Realigning rear axle after side swipe

[Neil Sears]

Hi all,

As some of you know my Jeep was side swiped while parked last year. My friend is my machanic and he took over the business from his dad. He shares the compound with a body guy. When they first evaluated it the body guy said my axle was pushed out of alignment slightly and he could fix it but was back logged.

Fast forward to today. The body guy was hit hard by COVID and it’s not looking like he is coming back.

Because it has been sitting there for over a year I told my machanic friend to sort out the motor and we will deal with the axle later.

I had my machanic replace the head (I bought the Stillwater based on recommendation here) put in a new water pump, do a major service and swapped out an iffy manifold so the motor is running like a top.

Now it’s time to address the axle and I again wanted to come to you for advice.

From what I understand it’s not bent but the brackets holding it in place were bent when it was hit.

It’s a 2000 Sport

Here are a few pics.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

So far as the rear axle goes, if the frame wasn't bent, there's a good chance that the track bar is just bent. The track bar is what centers the axle. And since your rear axle is pushed in from the driver's side, a bent track bar makes sense since that's the direction the axle would move if its track bar was bent.

 

[Neil Sears]

Thanks.

 

[Neil Sears]

So far as the rear axle goes, if the frame wasn't bent, there's a good chance that the track bar is just bent. The track bar is what centers the axle. And since your rear axle is pushed in from the driver's side, a bent track bar makes sense since that's the direction the axle would move if its track bar was bent.

You're actually in So Cal. Do you have a guy you would recommend who can look at the Jeep to accurately determine what the issue is? It is drivable even on the freeway.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

You're actually in So Cal. Do you have a guy you would recommend who can look at the Jeep to accurately determine what the issue is? It is drivable even on the freeway.

Sorry but I sure don't, at least not repairing a Jeep after an accident.