Confused

[sixty9oz]

Does anyone know what would cause the passenger front tire to be about an inch or two farther out than the driver side? They don't look like the camber is off, it looks as though the whole entire thing sticks out. Everything (spindle, hub, bearing, wheel) is tight. It doesn't make any sense.

 

[scotts90ranger]

a previous owner probably ran into something hard enough to bend the radius arm crossmember back which is the only way that could happen, or the radius arm bushing is completely gone...

 

[sixty9oz]

radius arm bushing is new. maybe we did something when installing it. I'll check that. not sure if it was that way before or not didn't think to look.

 

[legoms013]

Are you lifted?

My cheap azz Tuff Country kit did not center the front axle well. The passenger side drop bracket put that side beam about 1" farther out of the fender than the other side and its bracket.

Pics?

 

[sixty9oz]

I have leveling spacers and longer shackles in the back but that's it. I don't have pics right now, but I'll get some as soon as I can.

 

[sixty9oz]

Well, I think I got something figured out. on the passenger side there is 5 1/4" from fender to tire and only 4 1/2" on the drivers side. I looked at my springs and one is turned opposite of the other. It is giving the illusion that one sticks out more, but I believe this is my problem.

Does anyone know which direction the springs are supposed to turn?

Oh, I did check the radius arm and even loosened it up and took the bushing off and re-installed it but it and the arm itself looked fine.

 

[sixty9oz]

no body?

 

[Captain Ledd]

Maybe it was in an accident and they misplaced the passenger bracket? This would be the bracket on the driver side. Does it look like it was replaced?

 

[sixty9oz]

everything is there, we just put one of the springs in backwards but I don't know which one. I looked at both sides and one is turned opposite of the other one.

 

[Captain Ledd]

everything is there, we just put one of the springs in backwards but I don't know which one. I looked at both sides and one is turned opposite of the other one.

Misplaced as in not in the correct location. If it wasn't there your passenger axle beam would be dragging on the ground.

Spring location will not make that side stick out farther. Left/Right positioning of the passenger axle is entirely controlled by the location of that bracket. It'll be over the 4wd differential, just off to the passenger side. 9 o' clock position looking at it from the front, 3 o' clock position looking at it from underneath the truck.

If it was in an accident and bent or broke that bracket, the replacement could be in not exactly the correct spot OR, other things could be bent. For that matter, the passenger side could be fine and the drivers side axle bracket is bent.

There will be a notch in the coil bucket, twist the spring until it hits the side of the bucket. It'll somewhat "screw" in. I'm pretty sure there's even a little pocket for the end of the spring.

 

[sixty9oz]

the axle beams aren't bent all bushings and brackets are fine. In one of my other posts I said that I'm pretty sure it's just an illusion because one side is sitting a little higher than the other making it appear to stick out further because of the angle that it's at. The only thing that I can find is the springs are turned opposite of each other. One nut on the centering pin or whatever you call it (the big stud in the center of the spring on the axle beam) has about an inch of thread showing and the other is just barely showing. I'm pretty sure that's the one that is wrong. As far as I can remember there is no indent for the spring to sit in. I will check again tomorrow.

 

[Captain Ledd]

Oh, I was under the impression this was a horizontal difference not a vertical difference.

Search "Ranger lean", basically because the battery (some later rangers), driver, and gas tank and some other extra parts are all on the driver side they tend to wear out the driver side springs just a little bit faster. Some do it worse than others. So the drivers side has been known to sit low at times.

I also thought you were talking about the coil bucket on the frame. There will be a set of teeth on them that kinda grip the top of the spring. I'm really sure there's a pocket for the end of the spring. At any rate, the spring will twist in only one way (following the helix of the spring), and once it hits the edge of the bucket by the frame, it's in and where it's supposed to be.

Apart from all that, the only thing left is removing/adding a spacer under the spring.

 

[sixty9oz]

I was talking about the coil bucket, and I'm like you thinking I may need something under it. I do have leveling spacers, but they're the same size on both sides so if turning it doesn't help then I'll go get a couple washers and see what happens. I appreciate all your help. I've tried searching for pics for reference, but I can't seem to find any good pics of the springs that I can tell which way it looks. I'll let you know what I find out.