HouTXCutlass

Hey,
I just recently went to a rear sway bar, boxed lower control arms and wider rims/tires. Thr rear tires are 275/60/15 BFG'S w/cragar SS and after I changed all these items at the same time and drove it, I hadve a slight tire rub on the L rear when going over dips in the road. While checking possible causes, I noticed that the L side of the car front and rear was lower than the R side by about 1" which I measured on level ground. It's a noticable tilt and I'm wondering what may have caused this as it wasn't like this before I changed out the items above. She has new stock height coil springs and KYB gas-adjust shocks and all new suspension parts that were changed out last year. I did have to move the rear end up and down with the floor jack when I was re-installing the boxed lower control arms to get the bolt holes to line up. Any thoughts on possible causes and remedy? Thanks, Rob

Lady72nRob71

Did you leave all the control arm bolts finger tight upon assy, then torque it to specs with car on the ground with all weight on the suspension?

alek72us

I would make sure u daon't have a mismatched set of springs. check ur shock make sure they are both good and on the same settings. how does ur body mounts look.

HouTXCutlass

I don't think I did that Rob. I suppose that little tidbit of info is in the assembly manual. Which I apparently neglected to consult. I now remember that I still had the rear tires off and rear end supported with the floor jack. So you think just leaving on the floor and loosening up the control arm bolts and then re-torque to spec will do it or should I jack it up on the rear end, loosen the bolts and then set the car fully on the ground and re-torque? Thanks.....

gearheads78

I would loosen all the control are bolts just just enough that there in no preload. Driver around for a few minutes and come back to tighten it down. If you need to jack it up do it by the center section and put stands under the axle.

HouTXCutlass

Well, I loosened all control arm and sway bar bolts, drove her around the block a little and after re-torquing everything, she's still basically like before, about 1" lower on the L side. So I measured the lower control arm mounts, shock mounts, frame (front and rear) and the rear end on either side of the pumpkin, and all are pretty close. I measure from the floor to the top of each wheel well and there's 1" lower on the left side. I checked the springs, shocks and just about everything else I could think of and all seem to be correct and installed correctly. The body mounts that I can see, seem to be intact. I'm fairly certain this car has never been off the frame. Everything seems to point to the body but I'm at a loss as to why. Thanks, Rob

stan 65 cutlass

check how the spring sits in the pocket, they have to be same, sometimes one gets cockeyed. check the fronts also

my72vert

How did the car sit before you made all the changes? If you cant remember, start removing the parts you installed one at a time to see which, if any are causing your sag. Like they say in racing, make small changes one at a time.

69442C

I think a little more diagnostic work is in order before you start making changes. With the car on level ground, take measurements from the ground to the bottom of the rocker panels. You'll obviously see a difference from what you have stated. Next, measure from the ground to the bottom of the frame and do this for both sides. I would measure the frame at the very front and rear of the frame side rails which would be just behind the front tires and just in front of the rear tires. If you have the same difference in height as you saw when you measured the body, you know the problem is in the suspension. If the frame is level and shows the same dimensions on both sides, then you have a body mount issue with either bad mounts, the mounts have fallen through the frame due to rust through on the frame under the mount or there is a problem where the body sits on the mounts.

oldcutlass

First I would make sure my springs are seated correctly in the rear as stated above. I can't remember if there were spring isolators between the spring and frame, so make sure they are there or not. The only other thing I can see out of all your changes that would cause any issues in the rear is the sway bar. Disconnect it and see if its loading the car down.

If all looks good I would then go to my body mounts as also suggested above!

HouTXCutlass

Well, after finally getting around to this issue, it seems that there is a certain way to install the springs. The assembly manual states that the pigtail end that's mounted to the rear end mount should point towards the left side of the car. It didn't state if that was for both springs but I assumed so. Both springs were not pointing that way and after taking the bottom shock bolts out, jacking the car, supporting the frame and taking the load off the rear end I was able to spin them to the correct orientation and make sure they were seated correctlly top and bottom. There are rubber isolators for the top mounts and all looked ok. After all was done, the left side was still about 3/8" lower than the other which I think is close enough for government work. Test drive exibibited no tire rub. So I'm calling this caper solved. Thanks to everyone for the feedback and suggestions. Rob

hawks70

Glad I read this one. Having same issue. I am sure my springs aren't in right position so ill check it. Thanks!

TripDeuces

I'm in the middle of doing a rearend swap in my 66 right now and there is a distinct notch in the frame for the upper spring perch. Like your manual says they need to face to the left. I don't remember my 70 having this type of upper mount so it seems unique to the earlier models. Sounds like you have it figured out.

sicky olds

Lets hope that is also what is wrong with mine

ah64pilot

You just had to resurrect a year old thread without asking a question? LMAO! Tom you crack me up!

sicky olds

Ok fine stephen, HEY GUYS, you think this is what could be wrong with mine? My passenger side on the front is higher by 1.75 inches and the rear is sagging on the drivers side.

ah64pilot

Yes, I think this is what could be wrong with yours...which is why I sent you the link and text you as well. I figured you could look at yours real quick and see if the springs are different without having to post on the thread. But since you did, we'll get a whole lot of attention for what could be a non-issue if this resolves your problem. LOL!

sicky olds

Checking Le manuel as we speak to see if i can see pictures lol

ah64pilot

I believe the pigtail ends on the rear end mounts are supposed to point to the left side of the car, at least that's what the OP said.

sicky olds

the manual has it 2 different ways...
Either way my springs in the rear are pointer wrong... Not sure about the front though....

ah64pilot

From what oldcutlass said, if one side is off it can affect the opposite corner of the car, IE: Front left low, back right high