Last month I got my licence sticker and insurance, but my Cutlass is still up on her "skates." I have yet to drive her because the left front was one inch (2.54 centimetres for you Canucks), higher than the right side. For the past year I tried everything I knew to remedy the situation and to no avail.
I searched this site and tried to find a solution. (I don't agree that all A bodies "lean" and I don't believe it is caused by "hard launches.")
My old factory mechanic suggested I try something and while it didn't solve the problem, it did lead to finding out what was causing the @$%^$$%#%$%$ lean!
Who would like to hazard a guess as to what was causing said lean. I'll buy a beer for whoever gets it right!

 

Ok, how bout this for starters? Is it possible that you had any work done on the front suspension where you had to remove the upper / lower control arms? If they were torqued with the car not on the ground the suspension on that side could end up higher than the other side.

Easy fix if that's the case. I also agree with you that there's no reason for a lopsided ride. The worst that ever happened to me was worn out rear springs which caused a nose up attitude. Put in new rear springs and felt like I was driving 'downhill' the first couple of miles.

 

Broken right front spring, down low in the cup where you can't see it.

- Eric

 

I am just attaching myself to the thread so i can find out what the problem was.

 

You had the steering wheel turned? Missing rear spring isolator? Or, what was said above about suspension parts torqued with car in the air.

 

Spring not seated in pocket?
A/C spacer only on 1 side?

 

Is it possible that the right side is lower? I had a sway bar link punch through the control arm and it looked real off. Easy fix though. Just and idea
-Alex

 

Im w Rickman spring not seated in pocket...do we have to split the beer in the caseof more than one winner or can we get our own ???

 

Wellll...We're waiting for the answer...

 

Acck! What kind of moron would do that??? Quite a few from what I've read... Good thought IMO. Split de beer?? Are u nuts???

Film at 11.....I wonder who's closest or whether its a combination of some of these.

OK, ONE more stab at this: Was one of the front tires a different height profile?? or the wheel on one side was 14" and the other was 15"?? Something that simple or silly??

 

If front control arms were loosened, then the car needs to be back on the ground AND pushed back and forth a few feet if the tires were on it for the suspension to settle to normal ride heights. Just dropping it down onto its wheels is not enough, since the tires are wanting to push outwards when let down.

 

It has to be something out of the ordinary? How about an overweight girlfriend in the passenger seat.

 

Rickman48 and Retroranger are close. You both get a beer if you tell me what my GM mechanic from day one, told me to do, that led me to discover the problem.
(Eric, I liked your answer...that would be hard to spot!) I'll drop off a Moxie for you on my way thru this fall.

 

Take a look at the stabilizer bar (sway bar)at each end to make sure they are adjusted the same distance from the lower control arm. If they are different this can cause 1 side to be higher.

 

AllanR...one 14 and one 15 ? You owe me a beer!

 

The suspense is killing me.........

 

Hey, it could happen. Bolt patterns are the same.

Here's the answer you're looking for One spring was in upside down. the flat *upper* was in lower control arm.

 

It could happen in a parallel universe. The "flat upper" WAS in the upper control arm. This problem could perhaps be seen by a very experienced suspension expert. For the common lay person such as myself, I had to do what my old mechanic suggested. Once I did that, it was obvious. What did I do?

 

Hmmm, I don't think so...the only time that happened was when you were waiting on the judging of your first car meet!

 

umm, you mean frame pocket?

Did he tell you to jack up the car, take off the front wheels and look for a coil spring spacer on one side?

 

Frame,frame, frame...I'll be calling it upper control arm again by tomorrow.
Now, will I get in trouble trying send beer thru the U.S. mail or should the winners meet me at Lansing's Homecoming?

PS
If the shock is removed the problem is obvious, even to me!

 

I need a hint here about which way I'm looking at this car with the shock pulled. I'm not pulling one out of my car just to see what you looked at. Is it looking up, down or from front on??

Lessee, shock is out - so it's not the shock.
That gives better view of the frame pocket or LCA pocket.

What are the chances that the spring was hanging up / binding on the edge of the frame??

 

Hey - I had him by 27 minutes - I win!!

But, since I don't drink - send him the case, or whatever - close second!!

 

OK. You win! The only way that I could find that the coil wasn't sitting squarely in the upper FRAME pocket, was after I removed the shock absorber. I was laying underneath the car pondering my next move when I took the shop light and looked up thru the bottom control arm opening and voila!
Now don't laugh, but I had a theory about said shock.I was wondering if it was faulty and had "pumped up" and not "bled down." Way back in the late sixties early seventies quite a few drag racers used 90/10 shocks in the front. 90% resistance to downward pressure and only 10% to upward pressure = better weight transfer.

Thanks for all the replies, just wish someone had suggested the cure in some of the previous queries about "Cutlass lean." (I never asked myself, too embarrassed.)

 

Yippee Im riding Rickmans coattails to fame and glory......lol

actually i just installed my front springs and found that if I hadnt read about that issue previously I may not have been as careful to make sure the spring was properly seated. the spring 'guides' in th eupper frame pocket can easily misguide if your not watching it !!!!

 

LOL you mean the suspension is killing you

Last year I did my suspension, steering and brakes. I found the upper spring seat wasn't that awful to deal with. Especially since after it was seated between the frame pocket and LCA, I had to rotate the spring to get it into the proper slot in the bottom of the control arm.

Nice to know information though, glad you're car is riding properly now. And, even though I don't owe ya a beer for that 14/15 wheel thing, if you're ever in the area, drop in and I'd gladly pull a cold one from the fridge for ya! It was a neat 'treasure hunt' you had going there.

 

Right leaning? Hmm...I was going to throw a political remark in here, but I just read the 'no politics' rule so...