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-   -   Axle Alignment Question (http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/shop-talk/118409-axle-alignment-question.html)

Wbulk 12-21-2012 05:03 PM

Axle Alignment Question
 
Do 9" rear axles have toe in or are they straight? I strung lines on both sides of my car off the frame to set my front toe, and while I was at it I measured the rear axle and found I had 1/16" toe in on each side. At first I thought I had my four link adjusted wrong so I rechecked everything and sure enough both sides are toed in. Are they supposed to be this way or do I have problems.

Thanks.

Grubby 12-21-2012 05:25 PM

A live axle does not have toe adjustment.

I wonder if the housing was fixtured and welded incorrectly when it was shortened.

1/16" toe in not that much and I wouldn't worry about it.

John

Dwight 12-21-2012 07:10 PM

one company had a twenty year history of welding 9" hub on the rear end out of square. Some as much as 10 degrees. You did not have to measure it, you could see it was out.
I think their guy had a bad Friday every Friday or maybe it was Monday??

Some people think they can weld a hub on without an alignment bar and the bearing will "fix" the problem. NOT so.

Check and make sure your hub are perpendicular to the housing.

Dwight

Wbulk 12-22-2012 03:33 PM

B&B Axle
 
The end result is this housing is bent. I leveled that car, and strung lines on it again with the same results. Just to make sure I checked it with toe plates and it has close to 1/4" total toe in. This thing has been a real pain. I just spent a few days fixing the coil over mounts that B&B made wrong. Then I fixed the caliper brackets that were also made wrong because the pads were hanging over the edge of the rotor, and this car hasn't even been on the road yet.
Does anyone know who can straighten a 9"?

vector1 12-22-2012 03:48 PM

if you have a torch you can heat whatever side of the tube you want to bring in to a red glow, when the metal cools it will pull that side in more than it was previously, you can do this to both sides.

a slight amount of toe in at the rear is not bad, much better than toe out. i would want to be real sure of the toe in before i started messing with things. earlier it was 1/16" per side.

Wbulk 12-22-2012 03:58 PM

No, it's toed in for sure. The toe plates are more accurate. This is one thing I will have to have sent out to have done. I don't have any experience in this area and I don't want to make it worse.

vector1 12-22-2012 06:07 PM

too bad you can't turn the axles 45 degrees and have some nice camber.

joyridin' 12-22-2012 06:51 PM

What is the big deal about a little toe as long as it is equal on both sides? We used to do this all the time on IRS cars. Agreed on the negative camber also.

With that amount of toe, it isn't going to eat tires. The car will probably peel a corner like you won't believe.

Jerry Clayton 12-22-2012 08:54 PM

You may have tweeted it when you welded on it to fix the shock mounts and/or the brake brackets

Wbulk 12-23-2012 04:56 AM

Jerry, actually no. The area I welded was way on the end of the existing bracket, about 4" away from the tube. I think what happened is when I first got the car the metal guy for B&B welded the brackets for the four link way off so it had about 3 deg. negative pinion angle, pointing down. They took the axle back and cut everything off and redid all the brackets. When I got it back one axle would not slid in without force. I called them and told them about it. I should have just sent it back then. Monday I will call Currie and Strange and see what they say.

The area I welded.
http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...65_Medium_.jpg

Jerry Clayton 12-23-2012 08:29 AM

probably time to start over------

However----you could possibly ship just your housing to Strange,Moser,etc and have them cut off the ends and reattach them with a fixture which would correct the misalignment--

I continually see this with housings done by uncaring or the you don't need that crowd---

The housing ends should be the last thing done to a rear end-----

Wbulk 12-23-2012 01:25 PM

Things may be looking up.
Currie Enterprises Racing Rear End Categories

Outwest34au 12-23-2012 02:41 PM

Heat and quench as mentioned. This is all best if you have experimented with it before.

Or, take it to a truck wheel alignement shop who can chain and bend it. They do small adjustments to truck front axles for alignment and they are way tougher than a lil ole 9 inch housing'

vector1 12-30-2012 01:14 PM

if you have spare change laying around....

*Rare* MAGNESIUM DANA 60 • Speed Talk

Wbulk 01-08-2013 04:31 PM

Currie Enterprises Straightening B&B 9" housing
 
I just wanted to do an update on my 9" B&B housing that was toed in. I shipped the housing to Currie Enterprises in Calif. to be straightened. Currie Enterprises - Custom Rearends, Jeep/Off-road Parts, Crate Rearends, 4x4 Rearends

I got a call today from Tom at Currie, and they were able to straighten my housing. Yea !!!! :D. I don't have the total cost yet but I will update this post when I get it.

Tom, from Currie sent me a picture of my housing in their press.
http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...le_Medium_.jpg

Wbulk 01-09-2013 04:18 PM

Lesson Learned
 
1. Anytime you buy a narrowed axle or one that has had major welding on the tubes for brackets and such, from any company, bolt the rotors on the axles and measure between the rotors top and bottom, and front and back. If I had done that when I got it I would have seen the housing was bent 1/4".
2. Be cautious when buying a narrowed or modified axle from a company if modifying axles is not a primary function of the business. They may not have the expertise to insure that it is still straight and they may not even check it before shipping.

Cost Of Learning This Lesson
The first time I pullled the axle was to fix the welded-on caliper brackets that were made wrong, and fix the coil-over mounts that were made too short for the supplied shocks that came with the kit. One edge of the brake pads was hanging over the rotor about 1/4" on both sides. The total time to pull the axle, fabricate and fix these items was approx. 12 hours.
The second time I had to pull this axle was when I found the housing tubes were toed in. Total time to pull the axle and strip it down to a bare housing was 4 hours. Time to build a shipping crate was 1 1/2 hours. Cost of materials for the crate, $23.00. There will be another 4 plus hours to assemble the axle and re-install it.

Cost for shipping to Corona Ca., $69.00. Cost to have the axle straightened and shipped back $115.00.

Total out of pocket $207
Total labor 21.5 hours

Lesson Learned!


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