Frame twist? Body shift? What would you think?

A few months back, to avoid a collision on the freeway in my '93 Dakota, a basically threw the truck into a slide at 70+ MPH. It was a sudden and violent throw (to the right) with little braking that I thought was gonna roll the truck.

Now about 2 months later, truck is getting a drivers side lean much like a '70's full size PU (I haven't suddenly gained weight ). The steering wheel is a little more off center than it was, and....as much as the passenger side rear wheel is too far out, the drivers side is too far in (like either the axle or the bed shifted) but the cab/bed alignment doesn't seem changed.

I haven't had the truck on a lift, but I crawled around underneath it looking for signs of shift, frame crack(s)...etc, etc, and didn't see anything (frame is rust free BTW)

That being said though, the truck still drives the same. It doesn't pull when you let go of the wheel at speed, nor does it pull when you brake.

Do you think any of this is related to what happened a few months back? I guess I'm a little because I've had two full size truck frames fail (rust free) for different reasons.

i would take a good hard look at the rear axle center bolts in the center of the springs,they could be bent or broke,if either has happened it will most likely run dog legged down the road,need some one to drive it towards you from a distance,its real easy to see that way

My money is on a broken spring pack bolt

Look at the cab to frame body mounts. My bet is the rubber bushing has pulled through the frame mounting hole, or the rubber has deteriorated enough to pull through the frame hole. I've seen this happen on frames that still look brand new, its not a rust problem as much as a wear problem.

The area around the rubber sits on on the frame bracket is only about a 1/4" wider then the outside of the rubber mount itself. With age, dirt/sand/grit gets between the mount and the frame and wears on the frame's metal surface. When you get a jolt or sudden movement, the edges of the frame bracket give away very easily. To repair the area, you will need to remove the bolt, jack up the cab, pull the rubber bushing out, and replace a section of the metal around the hole. Basically you weld in a ring that is about a 1/2" wide to the existing frame bracket so the rubber has something to sit on again. You may or may not need new rubber bushings. I suspects you will need to repair at least both body mounts on the driver side, but I would also look at the passenger side as it may not be a lot better.

In my shop, that is about a $100 repair per mount, + the rubber bushing if it also needs to be replaced. I have done a lot of them. Its more an issue of the design rather then a manufacturer, everyone uses the same design. Gene

i had the top spring break once and pull a couple inches apart---it didnt pull out from under the spring bolts though...