Guys this problem is kicking my butt. The drivers side is about half inch too high in the front and it makes for an obvious lean. I've isolated the issue to the front of the vehicle but I cant pinpoint it. I have split bones, a leaf spring in the front and 2 shocks. I also have one of those rare 60hp tubular axles. If I put the front on jack stands the car is level. Any ideas??? Thanks
More info needed and probably pictures too. What type of spring(s). What you want to do is get an accurate measurement from floor to bottom of frame on all 4 corners. Pick the same reference spot. You want to make sure the problem is ABOVE the axle line. If nothing works, get a fat GF. Don
Some time it's the "U" bolts that hold the springs in the cross members. Both front and back can effect the "lean". Sometimes one of the "U" bolts are too tight or even stripped. I would loosen them and see if it changes the situation and then retighten them evenly.
Woodie is right, you can tighten and loosen the opposing nuts on the U bolts and increase or decrease the torque and change the leveling of the car. Don
are you sure it's issue is in the front? Many "front" issues are actually due to rear suspension being off. I smidge off in the rear can cause a big difference in the front. Measure everything, verify spring bushings are not worn, etc.
I thought about the U bolts, but if you look at the pic the space is so tight I can't get anything in there to unloosen either side.
Copper water pipe...makes good shim matl... L e v e l her out, above the top leaf. First though, the clamping force(s) can affect a minor lean
Think about how the car sits on the spring, its basically balanced. Some extra weight on one side (such like a starter) is enough to tip it slightly. A driver, passenger, or absence of one is engough to tip it slightly. This cause trouble most of the time because its going to either go down the road with a lean & park even or park with a lean and go down the road even. Extra tension on one side of the perch via u bolts is enough. A slightly angled spring perch is enough. Tight shackles because of short shoulders is enough. Worn spring bushings is enough. A leaf spring with slight rate variation side to side is enough. A small shim at the perch on the low side should set you straight in most cases.
The first thing I would do is look at all the shackles. Sometimes they can be to tight and bind on one side causing the lean, especially if it has been jacked up and not had a chance to level out. Hope this helps.
Your driver side spring perch is canted and leaf spring is torqued. Are the perches floating (spin) or bolted/welded solid? Also, the perch mounts look to be welded on at different heights on the wishbones-though this may be an optical. Spring could be twisted/ out of balance. Try removing the spring for a visual then reinstall; flipping it side to side. Axle may be bent. Have you had the car aligned? (How's the camber, tire wear, steering, etc?) You said it straightens out when on jackstands. Try placing it on 4 jackstands to bring the rear suspension into the game. Brake lines scare me. For some reason they look too short as they're almost out of slack with the tires turned straight....
Have you thought about maybe a sifference in those big old tires??? change them from side to side and see the difference changes to other side.....
Just noticed the angle of the front shackles! The main leaf appears short, or if a 45* shackle angle could be achieved?
I've been doing a lot of chassis fab and I'll share this. My car has been sitting dead level ( on front and rear transverse springs) for 2 months with out a panhard bar. I just installed my ( rear only) panhard bar and when i stepped back to look at the chassis the whole rig was listing heavily. I adjusted the bar length to re level the chassis. I figure I will have to do that again once the (body) weight is compressing the suspension to its final weight and ride height. Adding weight or changing suspension heights can cause your car to lean.
If I raise the coil over it adjust the lean. I removed the panhard bar and the car sat lower but the lean was still the same
2X, your panhard bar is in a bind..... To find out your leaning problem you will need to check the weight at each corner. Use a scale determine if one corner is heavy or light. If you want your coilovers to be 'even" then you will have to change your spring rate or shim the spring. I would just adjust the spring to make the car even and be done.
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