2 inch leveling kit on it? Also is the wheel at 12 O' Clock on a straight hiway? Make sure the front wheels are the same distance out from the fender just above the wheels. In other words, the front axle is centered when the truck is unloaded.The alignment shop could mean out a quarter inch side to side and isn't centered .Just to throw in some ideas.... mine steers perfect btw. ' Knock on wood'

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

one thing is a sheered spring perch alignment pin.

[Rogan]

As Randy stated, the rear axle is a fixed mounting location. The leaf springs are fixed, and the axle blocks are pinned to the leafs and axle. The only way a rear axle could be out of alignment would be by:A. Pinion angle off, due to broken/soft spring packB. Incorrect angle of axle blocks (aftermarket cheapos)C. Incorrect seating of, or broken alignment pinsD. Tweaked framerails (this would have much more visual symptoms)does the truck "dog-walk" down the road when driving straight? In other words, does the rear track to one side or the other? Even with a properly aligned front end, the 'dog-walking' wouldn't really make it pull to one side, it'll just put the steering off-center, unless it's really bad.An easy test of checking 'dog-walk' is to wet down the driveway or street with water, and drive through it as straight as possible, then look at the water trails from the tires onto the dry surface, and see if they are relatively on par, or offset.

[flagmanruss]

Worn or damaged bushings in the rear leaf springs? Loose rivets where rear spring mounts to the frame? Damage to rear sway bars? (added to loose bushings). Have someone follow you down the road & observe how the rear tracks. You have probably checked for broken leaf springs. I had a bunch of cracked leafs in my C30.

[craneop]

As Randy stated, the rear axle is a fixed mounting location. The leaf springs are fixed, and the axle blocks are pinned to the leafs and axle. The only way a rear axle could be out of alignment would be by: A. Pinion angle off, due to broken/soft spring pack B. Incorrect angle of axle blocks (aftermarket cheapos) C. Incorrect seating of, or broken alignment pins D. Tweaked framerails (this would have much more visual symptoms) does the truck "dog-walk" down the road when driving straight? In other words, does the rear track to one side or the other? Even with a properly aligned front end, the 'dog-walking' wouldn't really make it pull to one side, it'll just put the steering off-center, unless it's really bad. An easy test of checking 'dog-walk' is to wet down the driveway or street with water, and drive through it as straight as possible, then look at the water trails from the tires onto the dry surface, and see if they are relatively on par, or offset.

Its winter here in Alaska right now so the wetting down the driveway won't work for right now. The tech at the frontend shop told me that basically, YES, the truck is dog walking, though I've never looked at it myself. He said the way the rear axle was positioned, that the backend was steering to the left, forcing the truck to steer to the right. No broken springs that I can tell, and they don't appear to be soft either. both sides seem equal. The axle seems to be centered, equal tire sticking out both sides. Truck has never been in a wreck so framerail damage seems to be eliminated. How can I check the alignment pin? Where is it at? Can I check it without taking everything apart?

[JAG1]

They make an adjustable front trac bar to center the front axle. I would say you need one to center the front because not so much the rear is out as the front not centered.

[craneop]

Worn or damaged bushings in the rear leaf springs? Loose rivets where rear spring mounts to the frame? Damage to rear sway bars? (added to loose bushings). Have someone follow you down the road & observe how the rear tracks. You have probably checked for broken leaf springs. I had a bunch of cracked leafs in my C30.

No broken springs. No movement in the rivets. The smaller left and right parts of the swaybar system have movement to them. I'm not sure how mus is OK, but the larger part of the swaybar that goes to each side underneath the differential seems pretty solid. The end bushings at the springs seem OK, but I really wouldn't know just by looking unless there was somthing really obvious. Is there a test I can do to check the bushings?

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one thing is a sheered spring perch alignment pin.

What will I have to do to check for a sheared alignment pin?

- - - Updated - - -

By the way guys, thanks for all the input and suggestions. I'm sure one of them is going to be the culprit. Sure is a pain right now though. My backend often feels like its going to come around to the left when I'm on icy roads, especially if in a slight right hand turn. Its not me either cause I have other pickups and they dont handle the same way. Brand new tires too!

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

to check sheared pin you would need to disassemble the axle from the spring perch and pack, you could take a measurement from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear hub and see which is off. my bet is the left will be either closer or further out the the passenger side length. the axle isnt so much pushed out left or right but rather not perpendicular to the frame.

[Yankneck696]

A VERY remote possibility id that the axle tube may have rotated. Check where the tubes go into the differential housing to see if they might have spun. It should be obvious. The most likely culprit is worn spring bushings.Ed

[craneop]

As Randy stated, the rear axle is a fixed mounting location. The leaf springs are fixed, and the axle blocks are pinned to the leafs and axle. The only way a rear axle could be out of alignment would be by: A. Pinion angle off, due to broken/soft spring pack B. Incorrect angle of axle blocks (aftermarket cheapos) C. Incorrect seating of, or broken alignment pins D. Tweaked framerails (this would have much more visual symptoms) does the truck "dog-walk" down the road when driving straight? In other words, does the rear track to one side or the other? Even with a properly aligned front end, the 'dog-walking' wouldn't really make it pull to one side, it'll just put the steering off-center, unless it's really bad. An easy test of checking 'dog-walk' is to wet down the driveway or street with water, and drive through it as straight as possible, then look at the water trails from the tires onto the dry surface, and see if they are relatively on par, or offset.

If truck does not dogwalk, could problem be bad steering stabalizer?

