Rear Toe Question

[MikeP1976]

Attached is my current alignment printout , is there any way for me to balance out that rear Toe ? I have all adjustable control arms and track bars , I'm just not sure which direction I should be going and approximately how far.....

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[Kevin_D]

Ummm...
It's a solid, non-steer axle.
How are you going to adjust the toe-in?
?

See the gray boxes around the rear readings? They indicate non-adjustable angles. There aren't any limits shown, either. The readings are advisory only.
Kevin

 

[MikeP1976]

Ummm...
It's a solid, non-steer axle.
How are you going to adjust the toe-in?
?

See the gray boxes around the rear readings? They indicate non-adjustable angles. There aren't any limits shown, either. The readings are advisory only.
Kevin

That -0.04 left , and +0.29 on the right , can be changed to +0.16 on both sides with the correct adjustments of the rear control arms. The left needs to be slightly shorter and the right slightly longer. I was looking for some rough idea of how much adjustment in inches correlates to the 0.12 degrees or so that the axle needs to shift.

 

[LostWoods]

Adjustable rear arms but I'm not even sure why you'd want to bother other than OCD. You will not see any issues with pulling or tire wear from a quarter degree in the rear and that's a completely normal reading for any solid axle truck.

 

[danm]

Sometimes I wonder if the operator doesn’t do a quick hook up on the rear of the truck, since they know there’s nothing to adjust.

 

[MikeP1976]

Adjustable rear arms but I'm not even sure why you'd want to bother other than OCD. You will not see any issues with pulling or tire wear from a quarter degree in the rear and that's a completely normal reading for any solid axle truck.

I wasn't sure if that quarter of the degree could affect anything, fresh off of the alignment I still have a slight right pull. The tech was trying to tell me that quarter of a degree off I'm in the back was the cause for it and there was nothing they could do about it. If that's not enough to cause a pull, I'm definitely not going to get under there and adjust anything, because otherwise the back seems fine I just still have a slight pull to the right after the alignment.

 

[MikeP1976]

Sometimes I wonder if the operator doesn’t do a quick hook up on the rear of the truck, since they know there’s nothing to adjust.

That's a very distinct possibility, the thought had crossed my mind as well.

 

[Kevin_D]

Based on the published rear track, one degree is 14mm at the end of the axle. One quarter degree=3.5mm, about 1/8”.
Given that the control arms, upper & lower, are inboard a bit, the adjustment will be less than that.
So you could try lengthening the right arms one turn.

Kevin

 

[kelkolb]

I wasn't sure if that quarter of the degree could affect anything, fresh off of the alignment I still have a slight right pull. The tech was trying to tell me that quarter of a degree off I'm in the back was the cause for it and there was nothing they could do about it. If that's not enough to cause a pull, I'm definitely not going to get under there and adjust anything, because otherwise the back seems fine I just still have a slight pull to the right after the alignment.

You need a new alignment shop. Anyone that does alignments on straight axle vehicles with large tires should know that when they make adjustments to the front, they need to turn the wheels left and right then back to straight before they check the measurements again. My shop knew this and my alignment is fantastic.

Also, rear toe cannot be adjusted. No amount of control arm adjustments will change the relationship between the two rear wheels.

 

[Mouse]

A bent axle flange on the rear can cause toe measurements to show up, but would change as the tire is rotated.

 

[Kevin_D]

Also, rear toe cannot be adjusted. No amount of control arm adjustments will change the relationship between the two rear wheels.

If the axle isn’t perfectly perpendicular to the frame, it would show up as skewed toe, just like this. This could happen with non-fixed control arms.

Kevin

 

[kelkolb]

If the axle isn’t perfectly perpendicular to the frame, it would show up as skewed toe, just like this. This could happen with non-fixed control arms.

Kevin

You’re right, that could explain the difference in sides, but total toe wouldn’t change.

 

[Kevin_D]

You’re right, that could explain the difference in sides, but total toe wouldn’t change.

Agreed.

Kevin

 

[IslandFalconer]

There seems to be some lack of understanding from the alignment shop here i think.
A few things to consider, if it has adjustable uppers and lowers at the rear it's very possible that the rear axle isn't straight causing the toe issue they are seeing. Second a solid axle does have a very slight negative camber -0.2/-0.5 degrees Dana has a preferred range of -0.25 degrees. So in reality if we rotate the axle pinion down we would increase toe in, and if we rotate the pinion upwards we would decrease the toe in. granted its not very much given a 1/4 degree, but on very sensitive alignment equipment it will show up. In my mind/experience I would say the axle is out of alignment with the frame, you should measure the distance from centre to centre of the wheels front to back. Alternatively if you can do the adjustments on the alignment rack you'll see very quickly whats happening.

But really, just take it to a shop that knows what they are doing with lifted trucks!

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