truck sits crooked. need help

[Liltroy]

He guys, This is in regard to a problem Im having with my 74 stepside(Project SteppinWolf). The truck is sitting about 3/4 of an inch lower in the rear on the driver side. The previous owner had heated and bent the rear leaf springs as well as removing all but two leaves to lower it so until recently I blamed that but I have now replaced the rear springs and installed a flip kit and the problem is still there. Measured from either the ground to bottom of the frame or from the top of the axle to bottom of frame the driver side is about 3/4 of an inch lower. Im running a set of 325/60-15 drag radials and the driver side is rubbing. I'd like to get the truck level so I can modify the rear fenders to clear my drag radials but I have no idea whats causing it to be uneven. Spring perches are mounted even.I thought it may be a frame issue but measuring various areas of the frame, the measurements coincide so Im reaching out for help. Anyone else having or had this issue?

[cdowns]

completely normal chevy lean on about 97% of all old chevy trucks// you can take it in to a frame shop to try andv have it done if it bothers you that much sometimes it can b taken care of a lot of times is comes back in short order

[Liltroy]

it bothers me because its causing the tire to hit the fender and the frame bumpstop on the driver side is sitting on the rear axle so yea, something needs to be done. Like I said the frame measures out fine thats why Im trying to figure out what else could be causing the issue. Could jacked up front springs cause the rear to sit lopsided? Like maybe because of the way the weight is transferring? cause I havent addressed the front suspension yet, just the rear.

[tlmoore2501]

Did the PO lower the front also?

[Liltroy]

Originally Posted by tlmoore2501

Did the PO lower the front also?

yes. It has belltech 3" drop spindles and I believe they may have heated the front springs for additional drop because they dont look like they're coiled even.

[Liltroy]

I'm thinking of ordering some 2" drop springs for the front since the front springs look jacked anyway. Maybe that'll help the rear also?

[PGSigns]

Yes it may help the back. You really need good springs all round. With heated springs you never know what you have.
Jimmy

[Liltroy]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

Yes it may help the back. You really need good springs all round. With heated springs you never know what you have.
Jimmy

Thats kinda what Im thinking.Really hope the new front springs will help to level it all out.

[PGSigns]

Drive it some once you get the springs in and let it all settle. Don't go off what it looks like when you first take it off the jacks.
Jimmy

[Liltroy]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

Drive it some once you get the springs in and let it all settle. Don't go off what it looks like when you first take it off the jacks.
Jimmy

yes sir!

[Liltroy]

Ordered new front springs. Hopefully this weekend Ill be able to put them on and see if the problem is fixed.

[Liltroy]

More bad luck. Please read and give feedback. Post #438

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=438

[bbbc10]

Jus put them on

[Liltroy]

Originally Posted by bbbc10

Jus put them on

so you think I should put the longer one on the driver side like I was talking about?

[Liltroy]

wow this truck is so frustrating. So I got new front springs with 2" drop so there is now a total 5" drop front and 5 or 6 rear(whatever the flip kit did). Before I replaced the front springs, the driver side rear was sitting lower and sitting right on the bump stop. Now, the rear is sitting perfectly level with about 1" of travel so I can trim the bump stop to give me about 2 or 3 inches but now the passenger side front is sitting lower! not only that but it seems the driver side wheel sits further outboard and is almost making contact with the inner edge of the fender lip! Im not sure if the wheel is actually out more or if maybe the fenders aren't mounted identical side to side cause this truck was a basket case from the start but the front is definitely sitting crooked now!

[PGSigns]

The more you mess with this the more it looks like you have some frame twist or the floor you are working on is not flat at all. You need a real flat floor and jack the front up a bit and set the front frame rails just behind the bumper on jack stands set to the same height. Then measure the two sides and the should be the same. The check the frame to the floor at the back of the cab and then at the rear of the frame. This should tell you if it is close. I have seen a few bent frames over the years.
Jimmy

[Liltroy]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

The more you mess with this the more it looks like you have some frame twist or the floor you are working on is not flat at all. You need a real flat floor and jack the front up a bit and set the front frame rails just behind the bumper on jack stands set to the same height. Then measure the two sides and the should be the same. The check the frame to the floor at the back of the cab and then at the rear of the frame. This should tell you if it is close. I have seen a few bent frames over the years.
Jimmy

my garage floor actually slopes to one side but Ive been doing this on my paved driveway which seems fairly level(more so than my garage anyway,lol).

I have been measuring the back from the top of the axle to the bottom of the frame.Before I changed the front springs, the drivers side was actually sitting on the bump stop with no gap. Now I have the same gap on both sides in the rear, but driver side front is now sitting higher BUT, as I mentioned before, when I got the new springs, one was about a half inch taller than the other and I installed the taller one on the drivers side. Now Im thinking I should have maybe went the other way? I want to drive it a bit to let them settle out but Im going to have to roll the fenders first because Im positive the front driver side wheel will rub on the fender lip if Im turning at all and hit any kind of bump. By contrast, the passenger side seems to have way more clearance even though its tucked up in the fender more. Id like to go out there and take some measurements tonight but its about 20 degrees now and hell no! I like your idea about leveling the bumper and Ill definately do that but when I say its sitting crooked, Iv been measuring from suspension components and wheel gap, not the bumper. Twisted frame is what Ive been worried about this whole time but Ive had the thing on four jack stands and frame to floor seemed to be the same at same points on each side within 1/4" everywhere I measured so Im really stumped.

[PGSigns]

On the front springs there is a spigot in the top they have to go around. There have been many threads here where the truck was not sitting right and the issue was a spring not seated in the top correctly.
Jimmy

[Liltroy]

Yep I made sure the top and bottom of the springs were in their seats. I really think the height is because the one spring was longer than the other and if they don't settle out, I'll be sending them back for exchange as I've already notified summit of the issue. I may also try swapping the springs side to side to see what happens. What I'm trying to figure out now is why the drivers side wheel seems to be further out than passenger wheel. When I get home tonight I'm going to measure out to the spindle on each side to see if it's a suspension issue or a body panel alignment issue. Then I need to find someone with a fender roller so I can get clearense to be able to drive this thing.

[bdiamond]

If you're using Drag Radials I would assume you are drag racing? A dropped coil may not be the best choice anyway. I think I'd return them and try a MOOG 6-cylinder spec spring and trim it if it sat too high. But I agree with the earlier posts about frame twist.

[Liltroy]

Originally Posted by bdiamond

If you're using Drag Radials I would assume you are drag racing? A dropped coil may not be the best choice anyway. I think I'd return them and try a MOOG 6-cylinder spec spring and trim it if it sat too high. But I agree with the earlier posts about frame twist.

Ill be making occasional trips to the strip but its not going to be a dedicated race vehicle, its going to be a daily driver. Just a kinda fast daily driver. lol

[Liltroy]

well I put truck on stands today and took measurements and couldnt find any real differences in the frame to ground measurements anywhere so I guess the frames ok? Front end is still sitting crooked thanks to these springs being different lengths I guess so Im taking them off and sending them back to summit racing. Im going to exchange them for a set of belltech 1" drop springs and just pay the $30 difference. Hopefully the belltech springs will both be the same length. Once I get them installed Ill take it to an alignment shop and see if they can figure out whats going on. Or who knows...maybe if I actually get some quality springs on there it may straighten out the issues!

[PGSigns]

Let us know how it comes out. Drive it some before you get it aligned so the springs will settle out.
Jimmy

[Liltroy]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

Let us know how it comes out. Drive it some before you get it aligned so the springs will settle out.
Jimmy

will do!