Shim for rear axle has bigger center hole than pin size??

[jboarder16]

Im shimming my rear axle 4 degrees down after my shackle flip and the shims I have have a 1/2 hole in the center but my pin is 5/16 so it slide right thru... The shop I bought them from says it's fine only f a little bit of the pin head sticks thru? But I thought u bolt up the shim to the pack not just rest it on it? Any ideas?? There pro comp shims if that helps

 

[crazy4offroad]

The pin's head just passes through, you dont bolt the shim to the leaf pack.

 

[jboarder16]

Ya i realized after that it doesn't need to bolt up but the problem i had was the head of the pin barely sticking through so there wasnt quiet enough to index the axle properly. so what i did was i weled on a longer head enough so that it sat in the hole on the axle properly and it worked great! my problem now that i ran into is i put in 2.5" lift springs in the front and it went excellent, no problems only took about 1.5hrs but now the steering wheel is off a little bit to drive straight. any thoughts??

 

[crazy4offroad]

You could have taken the centerbolt out and slid an oversized nut up on it, probably have to get a new longer centerbolt but they dont cost much. Would have been better than heat-stressing the bolt and still having the potential for the weld to fail and the shim kick out.

 

[bucket]

Ya i realized after that it doesn't need to bolt up but the problem i had was the head of the pin barely sticking through so there wasnt quiet enough to index the axle properly. so what i did was i weled on a longer head enough so that it sat in the hole on the axle properly and it worked great! my problem now that i ran into is i put in 2.5" lift springs in the front and it went excellent, no problems only took about 1.5hrs but now the steering wheel is off a little bit to drive straight. any thoughts??

You just need to adjust the drag link to center the wheel. Start by getting everything worked loose so you can turn the adjusting sleeve. Then go to a level stretch of road or an open parking lot. Simply drive the truck in a straight line and pay attention to how the steering wheel is turned. Then stop the truck and make sure the steering wheel is in that same position. Turn off the truck, but keep the column unlocked. Get out and adjust the drag link until the steering wheel is centered up. Then drive the truck again to make sure the wheel is centered. If everything is OK, you can then tighten up the clamps on the adjusting sleeve.

 

[hirschdalechevy]

The pin's head just passes through, you dont bolt the shim to the leaf pack.

All the shim's I have used , I got the shim's with the small hole and new centerpin's and bolted them with the leaf pack , front and rear , (never have to worry) about weld's, bolt's nothing , the right way to do it ,IMO. As for the steering wheel , bucket is spot on ,but if you want to have your turning radius as tight as stock , (nothing to do with steering wheel location) I would run the skyjacker 2" drop pittman arm , it will get your drag link back to flat , where it should be.

 

[jboarder16]

Good to know ill defiantly adjust the steering that way, and I did notice I had a bit less steering radius than before so maybe I will do that 2" drop arm

 

[Beatdown Z]

Yep, bolt-on STEEL shims are the way to go. DIY4X has nice shims, as well as WFO Concepts.