I got an alignment when I got new tires and they said the rear was a little off center and I'd notice it at higher speeds, there was nothing they could do about it and I didn't need to worry about uneven tire wear. I measured both sides front to rear axle centers and the driver's side is 1/2 shorter than the pass side. I think it was in a rear end collision and the frame's got a bend in it. What shoulod I do?

 

Can you notice it while driving? If it was in a wreck you should be able to climb underneath and see the damage in the rear, it may or may not be fixable for cheap and easy.

Id say drive it and rotate the tires often, my alignment shop couldnt even check if the rear was straight or not

 

If an alignment shop told you not to worry I wouldn't worry that much.

If its indeed causing problems you should consult someone who specializes in frame work, this isn't something you wanna take chances with.

 

PM me the VIN. I will check the Accident history for you.

 

There is a decent chance that something happened to the truck and it was never reported.

Carfax and similar services are really just a scam in my opinion.

Even with a Carfax you can't guarantee the car is safe.

 

maybe the spring perches are out of whack? i would definitely check them out.

 

Some what true. If the damage was not reported it would be pretty obvious.

I have no affliation with CarFax, nor would I be using it. I have direct access to where all the Insurance claim info is stored. Just trying to help.

 

The frame rail looks bent behind the rear axle, tried to look at another cherokee, haven't found one i could check out yet. It's on the Carfax though. I wonder if they could straighten it, I would think the body shop woulda fixed that when they fixed the quarter panel and paint. It seems a little uncentered at higher speeds, but I'm used to tighter steering smaller cars.

 

Gotcha, that makes sense.

I just know that not everything is reported, and even if you can't see obvious damage problems could still exist.

For example a few months back we got some severe flash flooding in my area. Some places had standing water that was 4+ feet high. TONS of cars were trashed because of their owners being stupid.

Out of all the cars I saw sitting in the medians or floating down the road, I guarantee 75% didn't have insurance, and of those that did, most didn't report a thing. Alot of people I talked to had private shops or "mechanic" friends fix up their cars. None of that crap was gonna be reported.

Quite a few were junked, but most were not.

I've got tons of friends who are "car guys" and some buy/sell them as side projects. All of us have been very careful when buying used cars lately. Its impossible to be sure the car is safe.

Now that time has passed its not as bad, but for awhile people were really trying to unload their junk.

 

I had a pickup that was in a wreck and the rear axle housing had to be replaced. The shop put one of the spring packs in backwards causing the axle to be out of alignment. Measure the front of the springs from spring mount bolt to axle center on both sides, then measure the rear from spring shackle bolt to the axle center on both sides. Mine were off about 3/4 of an inch.

 

Thanks for the help.