new front leaf springs sitting crooked

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

I can't find a post for this referring to new springs and not a lowered truck. I had all new skyjacker 4" lift springs installed on my 1972 Jimmy 4x4. After the install I found the ORD heavy duty shackles and attempted to install yesterday. I did not loosen any bolts other than the rear shackle bolts after I relieve the tension on the springs.
Everything appears to be correct/centered and I measured the frame, axle and everything I could think of to see if something was bent. I also played around with the jack stands and floor jack to see if it was just the way I had it lifted.
The greaseable bolts are too SHORT too, but that's another story.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

I sit corrected on everything being straight. The drivers side of the front axle is approximately 1.5" further forward than the passenger side of the axle. It has been quite interested trying to keep it in one lane since I bought it, which might explain some things.
Everything frame wise is original and in great shape. no signs of repairs or mods.
I'm embarrassed to ask this, but..... Is it just that bad out of alignment?!

[1rippen6]

Could 1 of the springs be in backwards? Measure from the spring eye to the center bolt on both sides.

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

Thank you for your response!
I just checked that again and they are correct. The cause of it is the front axle assembly is further forward on the driver's side than the passenger side. The only thing I can think of is the frame is bent....I don't even want to think that, let alone type it!
All other measurements appear correct. So other than the horrible thought above, what would cause the axle to be out of square?
I know it's out of alignment, because of the way it drives, but I have a header situation to figure out before I can drive it again and take it to get checked out. I don't think that could/would cause this, but I'm grasping at anything.

[A1971Blazer]

If there's 1½" difference...I would think that it would be very obvious that the frame was bent....and easy to see that amount.....that's a huge difference.
But since you've measured the springs to be sure one is not installed backwards....that doesn't leave much else to cause the issue.
It also seems to me that if the frame is bent that much...the front end sheetmetal would be all out of whack?
Sorry..I can't offer more possibilities or advice, except to figure out what's going on before you put it back on the road...

[litebulblsc]

Just want to say what has already been said. Measure both left and right leafspring from the front eyelet to the center bolt. Then both again from the rear eyelet to the center pin.

If they check the same side to side, then it is time to worry

[SeventyOne]

let's back up a bit...

1: who installed the lift springs and when?

2: at this point am i understanding that you are ONLY installing the new rear shackles?

3: how did it sit with the old shackles? AND are you able to reinstall them as a test?

[SeventyOne]

Another thought:

In your first picture showing the shackle mis-alignment: how are you supporting the vehicle?

It's my guess that you have the suspension flexed somehow, especially since you still have the axle connected to the leaf springs and it appears the tires are on the ground.

Raise the truck evenly on both sides, OR it might be required to jack up under the axle on the side that is mis-aligned to match the angle.

OR Another way to do it (and maybe more work but it make more sense in my mind) would be to remove your axle from the frame (frame suspended with jack stands) and then you are only wrestling with the leaf spring and shackle itself. Get the leaf set up, then re-install the axle.

[Jeff's bowtie's]

The springs being backward shouldn't be possible since the rear spring bolts are 7/16" and the front spring bolts are 9/16" is it possible that the center pin bolt is broke or just not in the hole in the spring perch in the axle housing?

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

Thank you all for responding. Here's the back story:
I bought the truck from a classic car dealer whom fixed/ added newer parts to include a steering rebuild kit, i.e. tie rods, ball joints and all that good stuff. I'm 99.93% sure they did not do any type of alignment.
The leaf springs were old and I do not believe they messed with them. The steering has been horrible since I bought it. I installed a new gear box and swapped out the rag joints for u-joints and pretty stuff. Steering still horrible.
I knew all the bushings were shot, so I ordered a new 4" lift kit from skyjacker along with a truck load of other parts (monster trans and T's transfer case) and had a "custom shop" install all of it.
They did catch that someone previously installed the rear blocks backwards and they mentioned that the front axle is as I stated ~1.5" out of square. By that point they had my Jimmy for over a MONTH and I just wanted it back!
As I laid under the jimmy attempting to figure out how I was going to make the FOURTH set of headers work (whole other nightmare) because the passenger side tubes were hitting the rear of the front passenger side shackle bolt....hence the new ORD shackle and so on.
The original shackles were old as grease and tired. I could force the springs to appear almost straight, but the axle obviously isn't going anywhere.
I measured the frame over and over, all the body panels are lined up, very little rust to hide anything and it all looks original. No signs of previous damage.
I placed a jack stand ~4" behind the rear shackle which held the front tire 3" off the floor, then put my floor jack just on the inside of the shock mount and slowly raised it until the pressure was off of the rear shackle. I played around with several different lift points to see if I screwed up the jacking procedure, but it wasn't moving where I wanted it to.
I guess I need to remove the entire spring for further investigation.
Sorry for the long post, I tried to make it short

[SeventyOne]

You say the steering is terrible - can you elaborate on the symptoms?

Also how does it track while driving straight?

