After my car is pretty much put together and driven a few times, it's leaning. I'm using a spring over axle set up with a Model A rear spring. Leans on the left side at least an 1". Any suggestions on how to solve? Could the spring be weaker on that side? Thanks, Ty
It could be, it could be heavier on that side. It could have some bind in the springs. Something could be loose, crooked, uneven. I'd check all that stuff out first. Then you could try swapping the springs end for end to see if the problem follows.
Just found a thread where they was talking about the spring not sitting in the saddle correct or having too many springs removed. It has 6 leafs in it now and spacers at the bottom to take up the slack. Thinking i might put another leaf spacer in to make sure it's the clamps aren't bottoming out on the frame too.
Is your battery on the left side rear? My battery box is located right side rear and my car leaned to the right side about 1". I adjusted my non-traditional coil overs to compensate.
My battery is on the left side. Huh????? Got me thinking. I'll add some weight to the pass side and check things. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Balance things as best you can. Then, copper water pipe, cut open and hammered flat makes great shim stock.
If the chassis crossmembers are not stock or otherwise don't fit the spring real closely, uneven tightening has been known to result in leaning. Back when everybody raced old Fords mostly the cross springs could be "wedged" by loosening the U-bolts and driving a wedge, often the tip of an old spring leaf, in on top of the spring on top of the side you wanted to place extra load, and as a result also jacked that side up a bit. Later jacking bolts were used to press down on the top of the spring as adjustment. This is where the term "wedge" comes from in today's oval racing. Most dirt or paved setups jacked in additional weight on rt. frt & left rr. Then when the car went into turn, the weight shifted, ideally you had jacked in the right amount to equalize the wheel loading on the rear tires, which were on a locked rear diff. and running larger tire on right rear than left rear, helping the car to turn. By product was a left frt. tire just sorta floating along for the ride, mostly off the track in the turns.. But yes improper torquing of U bolts will bite you inna a$$!!!!!
I knew that was going to sound crazy. I laughed, after spending all day trying to figure out what the hell was going on with my car. Then, on a chance, I removed the battery and re-measured.
Trammel bars with levels used to come in a wooden box, with accurate counted links of chain attached...a set of 4 cost about $80. When hung from 4 stations of a chassis, they told the awful dreaded truth...the frame was bent. (or it wasn't!) But it was always 'fixable'...although usually merely 'adjusted', as the customer rarely accepted a repair upwards of $200! (the insurance company was often 'wary', and the ugly possibility of 'total' was ever present. Since moving here to this part of California, I have observed MANY (more than not!) 'Street Rods' that lean. (a certain '32 three window Hiboy comes to mind...the male owner rides 'shotgun', his wife drives) She weighs about what he does, going down the road the car leans 2", to the right...At its destination, car still leans right. (unloaded) I looked at the coil-over adjustment one day, apparently the spanner was used in vain... There are more than a 'few' with this syndrome. Most have coil-overs, but there are a couple of trad-types with transverse leaves as well. Next time you see a finished Hiboy, look carefully: IS it level? I noticed that Malcom took some pics of the red '32 Hiboy with the SOHC motor at So-Cal. Leaned to the right...in all the pics. That'd drive me nuts.
Well, when you're driving, you wouldn't know. But like Atwater, it drove me nuts, knowing what OTHERS would see. So, I adjusted my shocks, so it's level when I'm driving and a little lean, when parked. If anyone's noticed, when she's parked, they never said anything or laughed in silence.
I'm going to loosen the u bolt clamps and re torque everything. Hoping that'll take care of it. I built the frame on my frame table at work. It's square as it could possibly be. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I can't imagine a battery causing the problem. I mean what would happen when I put my 225 pounds in the driver seat?
When you loosen up the U bolts to square it up try torquing them back down in small increments in a cris cross pattern so you tighten all the nuts evenly. We have a tendency to want to run the nuts on one side all the way down and hit the others especially when we have to move from side to side to do it. On a side note one time a few years ago when he pulled my chopped and primered truck over to check it for some infraction he thought he saw. Shocked the crap out of him to see an old white guy driving it. He mentioned that it was leaning to the driver's side quite a bit. I said "fat driver", meaning me. He stuttered and stammered but didn't have any response to that one. My truck does lean noticeably to the driver's side because I am well fed and put a lot of miles on it alone over the years.
had this happen once. 32 chassis, model a x member. After painted and built we noticed one side was about 1 inch off on the rear. The car weighed the same on both sides. After close inspection one of the rear end mounts(where the shackle mounts) had a slightly different angle (welded at an different angle than the other side. This was causing the height problem. since the car was completed I used an angled shim, the kind used for adjusting caster on a parallel leaf set up . The shim was trimmed and placed on the lower side between the spring and x member. this fixed the problem.
As long as those shims are captured in there , preferably over the center pin that's a. Good fix IMO . Trouble if its just jammed in there expecting friction to hold it
or since the shim was wider than the A spring, grind the sides to slide between the u bolts to hold it in place
I just came in from a garage session on adjusting the u bolts. No luck with that. torqued the several different ways with the same end result. It's 3/4" lower on the right. Pisses me off. What about using the jack method by drilling a hole in the crossmember to the left side of the center pin about 6". The welding a nut to the crossmember and using a bolt as a jack on that side to level it. Or just shim it.
the shim is simple but don't just depend on friction, you may have to move the shim and use the trial and error method to find the perfect spot. Tack welding is an easy way to hold in place.
If were to take a shim like these and drill a hole near the lesser end for the center pin. Using the pin to keep it in and the ubolts.
Hi. I just had to laugh when you might consider it could be the battery weight on that side but it could not be your 180# on the left side. But then your weight is not there when parked? I see lots of stuff on the old leaf springs having telfon inserts & or greasing between the leafs to prevent binding and many install spring covers. Binding between leafs could cause a non level stance could it not? You will likely just have to keep trying until you actually hit on the exact cause of the lean. Shims may correct the stance but will that really be the fix for the real cause of the problem. Good luck, Jim Good luck, Jim
Hello . Try weighing the car . left rear compared to right rear . If you know anyone with old grain scales or a buddy who races cars and has a set of scales . This will take the guess work out of too much weight to one side and indicate a suspension problem .
My '53 leans slightly to one side with a full tank of gas because the gas tank is not centered on those cars. Is yours? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I've messed around with it playing the guessing game. Really need some scales to figure out where the weights at. I currently used the jack/screw method to level it out. I realize it's a patch, but sitting around a bunch of other cars nobody will know.
I was referring to when he's not in the car. I would imagine every car (to use a Navy term) "lists" to one side with passengers. If it's leaning, when he's driving, the he's back to his personal weight as a possible issue. Maybe put some sand bags in, equal to his weight and adjust it then.
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