Remember a week or so ago, I noticed my car is leaning. I assumed that it was due to only the driver bucket installed, and battery moved from front right to trunk left. Took measurements today, and moved stuff around. Put the passenger seat in, not mounted, but just sitting in there. Tires are within 1/8" of matching height on each side, so I will call that negligible, as they are not all matching and are all worn close to the max. Took the spare out of the trunk right and onto the ground, moved the battery to trunk right, and added the passenger bucket. Drove in and out of the driveway a few times straight, just to be sure the shocks and steering components are relaxed. 35psi in all tires. Air shocks fully deflated, then inflated to 50, and then "standard" 30psi. No real change. I still have 1" high on passenger front, and 1-3/8" high passenger rear. I think it always leaned a little. But with bumper swap, new front shocks, new rear air shocks, (shackles on rear), all bench seats out and buckets in front, and battery to trunk, I think it may have increased it's lean. Also, re-alligned after the shocks were replaced. Where and what do I adjust to straighten this out?
mine has developed a lean as well....i will say it has to do with my being the only real passenger in it..meaning the drivers side has more weight and the springs have relaxed onthe left side more
My car leans to the left all the time when it's in our garage. But it's not the car's fault. It's the fault of a bunch of drunks who poured the cement for our garage floor.:16suspect Are you sure the surface the car is parked on is level?
I noticed it most a few weeks back, I drove up to a store with a window front, and saw my reflection in the window, with me in it. It was even worse. As stmanser says, is it a spring issue? Front and rear springs? If so, I might just swap them and let them even out over time, until I do the suspension rebuild.
And yes, the garage floor is pretty much level. A little slope from front to back, but none side to side. I am measuring from floor to points on the body to verify that there is actually a lean, and not an optical illusion or something like that.
I've noticed our '74 seems to lean to the passenger side a bit, but it may just be an illusion. I'm sure replaceing those 31 year old springs would help also.
I assume the front coils are interchangeable (left-to-right). Are the leaf springs in the rear also interchangeable?
It certainly looks that way. The coils are identical, I've had them in my hand. No difference at all. I can't see any reason the leafs would be different.
Sounds like a good project for the weekend. Glad I have nothing else planned. Swapping the front springs will mess up my allignment, won't it? If so, I may cut off one of the coils while I am at it to bring that front end down. What was the overall length of small bumper 6-cyl coils and small bumper 8-cyl coils? Weren't they all a little different to accommodate different weights on the front? I might cut mine to match the small bumper 6-cylinder overall length, Unless that is way too short.
I agree. if the springs are sagging, cutting them won't do much other than patch the problem. Swap them around, I'd start with the front and see how it levels out the car. Odds are if you swap the coil and leaf, it'll just lean the other way. It won't mess up your alignment unless the height difference is really bad.
Good points. I am getting to the part where I need those extra-leaf springs, and new smaller springs in front. Any hint on prices. JC Whitney is cool, I am not proud. Does not need to be FORD brand.
I took physics in college, but don't remember springs much... If I take the front springs off and measure them next to each other, then cut them to match, won't one of them still sag more under the weight, since it has weakened? Any (cheap) suggestions for getting them to look even? I figured I would swap them first, take a look and compare to current measurements (hoping that whatever weight distribution that caused one to weaken before the other would even out when swapped), then cut the stronger spring to match the weaker one. Please respond, then erase this thread from your computer, since I am not usually this cheap and into the quick fix (er, maybe I am, drilling holes in my thermostat and putting in a spool rather than a posi...). I promise, I will eventually buy the new springs (or the aftermarket rack-and-pinion coilover front suspension, if this cutting project works for the short term).
