This may be a question for Quigley 4x4

[Russell]

I got reservations at Roamers RV Park, it is 12.5 miles from the Hospital but an hour drive time, so we'll make that work.
Champoeg State Heritage Area was my first choice, but they don't want us there, NO VANS, NOTHING OLDER THAN 2007. So I moved on.
Thanks for all your help.

[Beagle]

On a trip in the Trinity Alps in Norhtern California my 1999 E350 RB SMB Quigley 4 X 4 10,000 lb. Beast was "squirrely" in the mountain roads. I went back to Les Schwab in Redding and was told my "tracking bar" was shot. They offered to replace it but when the Ford part arrived the next day it did not fit. It turned out it was a Quigley part. I called Quigley and had the part delivered and installed when I got back to the Bay Area. Problem solved.

[Vanimal]

Originally Posted by 1der

Fyi - Quigley typically did not “install” rear axles rather they used the rear axle that came with the passenger and cargo vans from Ford. The front track of the vans (2wd) was always ~ 2” wider than the rear track. Quigley installed front axles that matched the original e series front track width. The spacers for the rear axles are a way of matching the rear track to the front track.

Re: passenger side rear being 1” further out than the driver side rear - where are the measurements being taken? The locating pins for the leaf springs are welded to the rear axle. You could have an issue in the bushings and/or shackles. Are there lift blocks between the leaf springs and the spring perches?

"DITTO" On the front width, mine is even wider with the 170mm t0 6.5 adapter spacers. I do not really notice any sway with aluminum lift blocks in the rear! I run 1 1/4" racing heim joints on my trac bar so this may be the reason it is stout. As far as Quigley goes they also used the 2wd transmission until? They had a spacer made to match the length of the output shaft on the trans and bolted the Tcase to their adapter.
A secondary alternative if the roll continues is you cold add a rear trac bar. Ford ran trac bars on their front 4x4 pickup axles for years on their leaf spring setups. I always thought it was redundant but I am not an engineer!

[vintageracer]

Originally Posted by carringb

The rear end being off-center should not cause handling problems.

Not Necessarily True!

With the rear-end being off-center side to side you are assuming the rear-end is still mounted parallel with the front axle. That may not be true as the van may be "Crabbing" going down the road crooked with a bent or misaligned rear axle/suspension, a bent chassis, bent leaf springs or shackles, worn out leaf spring bushings and you may not know it!

I suggest the owner of the van have someone drive his van with him following behind the van in another vehicle to see if the van is visibly "Crabbing" going down the road. It can be very obvious with even the slightest rear-end misalignment if your vehicle is "Crabbing" while driving down the road as the van body will look like the van body is crooked right or left driving in the lane when following.

This rear-end side to side misalignment issue could very easily be do to something BENT in the rear end assembly, rear suspension or the vehicle chassis. The rear-end should be square to the body side to side and parallel to the front axle.

Raising or lowering a coil spring front axle/suspension that includes a track bar for centering the front axle will change the center location side to side of the front axle if you do not measure and adjust the track bar as needed based upon the suspension height change. Question? Is the front suspension square side to side and parallel to the rear axle in your van? Better look and measure!

You can also measure the rear-end mounting points to the rear axle, leaf spring to chassis mounting points and look at the bushings in the rear leaf springs to see if they are all still good. Also check the rear axle U bolts are tight and make sure the rear-end is properly seated in the leaf spring perches.

Time to find somebody that knows what they are doing and get the tape measure out to find the real source of your higher speed steering issues starting at the rear-end!

[Vanimal]

You left out one more on the crabbing thought! The centering pin could be sheared, worn down or missing. This will cause a shift in the axle as well but it is an easy fix compared to all the others. Also the bushings may look and feel good but they could be bad. If you are having these issues I would replace all the bushings, cheap fix. Check the centering pins, loose spring pack center bolt, loose axle spring u bolts, broken spring, cracked spring, broken mount, egged out spring bolt hole hanger, broken spring bolt. Make sure you check the shackle bushings as well, people tend to forget these. Check shocks as to being equal in resistance/pressure, check shock mounts for breakage, shock bushing wear. All this can contribute to sway.

[vintageracer]

Originally Posted by Vanimal

You left out one more on the crabbing thought! The centering pin could be sheared, worn down or missing. This will cause a shift in the axle as well but it is an easy fix compared to all the others.

By center pin I assume you are referring to the pin for the leaf spring mounting on rear-end spring leaf spring mounting perch just to be clear to the OP.

[Vanimal]

YES. I had one on a Cherokee with a v8 actually bend/stretch but did not break. The pac was loose. I have also seen cracked springs not all the way thru from inside to out. Egged out rear front spring mount. Many worn bushings and even more worn shock bushings.