Truck Sits Crooked

[jay55jay]

SO this is a weird one I put new springs in checked tires for proper size and pressure. When looking at the truck the Driver side is lower then the passenger side. I am lost for what it could be. I tried inspecting things but nothing looks bent to me. Any thoughts thanks. Jay

[thrtsxchambers]

Did it sit that way before the new springs? Most of these trucks sit lower on one side from the factory and no one is sure why. I hear this alot about the lean "gm lean", I think there are some other threads on here about this to.

[SevenSeries]

You know my truck did this too, I found out it was the body mount bushings, So I replaced all the cab and front end mount bushings. and my truck didn't lean to one side anymore.
You should check to see if your bed is level with your back window. if its not...this might be the case.

[jay55jay]

Yes it sat this way before the springs that's what made me believe it has to be a spring right. I put the drivers side in and what do you know it leveled out I was like sweet. I got around to doing the passengers said and back to the Lean. So should I inspect or just replace all body mounts.? The back window is pretty level but here is the thing the truck was in some accidents before I had to realign the bed I am thinking but not hopeing that the frame may be bent.

[thrtsxchambers]

This is the first time heard that it was the cab mount bushings. Good call, maybe that will help other people that have this same problem.

[SevenSeries]

Originally Posted by jay55jay

Yes it sat this way before the springs that's what made me believe it has to be a spring right. I put the drivers side in and what do you know it leveled out I was like sweet. I got around to doing the passengers said and back to the Lean. So should I inspect or just replace all body mounts.? The back window is pretty level but here is the thing the truck was in some accidents before I had to realign the bed I am thinking but not hopeing that the frame may be bent.

Ahh, hmm it might be a combo of both? you might wanna measure both your springs and see if they are the same measurement?
Just though I would throw in how I solved my problem. cause on these older vehicles those things get bad and it sits all crocked lol.

Your frame might be bent "lets hope that's not the case"

[jay55jay]

Ok I will measure both and see so just thinking out loud if it was bent is there anything I can do to lets say mask it.? any ideas I am going to look into the spring size and also the body mounts. Something is def off somewhere.

[Stitch]

if you want to mask it, just put your old passenger spring back in...you said it sat level until you put that one in right?...also, you can measure the height of the bodyline or wheel openings on both sides and pin point whether it's the front or rear of the truck or both that are leaning

[jay55jay]

yea that is true I can do that well first thing tomm I will measure the springs and front end heights and check the cab and front bushings. Then I can decide what to do the passenger side is around one inch higher then the driver side.

[Drzronnie]

There was a thread about this not too long ago. It seems like most trucks do this, I beleive it was referred to as box lean. My 88 1500 and 95 S10 both sat lower on the right side and the s10 still did it with new springs after i lowered it.

[jay55jay]

Figures I have to have a leaning truck LMAO. Drzronnie did you fix the lean on your trucks.

[Cherub]

ive heard it called the Square body lean, and yea mine has it too

[PaDan]

All the ones that I have worked on in the past have been caused by the springs. They do have a tend to sag on one side. I have taken them to a good spring shop and had them rearked as a set. If you put new on they can be just as bad as the originals.

[jay55jay]

Padan you said it i spent a 100 bucks on springs and it didnt matter. I really dont think the frame is bent in the truck. I can put the old spring back on the passenger side seemed to have leveled it out but.

[f.monroe]

The front end geometry can cause this also .Is the tire leaning in at the top on the drivers side ? If you change the point of contact for the tire ,it is like adding leverage to the lower control arm by effectively lengthening it and adding leverage . It moves the centerline of the spindle outwards and will cause a sag .Opposite effect of supporting the truck on a jack under the lower control arm . If you place the jack in the middle , it will decompress the spring because you are not using the same amount of leverage to compress it .
Frank

[jrsmith_2010]

i agree, mine did the same thing when i lowered it, turned out that the spring pocket on the side was not cut right up top from factor? so the spring didnt line up right and caused it to lean, i had to take it all apart again and cut the hole a little bigger and its even now

[Drzronnie]

Originally Posted by jay55jay

Figures I have to have a leaning truck LMAO. Drzronnie did you fix the lean on your trucks.

Yeah, shims in the body mounts.

[Keith Seymore]

Yes - they used to lean, even when new in the assembly plant.

I think part of the problem is inherent with it being a pickup truck; that is, the cab and the box are separate units by definition. That means they can twist independently, the only thing keeping them straight being the frame. A Blazer or Suburban (or passenger car) doesn't have that problem, as you gain a significant amount of structure with the body.

One thing you could try is just putting a small spacer between the leaf spring and the rear axle on the low side. That might bring the offending corner up enough to square it up.

K

[Hottrucks]

funny dad was over yesterday and my truck was layed out he noticed ( I did to awhile back) that my DS front tire is just rubbing the inner fender support while the PS is about 3/8" off it so we (I) took some measurements

from the grease fitting on the A arm to the ground...even
from the top of the frame to the ground...even
from the top of the rad support to the ground.....1/4" diff

conclustion is that the rad mounts ( new ) are in alittle crooked maybe a droup in the mount or the rad support has something funny in it.....all these are causing the DS fender to hang lower...my truck is so outta wack so not a good example but a clean truck would show that (I think) in the door/fender gap and maybe in the hood...

I need to pul the clip soon and wil try to square mine up then

[Prerunner1982]

jay5... do you have a driver's side gas tank that you use most often?

If so, figure 96-120lbs (gas is approx 6lbs per gallon and the truck could have a 16 or 20 gallon tank) has been hanging off the driver's side of the vehicle for 20-30 yrs now. Add that to the additional weight of the driver and you see why a truck with stock springs would lean to that side. However if you replaced all the springs, my bet is on the body bushings as well.

My 82 C10 also leaned but I never cared to figure out why.

[justpball]

its called gangster lean...lOL

[jay55jay]

Ok so here is the update. I went over the whole truck today. I measured the front suspension A frames and springs they are both dead even not off a hair. I also checked all the body mounts they all look good I mean not even rotted or anything so I dont know what it could be. The truck was hit in the passengers back cab corner at 1 time then a front drivers side corner fender and bumper. Could that have been what did it mabye tweaked the frame a little.?

[Prerunner1982]

you bet...

[jay55jay]

So my next question I need input I am trying to get a pic on here to show you the Lean. Your Guys advice leave the Lean or take out the new spring and put back the old one on the Passengers side.???

[jay55jay]

Here is a pic of the Gangster Lean let me know what you think...