I've done some googling, and some searching here, but to no avail. I have a 32 ford that my Father built around 28 years ago. I've owned the car for about the last 10 years now. I pulled it apart this summer to re-do the suspension bushings, tie rods etc... and change the color from "rusty/flaking" chrome to all black. Car is back together now, and sitting about 1/2" higher on the Passenger side. Orginally I thought I just needed to adjust the C/O pre-load in the rear, but that didn't seem to change anything. I have more adjustment, but I think my issue may be in the front. Today I pulled the axle from the spring to make sure it wasn't bound up, as I could see that the front was not level either. I pulled the spring out, made sure it was centered in the crossmember, and reinstalled. Bolted the front end all back together, and it's still no level. For details and information, It has a Pete and Jakes 5" drop tube axle, Posies dual-flex spring, hairpins with ford tie rod and the 4 link bushing type ends on the batwing end, and a panhard bar. Rear is a 4 link 9" with ride-tech coil overs. Could the hairpin adjustment, or panhard bar be causing this? Or what am I missing? The front end is pretty dang simple. Wondering if I just have something adjusted a little bit wonky. FWIW, I haven't really driven the car yet more than about 2 miles since I reassembled it. Here's some pics, but I can take more if it helps.
I've built 100's of buggy spring rears and occasionally one wouldn't sit level. It didn't take much to get them level. I went down to the local big truck alignment shop and got the thinnest 2.25 pinion wedges they had. It didn't take much, it worked and they never fell out. Probably not the perfect solution but when your working with s customer a thousand miles away it was a solution that worked.
Where did you install these shims? Also FYI, I do not have a buggy spring rear end, it's 4 link and coil overs.
Just wondering, maybe it was set up that way to compensate for the weight of the driver, and you've now fitted the spring the wrong way round, e.g. turned it around/swapped end for end??
I’d turn the front spring around, but if that doesn’t fix it, get a 1 degree wedge like Gary recommended.
If you do a search for bachelor lean you’ll find this. Years and years of one guy cruising the car sags the suspension un evenly. The pinion shim he’s talking about putting them between the cross spring and the cross member near the tie bolt to lean the car back correct. You can see if it’s in the spring by flipping it side for side and putting it back in and seeing if the lean changes sides. as far as the coil overs it could be the same thing and you could test for it the same way. Swap them side for side. I know not all coil overs are adjustable but if yours are I’m sure it wouldn’t take much to get 1/2 different side for side.
I would not be a bit surprised if every new car is 1/2" off side to side. I have measured most of the old cars I have owned through the years, and non of them were right on, and most were 1/2" off.
Yeah, my Coilovers are adjustable, I've been playing with them, by adding preload to the driverside and removing preload on the passenger side, still doesn't help. Also, all springs are new, front Posie, and the rear coilover springs.
I turned a front spring on a leaning '36 once and it worked. Never figured out why I'm not familiar with those front shocks, but the covers seem to be at the bottom...?
Was that on a new Spring? Those are Ridetechs, I had to mount them upside down due to my top shock mounts. I don't anticipate them being an issue upside down.
^ Original spring. I didn't know those shocks could be used upside down. I'd be concerned with the covers filling with water and...stuff.
The front shocks do look upside down from everything I have ever seen or installed. From the top, Did you set the air pressure in all four tires with a good pressure gauge before you started adjusting anything? This is an absolute must as eyeballing tire pressure doesn't work worth a damn. An issue with the front can throw the back off on proper and even ride height. A built in tweak in the frame or chassis it's self can cause an issue including a time worn issue. When the rear suspension was welded up in my 48 as you see it in the avatar the guy who welded it fully welded one side at a time including welding in the buckets for the coil springs without stopping on a side and welded a warp into the frame. It drove great and rode great but sat crooked. Experience says that vehicles that get driven with only the driver in them most of the time tend to lean slightly to the driver's side. Are you measuring from points on the frame and not spots on the body ? I have seen a few rigs where the body sagged on it's mounts for one reason or another.
take the shocks off and drive it a short distance...the oil in the revisor is bleeding down see if it's level when you park....
The shocks are upside down, the cap/cover will not clear my top shock mounts, I'm not sweating the performance of them mounted this, from feel, they seem to have about 50/50 valving, just looks a little wonky. The car sat level, with the old Coil overs, and old Mono leaf. The frame is still straight, all that happened was new bushings, new tie, rods, some powder coat, new shocks, and a new dual-flex posies spring, to get rid of the mono leaf. Yes, I'm using the chassis to measure from. To answer the other question, it's a low dual-flex, there is only 2 springs, so no U-bolts.
even mounted correctly new shocks take a bit to break in... so drive it a bit...if you have the old shocks... put them back on and check...
I checked them when I pulled them off, they feel the same to me. At this point, I need to get it aligned, and the new fuel injection tuned, so I'm gonna just drive it for bit, and see what happens.
There are no U bolts holding the front spring to the cross member? If not, you need them. You may have to make a spacer or some other set up, but the spring needs to be clamped to the crossmember. If not, it definitely could lean to whichever side of the car is slightly heavier as the spring can rock on the top ark of the spring. It can also cause twitchy handling as the spring can move a bit before it starts working. And, in extreme conditions, the spring can come un-assed from the crossmember with the rebound of a big bump. Clamp it nice and tight and I bet your issue goes away. Good luck, -Abone.
It doesn't use U-bolts to hold the spring to the crossmember, it uses a flat 1/4" plate, with 4 bolts, that sandwich the spring into the crossmember, it's a boxed custom 32 frame. I thought you were referring to the clamps that hold the spring packs together. Now that you mention it though, I wonder if the new spring is slightly thinner that the monoleaf was, and I have a small gap. FWIW, it was a Monoleaf, with a stack of spacers under the leaf, which look to made from springs. The new Posies spring, came with a stack as well, but there is 1 less, since it now has 2 springs, vs. 1. I think I could remember the spring rocking slightly, and I could move it back and forth slightly.
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