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right rear corner of car sags 1"

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Dakota Boy 
#1 ·
Car sagged to the right with the old, original leafs.

New leaf springs installed. Car sagged less, but still...
So I flipped them around to rule out a potential issue with one of the springs.
It made no difference; car still sags at the right rear corner.

Front of car sits pretty level (as measured at the top lip of each fenderwell to the floor; difference is 1/4"; with the right side being 1/4" lower).

I tried one of those helper springs on the right rear, but that didnt really do much.

Should I add a leaf to the right side?
This is really wierd.
Only a few people have noticed this issue, but it bugs the heck out of me.
 
#2 ·
Is there a body in the trunk or a bag of money?lol is the car on a frame, maybe a body mount?

D


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#4 ·
I would put it on a frame machine and have it checked.

What about spring bushings, they are in there arent they:rolleyes:
 
#6 ·
May not be in the rear, maybe off in front, causing the the corresponding droop in the rear.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Very true! He should also consider checking the distance from the "snubbers" or "jounce kits" to the corresponding metal contact surface an all 4 corners to help determine if the problem lies in the suspension or the body mounts/unibody. This may not work in the rear if the spring rate is soft enough that unibody twist(if any) may cause deflection in the springs. Measuring distances from wheelhouse arches to the ground CANNOT be trusted for "for sure" test results, although it can get you in the ballpark.

All of these checks should be done on an alignment rack in the presence of a well-trained technician at which time he should be able to easily determine the root of the problem. I have seen SO MANY people chase their tails on problems like this when it ended up being wasted front end parts, improper tire pressure, bad alignment(which can cause this by itself), etc. Also, "Real" alignment technicians are VERY VERY hard to find these days! Most guys just put measurements "in the green" not knowing why or the ramifications of such actions.

Ask me if needed, I averaged 8-10 alignments a day while a technician at Firestone and have been in the presence of guys like this.
 
#7 · (Edited)
It's been my experience that older, used body's, especially the unibody set ups that have had some amount of 'non stock' power fed through them will be bent. Either from actual chassis/body twist or from suspension components being not what they 'should ' be. If you're running leafs in the rear, my suggested fix would be to have the leaves re-arched or add to them as needed to reach the desired ride height. I personally try to stay away from lift blocks (where they'd work, re: spring over axle set ups) because of added leverage to the spring pack and that leads to an asemetrical spring loading scenario which leads to chasing handling gremelins. The battery in the right rear will definately contribute to a sag on that corner. JMHO.
Rob
 
#8 ·
Put the battery on the other side and see what happens
What's it sit like when you're in the drivers seat?
 
#11 ·
Here's proof that a blind dog CAN find a bone once in a while:

I installed a leaf spring "helper" on the passenger-side leafs. Then I clipped one of those hard nylon coil spring stiffeners onto the front passenger-side coil. This helped drop the rear driver's side just a bit.

And I'll be danged if the car now doesnt sit just about as good as it ever has.:cool:
 
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