RJ58 Ride Height

[HorsePower58 12]

Today I was getting a jump on putting my rj58 back together. The goal was to get it back on four wheels so I can roll it around my garage. When I got all the wheels on, I noticed the front end was quite a bit higher. I took some rough measurements and the front end (measure from the bottom of the chassis) is about 9 3/4" from the ground and the rear is about 7 3/4" from the ground. Then I started doing some head scratching and thought, "maybe i've got the front axle upside down?? haha Turns out, no I have it in the correct orientation. The obvious thing would be the wheels and tires, but I've got 4x4.80 in the fronts and the 6x12s in the back - which is correct as far as the internet tells me. There's a bit of tread wear in the rears, but not enough to make 2" difference..I wouldn't think. Is this something peculiar to the rj's? Am I crazy? The front tires are just shy of 16" from top to bottom with proper amount of air in em'. Should they be 15's instead?

 

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by HorsePower58

[wallfish 17,114]

Shouldn't sit like that. I can get some pics for ya in the morning with a tape measure too

[HorsePower58 12]

That would be greatly appreciated!

[wallfish 17,114]

Upon closer inspection, my RJ does sit a little cocked liked yours but just not as pronounced. Maybe 1" difference

I believe your issue can easily be corrected with tire pressure. A front tire with minimum air pressure will put the spindle height about 7 1/2" high. Full pressure will put it about 7 7/8" to 8". So there's a 1/2" down in the front.

Your worn rear tires are probably making it about 1/2" difference or more to the axle height. Go higher pressure in the rears to lift it 1/2" or so.

Lower the tire pressure in the fronts, add pressure to the rears and that should get it closer.

I typically run my round hoods with very little tire pressure in any of the tires. They're so light it doesn't matter unless you're actually working them.

Still waiting for the pics to send. The phone pic files are big so sometimes it takes a while but I'll post'm when I can.

Edited August 21, 2022 by wallfish

[Wild Bill in VA 1,453]

Ok besides the tire tread and air pressure let's look at something else, take a look at the mounting of the transmission to the frame, If the bolts or the holes in the frame or transmission are worn then you will get a slant to the RJ-58 since all the weight of the RJ-58 is supported in this area. Try loosening up the 6 bolts and prop the frame and Unidrive up level then torque the bolts to 35 ft lbs. Do check the height of the front tires too, after looking again at the picture this may be where the problem lies. The newer front tires are a larger diameter then the original BF Goodrich Silvertown tires.

Wild Bill in Richmond VA.

Edited August 21, 2022 by Wild Bill in VA

[wallfish 17,114]

Ah, good advice from @Wild Bill in VA. Those holes in the trans and frame ARE going to allow for some tolerance of movement.

All of the little different adjustments should add up to enough total to get it where you want it.

Put the hood on too in order to get a better full look see at how it sits as a whole. I've noticed some RJs look like the hoods are tilted down in the front compared to others.

 

I don't know why the pics won't email so I can edit and resize so they can be posted.

Edited August 21, 2022 by wallfish

[HorsePower58 12]

10 hours ago, Wild Bill in VA said:

Ok besides the tire tread and air pressure let's look at something else, take a look at the mounting of the transmission to the frame, If the bolts or the holes in the frame or transmission are worn then you will get a slant to the RJ-58 since all the weight of the RJ-58 is supported in this area. Try loosening up the 6 bolts and prop the frame and Unidrive up level then torque the bolts to 35 ft lbs. Do check the height of the front tires too, after looking again at the picture this may be where the problem lies. The newer front tires are a larger diameter then the original BF Goodrich Silvertown tires.

Wild Bill in Richmond VA.

@Wild Bill Thanks for taking a gander Bill. All those are good options. Mainly I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something in plain sight that would hike that front end up that I wasn't seeing. The whole carburetor being level (atleast as a starting point/all things being constant) is what jumps out at me. I was giving WH the benefit of the doubt that they wouldn't build a tractor with original wheels n' all that wasn't level. I think there's definitely room for adjustment with trans/chassis mount bolts and also tire pressure. Thank you! 

[The Freightliner Guy 1,332]

Yeah my rj don’t sit like that but that’s probably because the front tires are flat of cuz the rear tires have chains