got the bearings in the hubs (local tyre fitters didn't have a press, but suggested i went to the local independant van hire place, they guy said 'theres the press, go for it' top bloke) so go that sorted, put the hubs together, wheel studs in, couldn't tighten the hubs up properly because i need a C spanner for the lock nuts, put the wheels on, thought i'd better check the alignment...

the axle's not straight. i checked it over and over when i was putting it together, and checked as well as i could.

how much of a problem is 2mm of toe out measured across the wheel rim or 15" wheels?

its a fully floating axle too...

[Edited on 12/1/08 by blakep82]

The wheels are absolutely true aren't they? - just a thought...

It may not be that bad - some people like a bit of toe out at the rear, apparently it helps to get the rear hanging out for corners

Alternatively can you add shims anywhere to adjust it? or failing that bend the axle a bit?

Just thinking out loud really...

Cheers

mark

the wheels are true as far as i can tell, but when you mention it, when the axle had both wheels on the ground it was toe out. when i stood it vertical on its end, i think it seeme to be a bit of negative camber. i may be able to bend it. guess that would need a lot of heat though (the tubes are about 8-9mm thick) can't think of where shims could be placed

Were you welding on the axle? Book style brackets can cause this because heat is only applied to the back of the axle, and it shrinks when cooled, pulling the axle back a bit. Controlling the heat, or running a weld around the front might help bthis.

Dwarf car racers use heat on the top of the axle to gain a couple of degrees of negative camber in a similar way.

the axle was retubed, it also had brackets welded on but they were welded all round the axle, plus some watts link brackets welded on the back (maybe this is where it comes from?)
ypu you think perhaps some heat on the fron my pull it forwards a bit?

Run a horizontal bead of weld along the front edge of the axle tubes, this should distort the tubes just enough to correct. Live axles always have a little toe in built in at production.

i'll have a look at it properly tomorrow to see exactly what its doing. it was too cold today to check properly.

It may just be me being overly worried about it and maybe not measuring properly and worrying too soon

can anyone work out what the toe is? i doubt its as much as 1 degree

Hi if its only 2mm on 15's i would not worry too much especially if its only road use.

However if you are going to try and correct it. You first need to establish whether it's on one side or over both sides. Also do not put the weld along the length it will have to much effect. Just run one weld vertically on the front face to give more toe in and let it cool before re measuring. Only do one at a time .

And the biggest thing to remember is do it slowly and methodically as once you have gone to far trying to re-correct almost always end up with the axle in an S shape and rendered useless

Cheers Matt

lol, just had another look with my dad. identified some of the problem. if corse the locking nuts have loosened a bit because i haven't bent over the locking ring yet. there is a bit of rocking in the wheels. at the moment its showing 5mm camber (the tp of the rims are 5mm closer at the top then the bottom)

so if i tighten the nuts again and lock them, it could be better or worse

ok, i tightened up the nut and bent over the locking tab.

its showing 2mm over 15" (sorry about the different units )

this works out to 0.3 degrees toe out on the back. how does that sound?

also, i can't work out how much each wheel might be out by, would my tyre place be able to check alignment on 2 wheels, or do they need 4 wheels to be able to check properly

Personally I wouldn't bother to even begin to worry about 0.3degrees until I'd driven the car/pickup for a bit and decided I didn't like it. As has been said some prefer a little toe-out at the back.
Certainly wouldn't try to fix it until I'd had it accurately measured on the completed vehicle.