higher on one side

[kjizzle]

i picked this car up about 2 months ago (the one in my sig). do other peoples tr's ride higher on the right than the left side? it seems like on level ground my right side is higher. it could just be a worn out 25 year old suspension (and the original owner was morbidly fat).

the original owner merged it into a semi trailer in 92 and finding a whole new body for a 5 year old car was expensive, so he dropped the drivetrain, dash, etc. (all the GN stuff) into an 83 regal LTD body and frame. maybe thats it.

and if youre just parked is it normal for the steering to lift the side of the car you're turning to? i had that on my other old busted regal, but i figured it was an old busted regal problem... or is it normal too?

 

[kjizzle]

oops

hadn't saved my sig:

My Frankenstein: 1983 Regal LTD body/1987 GN drivetrain and interior. Mostly stock, small improvements: Cold air, lucas 009s, TT street chip, 17 PSI, shift kit, GNX style 16x8 wheels. Leaning towards alky...

 

[kjizzle]

anyone?

 

[XLR8]

My car with its original 21 year old shocks and springs sits higher on the right side.

 

[Gary Wells]

I would hit a frame alignment & straightening shop and have the frame checked for straightness before I did anything & then proceed from there. HTH

 

[DynoTune]

I had the same problem on my 86 GN. It ended up being slap worn out body mounts. Replaced them all with the poly ones, and it sits level again!!

 

[Gary Wells]

I had the same problem on my 86 GN. It ended up being slap worn out body mounts. Replaced them all with the poly ones, and it sits level again!!

Did your car do this too?

"and if youre just parked is it normal for the steering to lift the side of the car you're turning to? i had that on my other old busted regal, but i figured it was an old busted regal problem... or is it normal too?"

That's what tells me there might be other more serious issues.

 

[mikestertwo]

Most likely you have sagging springs. It's pretty common on these cars. I had the same problem on 2 of my turbo cars. Replaced the springs with Moog 5606's. I'm about to replace the springs in my son's car this weekend.

 

[1BADTT]

My experience...

I had the same problem on my 86 GN. It ended up being slap worn out body mounts. Replaced them all with the poly ones, and it sits level again!!

+1 !! When I bought my car, I did all the suspension. Springs, shocks, hyper-flex bushing kit, you name it ! All except the body mount bushing & the car sat lower on the dr side . I replaced the body mount bushings & then the car sat leveled.

 

[DynoTune]

Not sure about the leaning when turning the tire deal, can't say I really tried it. Before I replaced the body bushings, I had already replaced springs/shocks.

 

[Gary Wells]

From both my own personal experience and from reading on the boards, the following factors seem most prevalent with body lean.
Spring sag, even brand new replacement springs sometimes do not have the correct rate or 1 spring might not set with the other one correctly.
Springs not set into the starting notch correctly.
shocks, rare.
tired springs
body bushings, expecially lower ones that have deteriorated.
Sway bars, either tweaked direct from the manufacturer, such as rear sways, or front sway bars not correctly or evenly installed, such as tightening the little bar that mounts to the frame too much on 1 side.
HTH
From my own personal experience, I had a brand new from the manufacturer aftermarket 1 3/8" rear sway bar that was tweaked, and when installed, pulled the passenger side of the car down about 9/16" at the rear and about 3/4" at the front, just enough to where it was noticalbe. Took me almost a year to chase that down, and it was found by my suspension mechanic when loosening the sway bar, the car sprang back into height alignment. Always measure before and after, front & rear, both sides independently to show improvement or lack of it.

 

[bsdlinux]

Springs not set into the starting notch correctly.

This refers to the front springs right?? I know there is also a certain way the rear springs must be as well butt here is no notch for them

It is also my understanding that installing the sway bar with the no wieght on the rear axles could cause this as well.

 

[Gary Wells]

This refers to the front springs right?? I know there is also a certain way the rear springs must be as well butt here is no notch for them
It is also my understanding that installing the sway bar with the no wieght on the rear axles could cause this as well.

All that I remember is that when I questioned the shop that installed my suspension they advised me that it was best to clock and / or index the springs, but I don't remember if that was front, rear, or both.
It is also my understanding that rear sway bars should be installed with the car's weight on the suspension conponents.
Nothing looks worse to me than a car that just doesn't sit right.

 

[turbofish38]

I dont think you can clock a stock rear spring. I guess you could index them buy placing the ends in the same location on the spring perch. Assumming two springs are made exactly the same. The fronts can be clocked. Just position the end of the bottom coil at the drain hole in the pocket. Personally I dont see why. Aint the pocket level on the lower control arm? Reguardless of where you place the spring it's always in the same plane.

 

[bsdlinux]

I dont think you can clock a stock rear spring. I guess you could index them buy placing the ends in the same location on the spring perch. Assumming two springs are made exactly the same. The fronts can be clocked. Just position the end of the bottom coil at the drain hole in the pocket. Personally I dont see why. Aint the pocket level on the lower control arm? Reguardless of where you place the spring it's always in the same plane.

The rears are supposed to positioned the same way on both sides. I can't remember though exactly on the configuration since I don't have the paper anymore that came with the cargo springs that I installed.

It must be important or they wouldn't bother mentioning it ??

Someone must know.....

 

[turbofish38]

The rears are supposed to positioned the same way on both sides. I can't remember though exactly on the configuration since I don't have the paper anymore that came with the cargo springs that I installed.

It must be important or they wouldn't bother mentioning it ??

Someone must know.....

Thats because Cargo Coils are progressive. Usually the end that has the tighter grouping of coils goes on top. Stock springs aren't progressive.

By indexing I mean placing the springs in exactly the same position. Like indexing a spark plug. Again,assuming the springs are indentical. Say,take the open end of the bottom pigtail and placing them at 12 o'clock.

 

[bsdlinux]

Thats because Cargo Coils are progressive. Usually the end that has the tighter grouping of coils goes on top. Stock springs aren't progressive.

By indexing I mean placing the springs in exactly the same position. Like indexing a spark plug. Again,assuming the springs are indentical. Say,take the open end of the bottom pigtail and placing them at 12 o'clock.

I want to say the diagram had the top of the both springs clocked @ 9 O'Clock, but to be the same wouldn't one be @ 9 and the other at 3 O'clock ??
BTW: I think getting the Cargo Springs was not the right decision, I just don't like the ride. I should have payed a lil more and got Kirbans stock replacement ones.
The car rides higher but I found out still lower than stock ride height apparently.

Thanks for the help