[Rogan]

If it doesn't dogwalk, then it isn't crooked. The pull could be tires, drag, something. An SS won't cause pull but will allow bump steer .Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[Wild and Free]

For starters if your rear axle was that far off it would be wearing the rear tires in a similar manner as the front will do when out of alignment. Second the best way to check all the rear suspension is at full droop meaning jack up the back end and put stands under the frame so the rear axle is completely off the ground and hanging free and then you can get a healthy prybar into all the areas which move like spring shackles ect.One thing most forget with the second gen which I have owned 3 of is the caster adjustment, if the alignment shops set it to specs it is not enough have them max out the caster cams on the front axles, usually they set the caster to 3.5 +- degrees when the second gens need at least 4.5 or more, the more they can get the better it will track straighter and not wander as much, I always just max them out my self and tell the alignment shops to keep it there and set it so there is about .5 of a degree more on the passenger side to account for road crown. Usually the factory caster adjustment cams will only get it to 4-5 degrees.Another question is it a combination of both sides equaling 1/4 inch or is one side off that much? That is not enough to make a noticable difference in my book.

[Rogan]

i did forget about the high caster setting.. :banghead:However, on W&Fs tire wear comment: If the rear axle is 'crooked', it'll wear both tires on the same edge. It'll hang the butt of the truck out to one side (dog-walk). This will hang out to the side that has the furthest back tire. The tires will wear the edge to the opposite..What I mean is, if the passenger tire is 1/4" forward, the tail of the truck will hang to the driver's side. This will wear the right-side edges of the tire, as the forward motion is to naturally want to pull them back over. You'll also have to compensate with a left steering input to counteract this pull and keep it in a somewhat straight line.

[JAG1]

For starters if your rear axle was that far off it would be wearing the rear tires in a similar manner as the front will do when out of alignment. Second the best way to check all the rear suspension is at full droop meaning jack up the back end and put stands under the frame so the rear axle is completely off the ground and hanging free and then you can get a healthy prybar into all the areas which move like spring shackles ect. One thing most forget with the second gen which I have owned 3 of is the caster adjustment, if the alignment shops set it to specs it is not enough have them max out the caster cams on the front axles, usually they set the caster to 3.5 +- degrees when the second gens need at least 4.5 or more, the more they can get the better it will track straighter and not wander as much, I always just max them out my self and tell the alignment shops to keep it there and set it so there is about .5 of a degree more on the passenger side to account for road crown. Usually the factory caster adjustment cams will only get it to 4-5 degrees. Another question is it a combination of both sides equaling 1/4 inch or is one side off that much? That is not enough to make a noticable difference in my book.

IMHO.... This post needs to be a Sticky:thumb1:

[flagmanruss]

I'd not sure but I think we've been here before with front end techs who are book smart but short on hands on experience. Sometimes the book is wrong. Perhaps is has to do with the heavy engine option.

[Wild and Free]

I'd not sure but I think we've been here before with front end techs who are book smart but short on hands on experience. Sometimes the book is wrong. Perhaps is has to do with the heavy engine option.

Don't know why Dodge set them so low in the first place, most cars and especially imports have a TON of caster.

Like I said the more caster the better but we are limited with the amount the factory caster cams will allow. The only way to get more is to go with the MOOG adjustable upper ball joints.

Just to be clear here also, you can max out the caster cams yourself and it IS NOT BAD for the alignment, it will not cause tire wear with the little bit we have to work with, no need for an alignment shop to be involved, I always maxed them out and then if for any reason needed an alignment check had them fine tune to get the extra .5 degree on the passenger side. 100% gaurantee you will be impressed at how little of an adjustment makes on wander.

On a side note take some time and get some good penetrating lube on the cams as they are usually stuck from corosion or rust, it takes time and patience to get them to break loose for the first time, for those in the rust belt it may be worth while to take the lower control arms off and just get new cams and bushings, might even have to torch them out.

[Junkman]

I bought a "lifetime alignment" from Firestone so I could run the truck on the machine with impunity - for free. The only negative is that the tech want to "toe & go" regardless of how it steers. I now have them print the specs, drive the truck then take it back the next day until they get it right.Confirm with Professor Google what settings cause a vehicle to steer 1 way or another so you're conversant with the details.For example, Caster will pull to the side with the least caster. Caster is NOT a wear item. Increasing caster causes the vehicle to steer straight ahead. Too much caster causes it to be more difficult to turn.Camber is a wear item and will pull to the side with the most negative camber.SO WHAT???You can use these adjustments to know which way the truck "should" pull and to correct a pull.If truck pulls to the right, check the current alignment settings. They will usually confirm that the truck is simply acting as expected. Now have the tech dial in more caster on the Right side (or less on the left) to compensate. You can adjust it yourself once you know what the current settings are because caster is a non wear item and doesn't cause any other settings to change. Mine seems to be best with ~ 3* of caster & 0 toe. Camber is not adjustable on the Ram unless you have adjustable ball joints. Adjustable ball joints are a ROYAL pita to get right and most techs won't bother or will charge a lot. Go with stock ball joints unless you have a reason to get the adjustable. They are NOT an upgrade.Use caster to compensate for camber pull or pull caused by a mis-aligned rear axle. It MAY be that you have some worn bushings or the truck took a hit. I'm going to make sure ALL parts including bushings are refurbished next Spring.

[MoparFreak1988]

If you see salt up there (dumb question) I'd bet bushings are your problem. I put a new set of leaf springs in last year cause one broke. I found all the bushings were bad (like bolts seized to bushings bad) one side took a gas torch and 6 hours to do. If you have a press, can source the bushings and are a little crazy you can replace the bushings without putting in a new spring pack. idk for shure the shackles are available from a dealer for 50 dollars a piece or thuren fab sells a pair for 270 but they only fit 3 inch springs and you get 3 heigth options one being stock. If its bushings you should hear something clunking back there. Also the drivers side forward spring eye bolt cant be removed without dropping the fuel tank.