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TR2/3/3A Need measurement from front to rear axels something weared happened today

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Got_All_4

Got_All_4

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I had about 10 miles on the rebuild and I thought it drove well with out an alignment. On my way to the tire shop today I heard a snap come from the rear right side. Car became a little hard to handle when I would shift. Kind of like torque steer. The shop couldn't get the car on the alignment rack so he wasn't able to align it or check out the rear end.

Back home I put it on jack stands and discovered that the U bolts on the right weren't super tight and one stripped when I tighten it. I find it had to believe though that the rear end was moving around that much but it's possible. Decided to measure from the front axel center line to the rear center line. 1" difference between sides. Driver side was 87&7/8" and the passenger side was 1" longer. How this can be? I did put in new Super Pro bushings on the front and rear ends and no other major work was needed done to the frame. Also I had been driving the car for 30 years with no problems.

So I could really use those measurements and any ideas for trouble shooting?
 
There is a bolt through the center of the spring, with a short rounded head on top (no wrench flats). That head should fit into an opening in the pad on the bottom of the axle. If it slips, the axle can move fore/aft on the spring.

The pad is just bent heavy sheet metal, and can be distorted by improper installation. If it is bent in until the bolt head doesn't enter the hole, you'll want to fix that.
 
Gee that's a really difficult request. I don't know where the "front axel center line" is, within an inch from side to side. But I can assure you, the alignment of the rear axle is mandated by that bolt through the rear springs and the hole in the plate tightened by the u-bolts. The top of that bolt fits inside the bottom of the axle while the bottom fits into the plate that also supports the shock arm link. If your u-bolt stripped when you tried to tighten it, it needs replaced. If that u-bolt was loose, and the bolt through the springs came out of the bottom hole, the plate will not longer be flat on the spring bottom. If the top bolt came out of the axle (or plate) your alignment will be off.

If your front to back is off by an inch, your tire may not be able to come off. -This past week I helped replace a set of leaf springs on a TR3. One spring had the pin/bolt location off by an inch rearward, which was enough that we could not put the wire wheel back on the hub due to interference with the fender. An inch is a lot.

If I were you, I'd be looking very closely at the u-bolts and that pin through the rear springs. You might be able to find a more easy measurement from something like the mounting pin of the rear spring.
 
I agree, focus on getting it put together right first, and then if necessary you can worry about thrust alignment.

That said, the book gives the wheelbase as 7' 4" which should be axle center to axle center. But don't forget that when comparing sides, the steering must be in exactly the straight ahead position. The front axles actually move fore/aft as the steering turns.
 
Ok did all that. The axel centering bolts are in the holes and I checked that first before trying to tighten the U bolts down and new ones are ordered. Front wheels were straight a head when I measured but it could be possible that the wheels are turned ever so slightly that could make up some of that 1" difference. I'll double check everything this weekend and plan on stacking a bunch of washers on the U bolt to get past the stripped threads in order to tighten them down and test drive. So between the to centers it's 88" and I'll have to get as close to that as possible.
 
Thanks for your concern GEO but as I said new ones are on order and the "stacked washers were just going to be a test to see if I'm on the right track in which I just completed and everything is back to normal. Loosened everything up and realigned it. Made sure the front wheels were as straight as I could get them and my measurements came with in a 1/8 inch of each other. Test drive went great. Now I've got to find someone with a narrower alignment rack.
 
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