[ihc] Things That Go GRRRRRRRIND In The Night!

["Peter Ferris" <binder@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings All,

Interesting problem I can't say I've run into before.  Here's a sequence of
events for the past 24 hrs:

1) My REAR left shock -- same one that has all the Grade 8 hardware, and the
same one that was torqued to 60'# (or was it 65, I forget!) -- shed its
hardware AGAIN. This is getting old. As a roadside repair, about all could
do (not having replacement hardware with me) was to wire tie the shock up
off the ground and intend to deal with it later.

2) On the way home, Something Bad happened.  It appears the FRONT axle or
frame has shifted a bit.  Now, the FRONT RIGHT tire is getting cut to shreds
by the FRONT of the right front fender.  Fortunately this happened within a
few miles of home.  I really had little choice but to limp on home as it
was. Yeah, I know this wasn't the optimal move, but I let my AAA lapse, and
don't know anyone with a trailer (that could help that evening). We have
some aggressive law enforcement around here that are quick to tow off
anything by the side of the highway. Anyhow, in the process, it "shredded"
(not REAL badly, but noticeably) the front fender - every time I hit a bump
or turned the wheel the wrong way, etc.  The vibration cracked my side
marker and I lost the emblem off the fender.  But I digress.

To the point: What's happened and where do I go from here?  I can fix the
shock, but I suspect the axle has tilted or something else is askew to cause
this. On one side there is several inches of clearance to the tire.  On the
opposite side (passenger) the front most corner of the fender wants to dive
into the tire.  I'm sure fixing the opposite/diagonal shock will not
magically cure the problem I'm now seeing.  Is it as "simple" as getting a
tape measure and 'squaring' this, or is it more complicated/precise than
this.  Is this something that can be done in the driveway, or should I
trailer it over to a professional alignment shop?

Right now I'm going out to get it up on jack stands to have a good look at
it. 

Any hints/tip appreciated. 

Cheers,

--Pete

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   \/-----------------\/	Peter Ferris
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