I got my new drop axle front end in. I'm having difficulty finding someone to align my front end. Now my truck is too low to get onto an alignment rack and most alignment places look at me strange because they never get straight axles in or know how to align them. I drove the truck and it seems OK, but have serious bump steer and wandering on the road. I hit a bump or anything on the street and I'm in the next lane. I adjusted the toe in/out as close as I could (eyeballed it) and it improved and is now drivable, not right yet. I haven't taken it on the highway and personally am afraid to do so right now. I don't know if the caster/ camber is off or even where to begin to look or measure to see if it's way off. My old front end didn't have any shims for the angle and neither does the drop axle. Suggestions?

 

Mine (stock height) has 2 degrees and drives out great.

Axracer would be the one to ask. When I lowered mine he told me to put in 4 degrees.

I did not like lowered at all for where I drive (and how I drive).

 

The best place to get a straight axle aligned is at a spring shop or a Big Truck repair shop.
If you can't find any of those in the area see if you can find a Weekend Round Track Racer, they usually have their own portable set ups. Maybe you can deal by the wheel.

 

As Dick suggested a truck repair business would be the best place to take it. You can set the toe-in yourself by placing a straight edge in front and in the rear of the front tires. The measurement at the rear of the tire should be in the neighborhood of 1/8 to 3/16 larger than the measurement in the front of the tire. I did that with mine to get it to the aligment shop and they didn't even change the toe-in. Camber should be okay since it is built in to the axle and the only way to change that if it's out is by bending the axle. After setting the toe if the truck does not wander when driving down the highway I'd leave it as is. If it does then put a 2-4 degree shim under the axle. You may not even need an alignment. I took my 48 with Volare front to two places. It was worse after the first place than when I drove it there (pulled hard to the left). The second place got it right. If I had it to do over I would have not taken the truck to an alignment shop at all. It was good before the first shop screwed it up...

 

Thanks for the great info... Great north.. If I need the shims placed under the axle, do they go in the front or rear of the axle, or does it matter? Any suggestions on where to purchase these shims? The most I see for sale are 2" wide and wider. Those won't fit between the U bolts. I believe the 56 is 1.5" wide.

 

Mid Fifty has the tapered shims. Look at page 130. They have 2 and 4 degree.

 

Check out his month's issure of Rod and Custom - there is an excellent article about alignment on straight axle vehicles, including a good section on the causes of bumpsteer.

 

When you put the drop axle in, did you use a drag link drop? If not, your geometry is off. When you hit a bump and the spring flexes, there's no give in the steering system, the seering arm moves up with the wheel, the draglink is pulled along with and pulls on the pitman arm in turn, causing bumpsteer. I hope that all made sense. I think CCP has drag link drops.

 

If you have a protractor level or one of the new digital readout levels, caster is easy to checkjust lay the gauge on the kingpin bosses so it is parallel with the kingpin and measure the angle off vertical. You want it leaning back at the top between 2 and 4*.
If you put in shims be SURE they are installed to lean the axle top back towards the cab. If the needed shims do not let the centerbolt of the spring protrude enough to register firmly into the hole in the axle spring perch you will need to add longer headed centerbolts. As mentioned MF has the shims and the longer headed centerbolts.
Black 58 is right about the draglink. when the wheels are straight ahead it should be parallel to the ground.
To set toe in you need a piece of straight metal like angle iron or square tubing about 6' long, 2 pieces of the same ~ 12" longer than your tire diameter. some bungie cords and a tape measure or two. (a friend also makes the job easier)
Start with the long piece of metal. Firmly bungie it to the outside of the front tire so it is parallel to the ground and near the center of the wheel, with most of it sticking out towards the rear of the truck. Don't lash it on so tight tho that you bend the metal! Set the steeringwheel straight ahead. The pitman arm should be pointed straight down. If it is not reclock the pitman arm or the steering wheel. Lock the steering wheel or have your helper hold it steady. Measure the distance from the bar to the frame just behind the wheel and at the end of the bar. If the measurements are not equal, adjust the tierod end on the same side until they are. Now rig the bar on the other side and repeat (Being sure the steering wheel does not move thru the whole process!). You now have both wheels parallel and pointed straight ahead (zero toe).
To set the toe-in, strap the shorter bars to the wheels, one on each side so they extend equally past the tire on both end and are are both at the same height off the ground and parallel to it. Now measure the distance between the bars just in front of and just behind the tire. The distance should be the same if you did the first part correctly. If not repeat the first section and recheck until they are. Once they are, readjust the tierod so the ends move apart one turn on each end. Recheck the front and rear measurement. The rear measurement should now be larger at the back of the tire than at the front, note the difference. Adjust each tierod end the same number of turns or partial turns in or out (always both in the same direction) until the difference in the measurements is 1/16 - 3/32" larger at the rear. That measurement is your toe-in setting. Increasing the toe-in will make the truck more stable but increases tire wear. Do not set more than 1/8" toe-in.
Other causes of wandereing are uneven tire pressures, bias ply tires, worn steering components, ram assisted power steering.

 

I agree with the above suggestion that the bump steer is most likely caused by the use of a stock drag link with a dropped axle.

 

My drop axle had the arm bent so the drag link adapter was not needed. AX has an excellent explanation and really helps out here. Thanks AX! I noticed my truck does not have the original steering box and I really have no idea what it came out of? I have the original pitman arm and draglink with the suspension, but looking at the pitman, the part that fits to the steering box appears smaller in diameter than the original. I kept my pitman arm and drag link and connected it to the drop axle at the ball joint connection on the end of the drag link. The drag link has a very slight angle to it, but nothing radical. I did notice that the pitman arm is not straight up and down but slightly toward the cab, as if the drag link was too long. I don't recall where it was on the original axle. The drag link that came with the drop axle is about 2 inches shorter than the drag link which was on the truck. The pitman arm is completely different from the one the truck also. The pitman arm which came with the truck appears slightly longer than the pitman arm that came with the drop axle. The truck steers nicely and I have full radius turning. My steering wheel is in the correct position also. I'm kinda limited here since I don't know what pitman arm to use or what steering box I have. I did check the toe and it appears slightly toe out. I haven't adjusted that yet. I have an appointment with an alignment guy on Thursday, so I'll see what he comes up with. If not, I'm taking everyones advise here and doing it myself. With everyones help, I'll be a cruisin fool again. Thanks everyone.