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Head scratcher of the day

I can't figure it out. This can't be normal.

My `79 CJ-5 with about 30 miles on its ground-up reincarnation is doing something wacky with where it wants its tires to sit -- the fronts are farther apart than the rears. The fronts measure 43 5/8", between the inside sidewalls, the rears measure 42 1/4" between the inside sidewalls.

I thought that maybe it was my mix-n-match set of boneyard wheels (I wanted plain stamped steels for their looks) doing wacky things with backspacing, but I swapped the left side front to rear and the numbers come back the same (I didn't try swapping the right side). Sighting down the outside of the rear tires I'm looking about 1" into the tread on the front tires, both sides.

I did sent the axles out for new seals (oh, a year and a half ago now) and I'm reasonably certain that I got the same ones back.

Any ideas, anyone? Did Jeep ever make an axle that is /almost/ the same as a stock CJ's, but 1 3/8" wider or narrower, and one that used the same spring mounting pad spacing?

1979 CJ-5 258ci, 3-spd Pretty much stone stock.
Reply to
Lee Ayrton
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Jeep did that with the Grand Wagoneer to aid the turning circle if that makes you feel better :-)

Reply to
Dave Milne

Reply to
L.W.(ßill)

Thanks. I guess that I'd just never noticed it before, but it is good to know that it is normal.

You would think that it would make the truck a little squirrelly, even on pavement.

Reply to
Lee Ayrton

It makes me feel quite a lot better, thanks.

Just for posterity, stamped steel wheels from 1980 Bronco w/disk brakes fit disk brake 1976-82 CJs just fine.

Reply to
Lee Ayrton

Sure, you fell better but gone are the hopes of my D35 growing up to be a D44.

-Brian

Reply to
Cherokee-LTD

Reply to
L.W.(ßill)

Dog legging was still lurking in the back of my mind too. Back when this Jeep was still just a fond glimmer in my mind and was only a rolling frame I hauled it off to a local frame shop because it just didn't _look_ right. Sure enough, it had been hit in the right front and was off square by an inch or two (I forget now how much but I recall the operator telling me it was "a lot".) A few weeks ago when I had it in the local front end shop for final set-up I warned them that it had been straightened and to watch for it being off-kilter. The Jeep guy there told me that so far as they could tell on a 4-wheel alignment it was dead nuts straight.

Really, I'm happier now that I know that the wheels don't track in line from the factory. It was bugging me.

Reply to
Lee Ayrton

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