PNWguy Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Was driving home tonight and was behind an early 70's Ford F100 2wd and I noticed that the rear wheels were offset about 4-6" from the front wheels. I've noticed that phenomenon on a few old pickups over the years and always wondered what caused it. Frame damage? Messed up front end? Anyone have any idea? Thought I'd find lots of pics on the internet of it, but no. Here is an extreme example... Most examples I've seen over the years have been 4x4 pickups from the 70's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batesmotel Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Bent frame is my guess. My wife’s truck did that just a little. Rear ended twice. The frame was never exactly straight after the second time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeIsuzu Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 (edited) Broken or missing center bolts on the rear leaf springs are the usual culprit. Notice that the right side rear wheel is forward of the left wheel? That's because it's the 'torque-side' of the differential. That wheel typically is the one that spins when you do a burn out - unless you've got traction control of some sort - either mechanical or electronic. This wheel also has the greatest thrust on it at that time, so the center(ing) bolt can fail there easier then the one on the left side. Even 4-wheele driven vehicles aren't usually 'true-4-wd' in that the differentials are 'open' and not traction controlled. They still put most of the power out through the passenger's side of the rear end. All things taken into consideration, it could be a broken spring hanger too - or Pinto springs on the right side. BTW: we call it: "Dog Tracking". Edited September 19, 2018 by JoeIsuzu added thought..... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Tiger Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 7 hours ago, PNWguy said: Was driving home tonight and was behind an early 70's Ford F100 2wd and I noticed that the rear wheels were offset about 4-6" from the front wheels. I've noticed that phenomenon on a few old pickups over the years and always wondered what caused it. Frame damage? Messed up front end? Anyone have any idea? Thought I'd find lots of pics on the internet of it, but no. Here is an extreme example... Most examples I've seen over the years have been 4x4 pickups from the 70's. Somethin's broke. Could be lots of things but damage to the frame or the rear suspension is where I'd start. I've seen less extreme examples where it appears that the rear end slipped on the leaf spring a little bit (ie wasn't mounted in the right place). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward Son Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Frame damage that wasn't repaired. What causes this is what is called a diamond. A diamond occurs when one frame rail is either pushed forward or rearward which causes the vehicle to dog track. Truck frames are a ladder type construction. Imagine the results from pushing one side of of your extension ladder forward while leaving the the other side in place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tadbart Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 I've seen it too, on the same type of old trucks. Always wondered what caused it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 8 hours ago, JoeIsuzu said: Broken or missing center bolts on the rear leaf springs are the usual culprit. Notice that the right side rear wheel is forward of the left wheel? That's because it's the 'torque-side' of the differential. That wheel typically is the one that spins when you do a burn out - unless you've got traction control of some sort - either mechanical or electronic. This wheel also has the greatest thrust on it at that time, so the center(ing) bolt can fail there easier then the one on the left side. Even 4-wheele driven vehicles aren't usually 'true-4-wd' in that the differentials are 'open' and not traction controlled. They still put most of the power out through the passenger's side of the rear end. All things taken into consideration, it could be a broken spring hanger too - or Pinto springs on the right side. BTW: we call it: "Dog Tracking". Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 My KW ran over a Ford Explorer several years ago. After the repairs it drove really weird. Took it back in and the inner bushing on one of the rear springs was munched up and almost nonexistent. It was like there was a skate board under the rear. Very unsettling to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Longmire Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 BTW, I wasn't in the cab when the Explorer was destroyed. Had a friend driving that day cause I was recovering from surgery. It wasn't a good day for anyone involved. 80 something y.o. woman mashed the gas instead of the brake as she exited a parking lot and tangled with the KW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice6 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 (edited) We always did measurements of four points in the front and rear of damaged vehicles, to determine if they were "out of square" and if so, we continued to measure the vehicle to determine if it were in the running gear or body/frame structure. It's simple to do, but sometimes the driver doesn't know. And sometime the repairer doesn't care. Watch when you follow someone. carefully center your view on where a trailer hitch would be located on the front vehicle, and see if you see equal amounts of front tires relative to the rear tires at the road. Interesting to do. Edited September 19, 2018 by janice6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Biggsly Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 12 hours ago, PNWguy said: Was driving home tonight and was behind an early 70's Ford F100 2wd and I noticed that the rear wheels were offset about 4-6" from the front wheels. I've noticed that phenomenon on a few old pickups over the years and always wondered what caused it. Frame damage? Messed up front end? Anyone have any idea? Thought I'd find lots of pics on the internet of it, but no. Here is an extreme example... Most examples I've seen over the years have been 4x4 pickups from the 70's. That is how my 03 Z71 drove after I was hit at a red light. It bent the frame behind the cab and pushed the driver side of the rear axle forward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWARREN123 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 Usually something simple (bolt) has broken. Most are a easy fix but will need a 4 wheel alignment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASH Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 this is crab step roll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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