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

Yes, I put the old shackle and bolts back in the new bushings just to get the truck off the jack.

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

Well I'm confident that the frame is straight. I pulled a spec sheet that has chassis diamentions and she's right on. The axle tube appears to be correct as well. I work 7 days a week so time is limited, but I will figure it out and will let you all know what the culprit was. It just seems that it would be very obvious to see....

[A1971Blazer]

Originally Posted by BIG BLOCK JIMMY

Well I'm confident that the frame is straight. I pulled a spec sheet that has chassis diamentions and she's right on. The axle tube appears to be correct as well. I work 7 days a week so time is limited, but I will figure it out and will let you all know what the culprit was. It just seems that it would be very obvious to see....

Good to hear the frame is straight....if it was me,at this point, I would just loosen everything...drop the axle off the springs and hang the springs first....then bring the axle up to them....making sure that nothing was in a bind...
Anyway best of luck with it...!

[Blazerowner]

What about the spring mount on the differential tube? Maybe someone moved it outboard a bit?

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

For all my friends on here that have taken the time to respond to this post, I would like to give you a good laugh.
The axle is still not right, but on a lesser note in regards to the picture showing the grossly misaligned shackles.....well, after actually reading the instructions I observed that I used both sets of the lower bushings on the same side. After removing everything and installing them correctly, all was well. The springs were off center a little but nowhere near what the picture showed. The passenger side was complete in 30min from start to finish. I was happily embarrassed that I was an idiot.
I wasn't going to volunteer my dumbassery to the wife, but she keep asking too many questions as to how I was able to get them on, until I caved and fessed up.

Again...the axle is still not in the correct alignment, so for now that's still a mystery and I won't be able to investigate further for a few weeks now.

[simicrintz]

"Dumbassery"; I like it! Good for you for figuring it out!

[cleszkie]

So, even with the correction of the bushings the axle still sits and inch or so back on one side? If you frame is straight, axle perches are correctly aligned, and you have verified that both leaf spring packs have the same dimensions between spring eyes and from spring eyes to centering pins, then I would take a close look at the front spring eye mounts that are riveted to your frame. Has one of these been bent back, removed and welded into place, or otherwise tampered with? Again, just a thought.

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

I know it sounds too hard to believe. That's what makes me go out to the garage three times a night thinking that it MUST be obvious, but I can't find any cause of it. Everything looks original, clean, uniform and correct.
I came across a picture the other night that was right before I took it to the shop to put the lift on. The driver's side wheel was centered in the wheel well. Now the wheel is obviously more forward. It has to be something they did, but it should still be obvious!
I have tried to make the measurements come out wrong on the springs, but they are the same on each side.
The lower shackle on the driver's side is angled forward and the passenger side is straight down, so I will have to measure more (again) on the front spring eye mounts.
I'm going to pull the front springs off and hopefully figure out what could be causing it.
The funny thing is the owner of the shop made a point to tell me that the axle was crooked and proceeded to say that the frame must be bent and so on. I did not listen because I was already highly irritated with them.

I will be out of town for a couple weeks so it will have to wait.

[jaros44sr]

I wonder if someone left the old metal sleeves in from a past rebuild

[lleff]

in the picture i have circled an area on the axle tube that looks suspicious. almost as maybe the leaf spring perch was welded there at one time, also looks like a wear mark from a u bolt next to it. I'm not sure if this is the case it could just be my eyes playing a trick on me but it could be a possibility

[mister.freeze]

I had this problem on my rear axle for years. It sure cornered one way a lot better than the other. When putting new shocks on, I finally took measurements. Turns out 1 spring was installed backwards. The sticker indicating which end was the front was on the wrong end, from the factory! Removed the spring from the offending side, installed it 'backwards,' and all was good.

[NW One]

Looking back at your original pictures it almost looks like the perch is a little crooked in there, can you measure each side and compare? Thats the only contact point telling your shackle what angle to be in that picture? My right side rear is a little crooked so fought that for a little, they looked like that with no spring in.

[BIG BLOCK JIMMY]

My apologies to those of you that responded and I failed to get back to you. I thought I received emails when someone posted but here's an uninformative update:
The Jimmy has been at multiple mechanic shops and two body shops for the greater part of this year. The frame is correct, straight and never damaged. No one can figure out why the front axle is not squared off or why the steering is so erratic. Everything measures out correctly. All steering components have been replaced except the column. An alignment was done, yet I'm constantly chasing the front end all over when I drive it.

[65imp]

I had the exact same problem after installing my new leafs from ORD. Driver side front sat 1.5" too high. I eventually found an old bracket that was bolted to the underside of the frame that prevented rearward travel of the longer shackle. It was not apparent when the front was jacked in the air, but as the suspension settled it would touch, then restrict settling.
Pulled it off and all was well. I am sure you have had enough eyes that you would have found it if that was your problem. I hate to admit it took me a couple weeks before I noticed it.