Question_My Truck Drives Sideways??

[Sean C]

My brother was driving my truck and I was following in his car when I noticed that my truck looked like it was going down the road sideways. I could see the front drivers side tire from directly behind the truck. Can I fix this? Is this a major issue to tackle?

Hope this makes sense! I tried searching it, but couldn't come up with much.

Sean

[DPowers]

Frame bent?

[lazypineapple]

alignment, ck Thrust angle

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by DPowers

Frame bent?

yup bent frame. kinda like a dog walking. or maybe the panhard bar is faulty??? but im thinking frame!!!

[66Submarine]

Leaf springs? Might have the rear end knocked out of alignment if so (mine does).

[Sean C]

Originally Posted by DPowers

Frame bent?

Originally Posted by lazypineapple

alignment, ck Thrust angle

Could be the alignment. I don't think it was ever set after the Ididit steering rack went in. That was before I owned the truck.

Originally Posted by pimpston65

yup bent frame. kinda like a dog walking. or maybe the panhard bar is faulty??? but im thinking frame!!!

Like a dog walking, you nailed it! As far as the panhard, I don't remember seeing it bent or anything. I don't have the truck at the moment otherwise I'd go crawl under there.

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Leaf springs? Might have the rear end knocked out of alignment if so (mine does).

No leaf springs here

Sounding like a bent frame, which also sounds expensive...

[hotrod66]

mine did that i replaced track bar with a adjustable one. I also replaced the trailing arm bushings, rear springs due to them being pointed over to one side.
mine drives strait now. get a tape out and measure the wheel base side to side, if one side differs from the other it could be the trailing arm bushings.

[AJNapierski]

Mine does that a little the front was converted to leafs and they didn't line them up right

[Sean C]

Originally Posted by hotrod66

mine did that i replaced track bar with a adjustable one. I also replaced the trailing arm bushings, rear springs due to them being pointed over to one side.
mine drives strait now. get a tape out and measure the wheel base side to side, if one side differs from the other it could be the trailing arm bushings.

Good to know! My bed sits a little off kilter as well. New springs are ready to go in. I'll definitely be measuring the wheel base.

[hotrod66]

Originally Posted by Sean C

Good to know! My bed sits a little off kilter as well. New springs are ready to go in. I'll definitely be measuring the wheel base.

if the bushings haven't ben done just remember there almost 50 years old and they are cheep parts. nothing a saturday afternoon a hammer and some wood cant fix

[jtrichard]

If you take a tape measure from the front fender line at the front of the doors to the front of the rear wheels i bet you that the right side is farther back than the left and since you said you don't have leaf springs that takes out a center bolt problem ...SO i would say your right trailing arm bushing is gone... or the right U bolts are loose and the axle has shifted some how (less likely) i doubt the pan-hard bar could be bad enough to make it DOG-TRACK that bad

[markeb01]

If it's a stepside and only looks a little crooked, it can also be optics. Because the 1955 bed is too narrow for the cab, you can easily see the side of the cab making the truck look like it's dog tracking. Getting in the right lane and following behind the right rear tire can make it appear to be dog tracking the other direction.

[Sean C]

Originally Posted by hotrod66

if the bushings haven't ben done just remember there almost 50 years old and they are cheep parts. nothing a saturday afternoon a hammer and some wood cant fix

Good call. This hadn't even occurred to me.

Originally Posted by jtrichard

If you take a tape measure from the front fender line at the front of the doors to the front of the rear wheels i bet you that the right side is farther back than the left and since you said you don't have leaf springs that takes out a center bolt problem ...SO i would say your right trailing arm bushing is gone... or the right U bolts are loose and the axle has shifted some how (less likely) i doubt the pan-hard bar could be bad enough to make it DOG-TRACK that bad

I have some measuring to do…I'll take a look at the U bolts as well as the trailing arms and see if those check out.

Originally Posted by markeb01

If it's a stepside and only looks a little crooked, it can also be optics. Because the 1955 bed is too narrow for the cab, you can easily see the side of the cab making the truck look like it's dog tracking. Getting in the right lane and following behind the right rear tire can make it appear to be dog tracking the other direction.

Not a step, but I definitely see your point. Parallax does some funny things

Thanks for all the advice guys! Feeling a lot better about it now.

Sean

[donthekawguy]

Have it checked out but more than likely it's an optical illusion. If your in the right place at the right time any car or truck will look like it's crooked going down the road.

[jmack91z28]

I would think it's an illusion too. My old 94 chevrolet had aftermarket wheels and larger all terrain tires, the wheels offset stuck the tires out more upfront than in the rear. Gave the illusion that it was driving sideways.