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Rear Toe off from Factory

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tla90

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My alignment has been off since I picked up my truck. Haven't had time to get it to the shop until the weekend, but they said they aren't able to align it due to my rear axle not aligned with the frame. Only about 7k miles on it now, and they are saying they want to adjust my read axle to make it work. It's a solid rear axle. Can't be adjusted. Don't the airbags on the 2500s have aligning pins to where it can't be moved? Who would I contact about fixing the issue properly since I don't want an 18 year old alignment tech adjusting my rear axle placement? I repeatedly told them to put it in wheel alignment mode as well. I told them to take physical measurements and not to touch anything else. Out of town currently, but am thinking of heading back to figure this out.

Here is the printout:

InkedIMG_0193_20220418_154502_LI.jpg
 

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I would guess that level of misalignment would make the truck crab, when in motion. with 7k miles, I'd be making a beeline to the dealer with that print out.

edit - you can make a quick homemade jig to check it in the driveway.
 
elephantrider said:
I would guess that level of misalignment would make the truck crab, when in motion. with 7k miles, I'd be making a beeline to the dealer with that print out.

edit - you can make a quick homemade jig to check it in the driveway.
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That was a printout from the dealership machine. It wasn't bent tie rod bad, but I wouldn't call it safe at 70mph loaded down. Towing heavy is what made me bring it in. I asked them to take some measurements off of the body and frame on each side. I don't think they had ever dealt with that since they asked where they should take measurements from
 
Looking at those numbers it looks like his reader head was on crooked


There is no rear control arm adjustment to center the axle so im still pointing at the person who setup for an alignment
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
Looking at those numbers it looks like his reader head was on crooked


There is no rear control arm adjustment to center the axle so im still pointing at the person who setup for an alignment
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Just called Ram Cares. The dealership actually just called an engineer about it, so there was already a case opened. With that issue, I'm not sure why they didn't get an ASE mechanic on the phone with Rotary to figure it out. All of my body panels line up perfectly, so I don't think the frame was put together out of line. Hell, my tailgate gap is even perfect.

Either they did something wrong, or the machine welding mounts on in Saltillo was having a bad day. I can't figure anything else
 
Body lines have nothing to do with the orientation of the axle under the frame.

And all modern alignment machines I've used have a compensation procedure when setting it up to allow for head mounting variance as well as wheel runout, etc. I'd also expect if it was a head issue for only one of them to be way outta wack - according to those numbers it appears either the right rear has shifted forward or the left rear has shifted backward or some combination of the two. Resulting in a pretty excessive thrust angle.

Either way, its not right.

OP, how does the truck drive? Does it seem to drift to the left at all? And unless I am reading the sheet incorrectly they have the wheel diameter listed as 15"? Perhaps this is throwing the compensation out the window?
 
jetrinka said:
Body lines have nothing to do with the orientation of the axle under the frame.

And all modern alignment machines I've used have a compensation procedure when setting it up to allow for head mounting variance as well as wheel runout, etc. I'd also expect if it was a head issue for only one of them to be way outta wack - according to those numbers it appears either the right rear has shifted forward or the left rear has shifted backward or some combination of the two. Resulting in a pretty excessive thrust angle.

Either way, its not right.

OP, how does the truck drive? Does it seem to drift to the left at all? And unless I am reading the sheet incorrectly they have the wheel diameter listed as 15"? Perhaps this is throwing the compensation out the window?
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What I meant by body lines being good was that the frame seems to be aligned correctly. If it wasn't, body panels wouldn't match up like they were supposed to. I went to the dealership today and checked under the rear end. The bolts I could see for the airbags look like they are aligning, and don't have any wiggle room. Nothing else under there was loose or seemed to be in a bind.

It pulls to the left when I let go of the steering wheel. To go straight, the steering wheel needs to be ~7.5 degrees clockwise. That printout was evidently the third time it was on the alignment machine with two different techs, and they had the STAR rep walk them through setup. After a case is opened, the STAR rep tries to cross-reference it with any similar issues and solutions they've had in the past. If they can't find anything, engineering makes a visit.

The cause and solution are a head scratcher for sure.
 
tla90 said:
What I meant by body lines being good was that the frame seems to be aligned correctly. If it wasn't, body panels wouldn't match up like they were supposed to. I went to the dealership today and checked under the rear end. The bolts I could see for the airbags look like they are aligning, and don't have any wiggle room. Nothing else under there was loose or seemed to be in a bind.

It pulls to the left when I let go of the steering wheel. To go straight, the steering wheel needs to be ~7.5 degrees clockwise. That printout was evidently the third time it was on the alignment machine with two different techs, and they had the STAR rep walk them through setup. After a case is opened, the STAR rep tries to cross-reference it with any similar issues and solutions they've had in the past. If they can't find anything, engineering makes a visit.

The cause and solution are a head scratcher for sure.
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Yes the rear being out that much would certainly cause a left pull as the rear axle steers that direction. However it isn't going to be something (likely) that will be seen with the naked eye - we are talking about less than half a degree from center which likely is not visible. Its going to take quite a bit of measuring and an OEM spec sheet to find out what is off and why. A variance in where the control arms mount to the frame or something with the control arm mounts on the rear axle would be my guess.
 
Even though there are alignment pins in the rear axle and suspension, there is still some room for adjustment.
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
unless you put adjustable control arms on it you wont be moving the axle…
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Well, the Ram engineer told them to loosen the read end up and drive around a bit, hit some bumps, etc. Evidently that worked, because they said it is now good to go. I guess someone used a left handed screwdriver when they were assembling it. Gonna keep the ****ty Transforce tires on there for a bit longer to keep an eye on the wear patterns
 
tla90 said:
Well, the Ram engineer told them to loosen the read end up and drive around a bit, hit some bumps, etc. Evidently that worked, because they said it is now good to go. I guess someone used a left handed screwdriver when they were assembling it. Gonna keep the ****ty Transforce tires on there for a bit longer to keep an eye on the wear patterns
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That makes Absolutely no sense unless they have a massive amount of play in the bolt holes, atleast its fixed
 
Crazy.

Yea, keep an eye on the tire wear. My new BFG's started showing wear at about 3K miles. That's when I found that the truck was out of alignment from the factory.
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
That makes Absolutely no sense unless they have a massive amount of play in the bolt holes, atleast its fixed
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Doesn't to me either, but they said it worked. Can't pick it up until tomorrow. I'll make some interstate runs, but don't have anything with decent tongue weight that would enhance the pull. Boat tire went flat last week
 
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