truck sitting crooked after axle snapped

[BigDaddyDupree]

well im new to the site but i figured i would ask the question. well on the 7th of last month we took the truck out to play with it and it was the first time shooting the truck. it did good the first time but the bottle was getting low so i got it up to pressure and did it again. it lost a tenth still spinning. well the last pass with a new bottle and this is what happened

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT4rELoP9vM

well luckily i didnt hit the wall but the stock rear couldnt take it. so now it has a 9 inch with 33 spline mosers spool 4.11's and disk brakes. the truck has slapper bars and has never 60 footed that great honestly and now it spun on motor that time out. with a high 1.7 60 foot. so i got the truck all back together and now the drivers side corner is sitting down an inch lower then the passenger side. so i figured it bent the leaf spring. put new ones in. and its the same. 1" difference from side to side. whats the deal? has anyone else had this problem? the shackle doesent seem to be bent.


For what it matters my setup is a stock 5.3 with a small cam and a carb intake turbo 350 with a 4000 nitrous converter and with 3.42 and 28 inch drag radials it went a 7.80 on motor and spun and went a 7.3 on gas. put both of those were spinning it could do better on both if i got the suspension right.

[01XtremeLT1]

what I do not understand is it landed on the driver side. so I would figure it would be higher on the driver side than the passenger side from the impact.

[Diabolical]

You need to measure and see if everything is square.. (In an x pattern)
If you get under the truck you will see some rivets under the frame by the bed mount
closest to the cab.. Use that for your first reference..
Second one.. Use the end of the frame rails closest to the end of the bed..

Plus.. find somewhere level to park and measure from the floor to your front cab mounts
on both sided..
Then check the same at the rear cab mounts.. then the front bed mounts.. finally the rear bed mounts..

The frame rails could be twisted from that hit..

[BigDaddyDupree]

so you think that could bend the frame? it was a hard hit i guess but i mean the frames must not be too sturdy if thats all it takes to bend them

[Diabolical]

Trust me.. it don't take much at all to bend them.

[BigDaddyDupree]

well if it comes down to that which i think it will. what can be done? take it to a frame shop and get it straightened out or will that always be a weak link

[jameskirk1]

Do you still have the stock fuel tank? Were is your battery? How is weight distributed in your truck? Any preload on the bars? May have always been that way and you just now noticed it????

[Diabolical]

Its very easy.. remove the bed.. a little heat and maybe a gusset..
Stronger than new!

[Diabolical]

May have always been that way and you just now noticed it????

Mine was over 3/4 out of square when I got it..

[jameskirk1]

Could be a bad shock...might be a shackle bent and in a bind...just sayin :D

[wikd]

when you look at the vid once the truck comes to a stop you can see a noticeable bed warp... watch the passenger side bed rail and you will see what im getting at... that was a hard smack on both sides... watch when it first comes down before the spin... comes down and the passenger side kicks up... that is a violent twist motion and that is what could have tweeked the frame...

it only takes a little bit of a tweek to add up to a whole lot of difference in how it sits...

[406shark]

Nice to see that you were alone on the track. That could have been much worse if someone was along side you.

Good luck on finding your problem.


Jeff

[lxtasy]

I got $100 to buy it from ya. I might even through in a s10racer shirt too :D

[01XtremeLT1]

he won't need the s10 racer t-shirt cause he will no longer have an s10.

If you give me $50 and a signed title I can tow it off your property. :) Then I can put an LT1 in it and make it faster. :)

[lxtasy]

he won't need the s10 racer t-shirt cause he will no longer have an s10.

If you give me $50 and a signed title I can tow it off your property. :) Then I can put an LT1 in it and make it faster. :)

Yea I would let him keep the ls motor too. No need to have a boat anchor

[434 smallblock]

That little hit wasnt enough to tweak the rear of that truck that bad. I do body work for a living it takes more to bend the rear than the front I promise you that,I spent many years on a frame machine. My truck sits a little lower on one side the body is tweaked from years of abuse my truck looks a little lower on the drivers side and I can adjust the height on my truck and it still seems lower,thats my 2 cents

[BigDaddyDupree]

well i have swapped everything back and it is still crooked. the body lines on the drivers side used to be straight as an arrow now they dont line up

[Diabolical]

Measure/inspect your body mounts.. They have been known to collapse or even rust through.

[BigDaddyDupree]

i went to a body shop this morning and he told me i should put the fron of the truck on level jackstands and measure the rear. he says it is prolley a bent spring or something in the front and he has seen the video and told me how lucky i was. haha. but i will be doing that tonight when iu get out of class

[BOUTTIME]

Just a quick note and I'm sure you know this, but make sure when you put it on jack stands its in the same spot on both sides and not under the lower control arms,....I bet you find it to be a bent spring,...doesnt take much to change one inch in the rear,......

[lxtasy]

how would a bent spring up front cause the 1" lean in the rear ? especially if the front is the same? I am lost

[BigDaddyDupree]

the front is an inch higher on the passenger side and the rear is an inch lower on the driver side

[lxtasy]

Get a new frame lol

[FastMilk]

Damn Good driving first off. I will have to agree with lxtasy your frame is jared so try to find a frame or a body shop with a frame machine and see if they can get it back to level and get them to weld in some braces so it will stay straight...Good Luck ..

[BOUTTIME]

Hell, just build ya a frame like this and it wont bend,....lol
http://www.s10racer.com/board/picture.php?albumid=98&pictureid=1702

[Mark @ Hammerhead Racing]

hell, just build ya a frame like this and it wont bend,....lol
http://www.s10racer.com/board/picture.php?albumid=98&pictureid=1702



sfi 25.4?

[BigDaddyDupree]

well it seems to be a coil bound up on the front of the truck i got the front frame rails on jack stands and the rear is level. so ill be tearing in the front tomorrow

[Diabolical]

Thats good news!

[BOUTTIME]

sfi 25.4?

Yes sir, that would be the one!!

[BigDaddyDupree]

tore into the front just to find all original front end parts so i replaced them with moogs and some tubular uppers. i swapped coil springs from side to side. but i think the problem was in the passenger side upper control arm, the bushing was all bound up and you could barely move it up and down. truck is dead level now. ready for a new best!!!

[xten]

Nice piece of drivin, BDD! That's good you got it straightened out and it wasn't bent. Those S-10 frames are a s.o.b. to pull back when they bend It takes alot to bend one, and they're pretty springy. Mine isn't boxed and it twists pretty bad on launch.Frame still bases and measures,but the body don't like it much. I've noticed it doesn't fit together as well as it used to! lol. Good luck on the new best.

[01XtremeLT1]

good to hear everything is back together and level again. Now get back to the track and rack up some new best's