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Rear Tire Nearly Touches Rear of Wheel Well on XJ Cherokee


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Passenger side rear wheel is almost touching the rear of the wheel well. The center pin in the leafs is still there and on the axle. Axle does not seem bent. Could the front eye of the leaf have been stretched and caused more length on the leaf that has correlated into the wheel moving like that?

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Your assumption about the leaf spring anchor eye is a possibility.  A broken or bent spring bolt at the anchor (front) end of the rear spring could be a possibility.  So could a torn frame anchor or an elongated anchor hole.  Are the spring arcs matching and "normal" at each rear spring, without signs of body sag?

 

Did you loosen the spring U-bolts enough to make sure the spring center bolt head is not sheared from the bolt's shank?  This should be measurable even with the U-bolts in place by placing a straight edge alongside the spring leaf stack in direct line with the center bolt shank and nut.  The center bolt's head should be centered at the top.

 

If the bolt is intact, the spring eye is something to check.  Before that, though, I would do a quick "diamond" measurement of the XJ's frame.  Pick common positions at each side of the front axle and rear axle.  Using simple construction string line, check the length from the point at the right front to the point at the left rear.  Then do the same from the left front to the right rear.  Each of these string lengths should be identical if your axle reference points are chosen correctly.  If not, the axles are out of alignment and out of square. 

 

Make sure the axles are centered at their locating points.  Since you know the wheel/tire is pushing rearward, if the diamond measurements are unequal, and the leaf spring arcs appear normal, either the rear spring anchor is damaged or the frame is bent—or torn.  

 

Note:  A broken spring main leaf could also shift the axle rearward.  Inspect the leaf spring closely for damage.  Also jack the axle up safely at that side and spin the wheel/tire to check for a bent rim or a bent axle shaft flange.

 

The degree of bend would have to be significant for the amount of axle misalignment you describe.  Has the vehicle sustained damage?  Does the Cherokee stretch the leaf springs with axle articulation on trails?  There has to be considerable looseness or damage for this degree of misalignment.

 

Please comment back on your frame diamond and body height measurements—or any other findings...We'll go from there!

 

Moses

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  • 3 months later...

Another possibility, that I just corrected on an older, 2 wheel drive ranger, are the rear spring eye, and spring hanger bushings. The bushing in the hanger, and in the spring eye were both destroyed due to rust, but only on the drivers side, which caused the drivers wheel to sit further back than the passenger side wheel.

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  • 1 year later...

Hey guys. I had to replace the leafs. I had stretched the front "eye" of the leaf enough that it let that side of the axle be further back than the other side. The damage was actually not that easy to see. Had to get under there and really look closely and compare to the undamaged side. Love my new leafs, and my xj was starting to sag anyways.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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