Hello everyone!

My 1971 Cutlass S has a lean of about 1 inch to the left side. Im pretty sure that the 'problem corner' is the left front.

When i measure at the front springs from the frame to the control arms at the same positions (left and right side), the distance of my left control arms to the frame is about 10mm closer than the right at the same position. Springs are clocked correctly with the end of coil visible in the slot hole of the LCA's.

SO, this tells me that my left front spring is 'more compressed than the right spring. This rises the right rear side up.

Im messing around with this sagging/lean Problem since i have the car. I made/replaced everything new on my Suspension. New Moog Springs, new shocks, whole Suspension bushings, ball joints etc (Body Bushings too), i had the frame completely stripped down (for sandblasting) last year and it is Straight, no cracks, no marks/bendings from maybe a crash or something so i dont really think my frame is the problem like its maybe twisted or bent.

Maybe the 'more weight' on the driver side causes this Problem? The car is an AC Car with AC removed, so the weight of the Alternator, Battery and for sure, Power steering box, steering column and Power brake is all in the left front.

AND most of the time, i drive the car with no passengers, so another ~100 Kilograms more on the left side. 😃

Can this 'more weight' on the left side affect a car to not be level ??

Do i really have to live with this Problem? 🤔

Thank you all for any ideas or opinions

Greetings from Austria

 

How much time and effort do you want to invest in it?

One possibility is that the control arms were tightened down without weight on the wheels. This will bind the bushings in whatever position they were in, which can cause problems like this.It's possible the right spring got caught in the frame and isn't sitting in the top pocket correctly - it's a little tough to get the top coil properly located around the teeth protruding from the frame.

You can try swapping springs side to side and see if the right side sags. Then you would know it's the springs.

Regardless, in the end, the solution will probably be adding a spacer on the left spring. If you're OK with the height of the right side, then get a coil spring spacer that one half of the difference between the left and right heights. I measure from the ground to the top of the wheel well lip.
For example, if the right side is 1" higher than the left, then add this spacer to the top of the left spring:
https://www.summitracing.com/tx/part...2007/overview/
I tape them onto the spring with electrical tape just to keep them in place during installation.

Sorry, but you'll have to work in inches for this problem.

 

Hello and thank you for your answer!

Yes, all suspension Bolts were tightenes with all 4 wheels on the ground, so no bushings is "clocked". I have greased polyurethane Bushings in the whole suspension, so i think this wouldnt be a problem if the bolts WOULD have been tightened on the lift.

And Yes, both springs are clocked correctly and are placed correctly around the seat in the frame.

Ive already swapped the springs from side to side with no effect. I think i have tried anything 🤔😂.

Im really coming closer to the thought of the much more weight on the drivers side causes this issue. For example, when i jack the car up on the K Member of the frame till the wheels are in the air, the right side raises first (left rear sags). And when i put jack stands with the same height under the frame behind the front wheels, my rear end sits perfectly level.

This tells me, when the heavier drivers side is sitting on the spring, it simply compresses the driver side spring more than the passenger side spring.

Maybe i have to mount my battery (which is a really heavy yellow optima) in the passenger side of the car 🤔🤔

Greetings from Austria ☝️

 

My ‘68 442 has the same issue but is about 1” low on the drivers side front and rear. I just replaced every bushing, ball joint, shock and spring hoping it would resolve the issue. Still exactly the same. I did reuse the rear springs but swapped sides. For now I’m probably going to put spring spacers in to correct the problem.

 

What the heck is a kilogram?

I have the same issue, low driver rear corner. I plan to install a rubber coil cushion/isolator on the top of the spring. These are about 8-10mm thick.

 

If I want to raise the driver front and/or rear by 1” should I use a 1” spacer? A few of the spacers on Summit say they will raise the height of car 3x height of spacer, not sure how.

 

A-body:
Front: Spacers raise the car ~2x the height of the spacer. A 1" spacer would raise the car ~2".
Rear: Spacers raise the car ~1x the height of the spacer. A 1" spacer would raise the car ~1".

Note the "~".
Other cars with a different geometry may get a 3x raise. The catalogs usually aren't very specific - someone writes a generic description and slaps that across 500 part numbers. I found that the lift was a bit less than 2x on mine. Unfortunately you just have to experiment.

 

Thanks oddball. Looks like there are hard spacers as well rubber isolation spacers. For my application would you recommend one over the other? Also for rear springs does it matter if you put on top or bottom?

 

The reason for a spacer adding more height than its thickness is a ratio of control arm pivot to spring versus pivot to center of wheel. The rear springs sit on the axle and so have 1:1 ratio.

I think the top spring pockets are flat and so is preferred position of rubber isolator.

 

Sorry, 1 Kilogram (kg) = 1000 gram (g). Its just european metrical system. 1 lbs = 0,454 Kilograms.

IMO, adding spacers to level a car out is not the best way to solve this problem. BUT, i already have a 0.5" front coil spring spacer (cast aluminium) from global west suspension lying in my garage and if i'm really on the end of my ideas im gonna give it a try with the spacer. 0.5" SHOULD lift my left front 1".

What do you think about the idea that the drivers side is just heavier than the passenger side and so the drivers side spring just gets weaker than the passenger side?

 

I’d try the spacer on top of left rear spring if same diameter. That will push the right front down. Rear springs are mucho easier to remove and replace.

So one ketogram = 1000 centopounds? I’m just no good at this dimensional analysis stuff. In fact, I believe it’s a government conspiracy.

 

Rubber will, eventually, dry out and fall apart. Could be one year, could be twenty. Depends on the quality of the part, which is not necessarily related to the price.
I put solid spacers on the top of the front springs, but that's just my preference. For the rear I'd put them on the bottom, since the top is already enough of a mess with the isolator.

 

Just wanted to add this, as I had an inch or two of lean, which I attributed to everything but what it actually was. The cause was because the spring on the passenger front wasn't seated properly into the pocket in the frame. Looked like it was, but was real hard to see that it was sitting on one of the "horns" in the pocket. After getting a better look and discovering my error, I re-compressed and set it right. Lean gone. Hopefully yours is just as easy to fix as mine.

 

Hello and thank you very much for the tip!

I've already taken a look if one of the front springs is sitting on the "horn", but i will double check it! As you say, its not easy too get a good view on it.

Greetings from Austria