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AAL= Steering issue?

C

Cozmik

Elite Explorer
Joined
February 6, 2008
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City, State
Brentwood Bay, BC
Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 Explorer XLT
:scratch: I have done shackles and a door leaf pack conversion. Bit of a TT and had an alignment done. No problems.

Today I put in an AAL. That's it, no other work/mods etc. When I parked the truck the steering wheel was straight, truck drove straight. Finished the AAL, went for a drive. Steering wheel is ****eyed about 15 degrees to the right and the truck is pulling left. :confused:

Is there any reason that lifting the back a bit more messed up my steering in the front?
 



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Thanks Tbars. I went through that thread. It may weight distribution issue. I need to get some new torsion bolts as mine are maxed out. I only got about 3/4-1" of lift before the bolts maxed out. So now the truck has a definate forward slant. Once I replace the bolts I'll crank the front up another inch and see if that resolves my probem. If not, another alignment is due I guess.

Once you get started it never seems to end....
 






...Just be sure to check the bolts...It was noted in that thread but if they come undone it could be a wild ride...My pulling was caused by the bolts and what looked to be good bushings...The bushings went south when I installed the aal's...;)
 






tbars4 said:
...Just be sure to check the bolts...It was noted in that thread but if they come undone it could be a wild ride...My pulling was caused by the bolts and what looked to be good bushings...The bushings went south when I installed the aal's...;)
Click to expand...

Which bolts?
 






...I'm not all familiar with the second gens but,

...don't you have a bolt running thru your leaf pack???...And did you seperate your pack and install the aal per size of leaf, or did the instructions say something else???...:scratch:
 






Ah yes, the centering pin/bolt. Brand new. Bought new bolts because I had to cut off the old ones to separate the pack. Everything was put back together and torqued to 100lb-ft. I'll check it all over tomorrow to see if anything has come loose. Thanks for the quick responses.
 






...Your welcome and I hope it something simple...;)
 






Me too!!! $5 for 2 new torsion bolts beats the heck out of $80 for an alignment, more if I need caster/camber kit added.
 






I suspect the problem is that something is out of whack with the leaf pack... Either the pin isn't seated properly, or it may even be possible to inadvertently reverse the entire pack... They're not necessarily symmetrical.

If the only thing you changed was adding theAAL, and then the problem started, I doubt it's got anything to do with the torsion bars.
 






gijoecam said:
I suspect the problem is that something is out of whack with the leaf pack... Either the pin isn't seated properly, or it may even be possible to inadvertently reverse the entire pack... They're not necessarily symmetrical.

If the only thing you changed was adding theAAL, and then the problem started, I doubt it's got anything to do with the torsion bars.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. I just went out and checked the leaf pack. None of the leaves have been reversed. The packs are centered on the pins and everything is tight. Before the AAL the front end looked like this- | | , now its more like this / \. (not that extreme an angle but you get the idea).

I don't think anything is wrong with my torsion bars, only that my bolts maxed out at 1" of lift so the front is carrying more weight raked forward like it is. Hence the getting new bolts to lift the front to try and even the weight distribution a bit. And I know I'm going to need another alignment.
 






Unless you have gained a massive amount of lift from the add-a-leaf, the weight transfer to the front isn't as significant as you think.... On the order of 40-50 lbs (I did the calculation once for a 2-door with a 3" rear lift... It wasn't much) That's not enough to cause a negative-camber issue on the front end, and nothing you can do to the rear suspension should affect the front end alignment in any way. Jacking the rear up *may* affect the caster angle slightly, but if it was aligned before the AAL kit, it'll still be aligned after the AAL. A 15 degree angle in the steering and a pull to one side tells me something's amiss on the rear end... it's the only thing you changed, right?
 






That is all I did. Shackles were done in March. TT as well. Had it aligned. Put in the 4 door leaf packs about a month ago. Brought up the back a bit. No change in steering. Added the AAL on Sunday. Took out all the stands etc, lowered the truck, steering is off.

Eye leafs were not removed. Everything else was put back as it was taken out. All leafs are even on both sides, and marks from the little plastic bushings are even matched up from original. As I mentioned earlier, everything is tight and appears centered in the back. I even measured all the leaf spacings etc and they are even on both sides. I'm at a loss.

BTW-I got 2" from the shackles, 1.25" from the leaf packs and 1.5" from the AAL, if it matters. So thats 4.75" in the back and 1" up front. It sits like an old hot rod right now.
 






In answer to my own question- YES!!! If the guy that did the work doesn't seat the axel properly!!!
 






...Got pictures of this mishap???...:popcorn:
 






No I don't.....but I may be able to get some tomorrow. It's absolutely amazing how much your steering can be thrown off with the back axel out only about 1/4" !!!!

It didn't get lined up and they punched a new hole for the pack bolt in the shock mount. Yay!!! At least its a cheap fix. :frustrate

Oh well, I'm selling it anyways....time to get started on the new 05 EB...:burnout: :D
 






tbars4 said:
...I'm not all familiar with the second gens but,

...don't you have a bolt running thru your leaf pack???...And did you seperate your pack and install the aal per size of leaf, or did the instructions say something else???...:scratch:
Click to expand...
And you were right way back when I first posted this problem, so thank you.

I didn't take a really close look until Sunday when I was under the truck pulling out the Aussie. I was looking around at things under there and said to myself " Hey self, why the hell is the driveshaft on a funny angle? "

Then self answered " The diff isn't centered either. I bet the axel is crooked. "

Yup, it is. Passenger side. Bolt comes through about 1/4" farther back than it should.
 






... Im Glad You Safely Found The Problem...:biggthump
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