Front End Trouble, 98 k1500

[tequilatool]

Hi, I have had an issue since i bought my truck, it must have taken a good hit on the passenger side as the wheel sits at an angle, ie the top of the wheel is sticking out further than the bottom of the wheel, its most noticeable when sitting on flat ground and just doesnt feel too good when cornering to the right. I checked the lower control arm and it looks ok, however, i noticed the mount on the frame for the lca is a bit out of shape, its the mount to the rear of the lca which is also the mount for the 4x4 transfer case, both are sitting out of alignment. 4x4 still works fine, steering is also ok as the person who repaired it must have redone the alignment after the crash, i noticed its had a new fender on that side and also a new steering wheel so i reckon the hit must have set the airbag off. the issue is the mount on the frame. I dont want to go spending hundreds of bucks on frame work, nor do i have the cash to go buy a porta power only to make things worse. The mounting has definitely been pushed in.

My question is this, the truck is not worth spending a ton of cash on, ie this repair does not have to be perfect, so with this in mind, could i adjust the camber on the upper control arm( as there is plenty of adjustment on the cams) and therefore bring the wheel back to a straight up and down position( no lean)then use a wheel spacer to bring the wheel back out to near enough the correct position. This botch would save me the hassle of messing around with the mount,frame work etc. I'm thinking the cams would fix the wheel leaning, and the spacer would make the front end look symmetrical. I also need to renew all the ball joints and bushings so any hassle and money saved would be a bonus. I have renewed all the brakes including the nbs master cylinder upgrade, intake manifold gasket, among other things. This wheel thing is ****** me off, the truck still drives straight down the road, but for me, knowing the wheel sits at an angle and looks a bit odd sometimes is really annoying. Im in mexico which explains why it was never repaired properly and as such deserves another mexicanish botch job, i know 2 wrongs dont make a right but ive spent enough cash on this p.o.s already and want to remedy the wheel lean before i go spending on ball joints, bushings steering parts and 2 front shocks.

Sorry for the long post, and if anyone can understand what im talking about please feel free to gimme some advice. To me, any decent hit from the side on the front end should bend mounts or lower control arms, so should be quite a common problem, and maybe an easyish solution. I'll try to get some pics up soon. And thank you.

 

[TylerZ281500]

im not understanding your use of a spacer but as long as you have adjustment you may be able to get away with an alignment, ive seen these trucks get pretty twisted and still eventually align properly. as for spacers from factory the rear of these arent as wide as up front, cranking the torsoin bars would result in the wheel tucking in a bit farther as well.

 

[tequilatool]

If i was to straighten the lean the wheel would be closer to the body, closer to the wheel well hence would look a bit silly, if you were to look at the truck from the front, one wheel would be in its correct postion and one would be positioned closer to the frame/body/wheel well. Im thinking one spacer on this wheel at the approximate size would bring that wheel back out to a better looking position. If i do move the upper control arm cams only the top of the wheel will move, while the damaged lower control arm mount will keep the bottom of the wheel in the same position. A pain to describe ya, but the spacer would be used to move the wheel back out from the body to its approximate original postion. Thanks Tyler

 

[TylerZ281500]

ooooooh you do know that sounds boogie as hell right? not trying to ruin your parade but if its that far bent then something is very not right, i wouldnt run just one spacer, the way im seeing it in my mind thatll throw off your steering and everything that way. my theory of seeing alot of these trucks go through hell and still align right in the sense that ive seen bent mounts and they still go down the road proper, if your control arms or nuckles are bent thats an entirely different story. since you need suspension work anyways decide if you want to put the money into it and replace whats screwed up. itll be better off in the long run.