We Have a Leaner!

Need a little help with a leaner...

My '95 Caprice wagon has always leaned a bit. Since I got it the stock springs and worn shocks have been in place. This car does not have the load leveling suspension. It has always leaned a bit, but I figured sagging springs were to blame.

Yesterday I installed new springs and shocks all the way around. It's the same formula I have used for two of my other cars - Moog CC505 springs in the rear, and Moog 5030 springs in the front cut one coil. Shocks are the Gabriel Police Shocks all around (thanks for the tip, Crovo - those are da bomb!).

Anyway, the passenger side of the car is about 1/2" lower than the driver's side, just as before. For the pure hell of it, I swapped the rear springs side-to-side this morning just to see if slight manufacturing variances were causing the lean. Nope, still the same.

Here's what I've checked:

-Rear springs are indexed with the upper pigtail pointed to the driver's side
-Front springs are seated around the upper "finger tabs" in the frame - they are all in the center of the spring. I triple-checked this during the install, and again before I put the shocks in by peering up through the hole in the lower control arm.
-New isolators on the top of the front springs, confirmed to be in position
-New isolators on the top and bottom of the rear springs as per factory
-Car appears to be on the frame correctly - the measurement between the tire and wheel well is about the same side to side. I was hoping the body was shifted, causing this lean.

Anywhere else I should look? The other cars with this setup sit dead level. I suspect that the lean originates more in the front of the car than the back. This is because of the fact that swapping the rear springs side-to-side does nothing.

Any chance I should "custom cut" the front driver's spring? Maybe take another 1/6 or 1/4 coil off? Seems strange but maybe that would correct the lean? Would it cause strange handling if the two springs were slightly different?

Leaning cars FTL!

Thanks in advance for any recommendations...

Are your front swaybar endlinks evenly tightened? That makes a difference...not huge..but it can.

Has it ever been wrecked in the front?

So, do the Gabriel Police shocks hold up well? (I know you just got them) Do you have any PN on those? The OCC needs new shocks and I would like to try them.

Thanks, Chris - I'll check that.

As for has it been wrecked - probably. The car has been repainted. I don't see anything bent, though...

Here is a link to the front shocks from Autozone. I have no idea how well they hold up, perhaps Bill would have some ideas. Mine only have 25 miles on them:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/parts/partsProduct.jsp?displayName=Shock%2FStrut+-+Front&itemId=660-0&navValue=14600660&parentId=46-0&productId=62851&fromString=&itemIdentifier=62851_0_7413_3899&filterByKeyWord=&categoryNValue=&isSearchByPartNumber=&categoryDisplayName=Suspension&store=771&skuDescription=GabrielUltra/Shock/Strut-Front&fromWhere=&searchText=&_requestid=718942

They don't show a shock as a direct "police/taxi" match to the one above for the rear, but I used the Ultra rears for a station wagon. The car handles quite nicely with them, and I don't even have a sway bar in the back:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/parts/partsProduct.jsp?itemIdentifier=358820_0_7413_4610&skuDescription=Gabriel+Ultra+/+Shock/Strut+-+Rear&brandName=Gabriel+Ultra&displayName=Shock/Strut+-+Rear&categoryNValue=&sortType=&store=771&isSearchByPartNumber=&fromWhere=&fromString=&counter=2&itemId=661-0&navValue=14600661&filterByKeyWord=&productId=358820&searchText=&categoryDisplayName=Suspension&parentId=46-0

Okay, on level ground, I have:

Front left, ground to top of wheel well, 28.25 inches (this is higher than any of the other readings across three cars with the same setup)
Front right, ground to top of wheel well, 27.75 inches (this is typical of the other measurements, +/- 1/8")
Rear left, ground to top of wheel well, 21.75 inches
Rear right, ground to top of wheel well, 21.5 inches

It definitely appears that the front left is uncharacteristically high.

So now what - custom cut a bit off that spring?

Drink a beer and deal with it?

check at 4 points on the frame for reference. tweaked body and/or mounts will be caught here. Different measurements from frame to ground may indicate tweaked frame.

Maybe the front control arm bushings were tightened with the car in the air, so they bind a bit on that side? that's a tough one... I'm leaning towards a bent frame though, as much as that sucks. It's not gonna be anything visible if it's only off a 1/2" over the span of 3 or 4 feet. I'm with Robert, measure ground to frame in same spots on both sides and see what you get.

As far as the gabriels, I had about 15K on them in Morticia and have about that on the front ones in the marshmallow, too. They seem to be performing as the day they were installed on both. I can't say how many more miles he's put on Morticia since he bought it though... I doubt they will last as long as the Bilsteins, but the lifetime warranty and price take care of that.

I'm glad I'm not the only one whos wagon leans. My car leans on the passenger side too. I always assumed it was because of the spare. Nope. My car does have load leveling but its disabled so I need to figure that out next. But I now have a few other things to look for.

Thanks, guys... I will measure the frame. It took me over a year of owning the car to realize it had been repainted - it was a very professional job where they removed handles, windows, etc. But it has been painted and is completely rust free. There is also a wind leak at the driver's door that I've never figured out. Both issues point to a wreck. I wouldn't be too bummed out by that. The lean is barely noticeable, and the car handles fine. The 1/2" difference is really only noticeable when I measure.

toomanytoyz wrote:

Maybe the front control arm bushings were tightened with the car in the air, so they bind a bit on that side?

I tightened all of them on the ground. I never loosened the top ones, though, since I only changed the ride height to about 1/2" lower than stock. Perhaps I should try loosening and re-tightening the top ones with the car on the ground. Certainly wouldn't hurt to check!

front cross member is tweaked,.
hows the gaps front dr side fender to body? rad cradle could be shimmed wrong,.
best option is to run a 195 60 on one side and a 275 70 on the other,..

Nick

phantom 309 wrote:

best option is to run a 195 60 on one side and a 275 70 on the other,..

Nick

And they call ME a redneck

Krzdimond wrote:

phantom 309 wrote:

best option is to run a 195 60 on one side and a 275 70 on the other,..

Nick

And they call ME a redneck

actually they call you something else behind your back,. something about dancing ,. i forget now,.

nick
*snicker*

Nick, you got the math all wrong - I can do that with a 235/60 on one side and a 235/70 on the other.

You might be onto something with the front panel alignment. I'll check that out this morning. I also need to find a nice level surface to check some frame measurements to the ground. Ain't nothin' anywhere near my house that's level enough.

FLAT is what you need, not "level". A driveway that is sloped slightly will work also as you are checking side to side....not front to back. You could also measure then tun it around and do it again.....

You might also look around and make friends with a body/frame shop and see what the real deal is. I know there's at least two places here in Syracuse that, for cheap, would put it on their rack and measure out exactly what's going on.

Could you please post pics? I want to see how it looks with Moog 5030 with 1 coil cut off.

I am thinking about Moog 5552. It's 10.50 installed height (vs 10" for 5030) and stiffer.