No Dog Tracking Front/Rear Wheel Align

[fourbangerbob]

How do you align the front/rear wheels before setting the toe in? No "dog tracking" wanted.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by fourbangerbob

How do you align the front/rear wheels before setting the toe in? No "dog tracking" wanted.

Well, the simple answer is everything needs to be properly 'restored'. The more technical part of this is both springs need to be in the proper arc to keep the axle centered between the perches. The frame needs to be straight, and use the correct motor mounts so the front radius rod and the torque tube is in alignment with the frame's centerline.

Also verify the front axle is straight as are the rear end housings. I recently commented about using a lathe when rebuilding the rear end and someone questioned this. I would venture a guess that 1 out of every 3 axle tubes that we check are bent enough to require heating & straightening. I suspect this is/was caused by folks throwing a chain around the housing and pulling stuff.

[RockHillWill]

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A great starting point would be to drop a plumb bob from the center of the front motor mount stud that extends below the front cross member (make sure it is equidistant from each side rail) and measure to the outer edge of each rear axle/nut. Then hang another plumb bob from the rear/center of the rear end housing and measure to the bottom ends of the front king pins. (you may want to drop plum bobs from these locations as well and measure along the floor.) If these dimensions at each end are not the same, it will give you an idea as to where to start with the corrections. Follow Brent's advice for how to correct your issues.

I am not of the opinion that any toe in setting will result in 'dog tracking'. This condition will be present if the dimension from the front motor mount to the rear axle nut is not the same for both side.