What is causing my Dakars to become misaligned ?

There is 3 clamps per pack on the Dakars

 

I'll check that too

 

Not at anywhere close to full flex , and I have the OME N182 shocks designed to go with the Dakars

 

Monkey ,

The top shock bushing rubbers look good , no tears , not squished out , not sure how I would know about the bottom without removing the shock

 

are they bending and seperating? thats what happened to the ones on my stockers

 

Nope

A couple seemed rotated a bit , but I straightened them out

 

I only mentioned the bushings because mine were completely shot on the bottom and had quite bit of play. I hadn't ever noticed that play in the bushings before because everytime I check over the truck I always have it up in the air. The droop against the shock had the right amount of pressure on it to make it seem like everything was good.

 

I'm going to check the torque values on the shackles and front mounts .

Heard a couple clunks this morning , same thing , turning while slightly flexed , loading the driver's side .

Is it possible for the mounting bolts to be seized in the bushing sleeves similar to what occurs to the LCA bolts ?

How can I tell if the shackle mount is bent ? On a level surface should it be absolutely plumb relative to the frame ?

 

My rear shackle mounts look like this. // \\

 

leaf spring mis-alignment is commonly caused by a loose centering bolt.
Replace that with a grade 8 cap bolt... red loctite that...
and torque the hell outta it.
Dakars suck IMO... as they only have three u brackets to help keep the individual leafs in alignment.

tho' "U" bolts can become loose and be blamed.
they do little to maintain alignment of the leafs in a spring pak.

A thunk or clunk at the rear, during acceleration or braking
is commonly associated with axle wrap...
and the driveshaft's "slip shaft" lacking lubrication...
grease that... and see if it goes away or is minimized.

 

My driver's side one looks a bit //

 

Thanks for your reply

I will be replacing / retorquing the centre bolts soon .

How many U brackets do you think would be appropriate for the leaf packs ?

The clunk doesn't occur during accel or braking and I'm quite certain is not axle wrap related .

 

Have you torqued the bed bolts. Mine come loose all the time even with the addition of red locktite. I know when they are loose because I will hear a clunk noise, especially the closest one up front closest to the cab. Sometimes they can work themselves loose enough that you can grab the corner of the bed and actually lift it up some.

 

I'll add that to the list of things to check

Thanks

 

I had a similar problem with my leafs becoming mis-aligned. I had to over-torque them to get them to stay in place. (Not dakars, just an AAL)

 

if ya gotta make clamps try this before swiss cheesing your springs



http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/220579-1-hour-spring-clamps.html

 

My Dakars already have 4 clamps per side and they are already limiting the side to side action

I checked the front bushing and shackle bolts , they check out for torque and don't seem seized in the bushings

I have to get the pack out as a few of you suggested and check the centre pin bolt

 

FYI , my 2nd gen ones have 4 , 2 forward of the U bolts and 2 rear

 

What are the chances of the centre pin being broken ?

 

That's a question not an observation ^^