Rear axle alignment?

tweet66

Founding Member
May 19, 2001
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17
Pennsauken, NJ
I just finished replacing the front suspension on my 69 Falcon wagon with an 1.5" drop and I put 2" blocks on the rear to level the wagon out. Here's the problem...I had to modify the original leaf spring bushing plates (similar to those on a Cougar that wrap the leafs with a rubber bushing for a softer ride) and loose the rubber bushings to use the blocks as I didn't feel safe with the 2" block and compliant rubber bushings. I re-installed everything without problems and the ride height is perfect:nice: and I guess I never really noticed it prior to the drop but the rear axle sits closer to the drivers side of the wagon than the passenger. ALOT closer, about an 1" further over. Why????? I loosened up the blocks tonight and tried to re-center the axle but it made no difference. How can I correct this?
 
I'm not sure how anyone could answer that without looking at the car. You should go to the shop that you typically use for car repairs and have them put it on a hoist. Take some measurements and figure out where the difference is. Possibly it's manufacturing tolerances, but I would suspect an accident with subsequent repair not being quite "spot on". There are other possibilities, I guess, like an axle or wheel being different on one side from the other.

When you replaced the springs did you get the axle back in the car correctly? My Mustang has a hole in the center of each spring perch and the leaf springs have a bolt that fits into the holes. 1 inch off is about 1/2 the width of the leaf springs. I'd be surprised if you missed this, but I figured I should ask.

Or you could go to a frame repair shop and let them have a look. They would probably be fast at checking things and figuring out what is wrong.