car sits a bit off

[BarryK]

Hi all

when I dropped my car off at the paint shop last Sept and the painter and I were going over the car we both noticed that it's sitting just slightly lower on one side in the front. It's not very noticable unless you squat down and look at the car at eyelevel. The rear looks fine but one side in the front is slightly lower than the other.
My painter is waiting until the paint is finished and it's all reassembled to measure the difference from one side to the other but i'm guessing it's about 1/2" to 3/4" difference.
i'm thinking it could be the spring on that side making it sit that way, but any other ideas or suggestions that I should look into that would cause this to happen?

oh, if it helps, the car was body-off restored just before I got her and pretty much almost everything on the chassis had been replaced or refinished so I don't think it should be a case of just a worn-out part causing the problem. of course, a lot of the work done was done poorly so I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if I find out a lot of the parts are still the originals that were just painted to give them a fresh look.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Check if the coil spring on the high side of the car is properly seated.

 

[BarryK]

thanks Bob. I wouldn't have thought of that. I assumed the problem would be on the low side because it was lower and didn't think about that the other side could be higher because of a problem. I'll check it out.

now a novice question (again)....... how do I tell if it's seated properly or not?

 

[redvett]

Hi all

when I dropped my car off at the paint shop last Sept and the painter and I were going over the car we both noticed that it's sitting just slightly lower on one side in the front. It's not very noticable unless you squat down and look at the car at eyelevel. The rear looks fine but one side in the front is slightly lower than the other.
My painter is waiting until the paint is finished and it's all reassembled to measure the difference from one side to the other but i'm guessing it's about 1/2" to 3/4" difference.
i'm thinking it could be the spring on that side making it sit that way, but any other ideas or suggestions that I should look into that would cause this to happen?

oh, if it helps, the car was body-off restored just before I got her and pretty much almost everything on the chassis had been replaced or refinished so I don't think it should be a case of just a worn-out part causing the problem. of course, a lot of the work done was done poorly so I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if I find out a lot of the parts are still the originals that were just painted to give them a fresh look.

Do not measure from the body to the ground. The correct way is from the bottom of the frame rails to the level floor. Check the GM service manual for the correct spec's.

 

[BarryK]

thanks redvette, i'll do that.

 

[67HEAVEN]

how do I tell if it's seated properly or not?

Barry,

The bottom "end" of the coil spring must be butt up against the raised lip or tab in the lower control arm. The upper end of the coil spring must also be properly located in the frame pocket.

The former is more likely the problem than the latter.

 

[BarryK]

Barry,

The bottom "end" of the coil spring must be butt up against the raised lip or tab in the lower control arm. The upper end of the coil spring must also be properly located in the frame pocket.

The former is more likely the problem than the latter.

thanks

 

[Hib Halverson]

With a car that old, I wouldn't find it unusual to have a ride height problem.
The first thing to do, is as said above: check to make sure the coil springs are seated. Then inspect the rear spring to make sure it's in good condition with all its cushions intact and the spring bolt nuts tightened to the same length. Also, if you've got aftermarket gas shocks, I'd inspect each shock for a failure. If you've lost gas pressure in one shock, that corner will sit low. I'd inspect all bushings for condition and replace as necessary. I'd check the alignment, especially at the rear.

If you still don't find a problem, I'd measure the trim height per the service manual to find out the exact nature of the problem. If that measurement shows a problem, then I'd start looking at some new parts. If the problem is a low front corner, I'd replace the spring(s) at that end first.

 

[BarryK]

thanks hib
car was body-off restored less than 2 years ago and everything on the suspenion looks to have been replaced or refurbished. bushings are good and shocks are new but i'll double check everything. car was 4 wheel aligned last summer and only about 500 miles on her since.
it's sitting low on one front side so i guess it must be the spring. i'll check it's seated correctly as per 67heaven and take it from there. looks like i have over 2 months now though until i have to deal with it.

 

[Tom Bryant]

To have the spring not seated correctly is a very common problem after a rebuild. My '59 sits 1/2 inch low on the left front. The previous owner had the front suspension bushings, king pins and steering rebuilt shortly before I got it but it still has the original springs. I'll have to take it apart to see if it's a weak spring or just not seated right. It's one of those things I have been wondering about for 35 years. I bought new GM springs in 1971 so I have them.

 

[BarryK]

tom

i guess it's not an urgent problem than, huh?

 

[Tom Bryant]

I guess not.

 

[JohnZ]

Midyear front springs are spec'd to be seated only at the top, in the frame pocket; the end of the spring should be 3/8" away from the "stop" formation in the pocket. Bottom doesn't matter - the hole in the pocket in the lower control arm is just for water drainage.

 

[BarryK]

John, you mean it's possible for the spring to be incorrectly seated at the TOP?

 

[JohnZ]

Yes - that's the only place it needs to be properly seated, as noted in the Assembly Manual; the bottom end just goes where it ends up.

 

[BarryK]

thanks John, as soon as my car gets back i'll look at it.