Traction bar bent

[Rob'68]

A friend followed me for a few miles and noticed that the front of my truck is offset from the back. It 'crawdads' down the road with the front offset a little to the left. I looked under the rear of the truck to see if I could find the problem. I found that the traction bar is bent quite a bit. I'm not sure when it happened. It had to have been before I got it and I never noticed it. It looks like the rear end is angled slightly to the left. I was thinking that if I took the bar off, it would release the rear to shift a little to the right, since the bar is bent (shortening it). Does this make sense? Also, how much difference would there be between having a trac bar and not having one? Thanks.

[cdowns]

what year and type truck??? on 67-72trucks with coil springs there is no traction bar but there is a panhard bar to locate the rearend and most vendors have heavier duty abjustable ones

[Rob'68]

It's a '68 SWB C-10. It was converted before I got it to a 5 lug 4.11 coil rear end. I assume it's 71 or 72. Is there a way to tell for sure?

[Slammed67]

You definitely need the panhard bar. Without it, your rear axle would have no lateral support. Take it off and bed it back straight if possible, or buy an aftermarket adjustable bar or a used stick bar.

[Stroker]

Makes perfect sense. If your panhard bar is bent the rear of the truck will not track properly. If your truck is lowered I would go with an adjustable panhard bar. For a stock rear suspension it should be easy to find a good used panhard bar at a reasonable price. If you replace it you might consider replacing the rubber bushings while you're at it.