Leaning truck 😱

[robertsjm711]

Hello all,

I've got a lean problem. The drivers side sits about a 1/2 inch lower than the passenger, frame to ground and is noticeable from a couple feet back. Ive got a '53 pickup on an '82 S10 frame with stock S10 leaf and coil springs and12 bolt passenger car axle. I did have to move the axle back to fit the fenders. I have the engine/trans (5.3 w/ M20) mocked up for weight (although no radiatior or front clip). It also has stock front shocks and rear air shocks.

Does anyone know what I should look for? I think i have two paths, one is find a defective component and replace/repair or get "creative" and get the shims out.

Maybe adding sway bars? Does the front suspension or rear axle more affect right to left height?

[andrewmp6]

Either the frame might be bent or they didn't center the body right on it.Or could even be it has the factory springs on it and only had a driver in it its whole life.

[PGSigns]

could be a bad shock, a spring not centered in the front, or a twisted frame. Frame is easy to check. What did you do in the back to move the rear on the springs? You can bind up a spring stack.
Jimmy

[robertsjm711]

It shouldn't be the body - I am measuring rom the frame to ground. It could be the springs, but they were take offs from different vehicles (frame, front coil and rear leaf from 3 trucks) out of a pick-n-pull.
All the shocks are new and I'm sure the front ones are centered - I checked that and made sure the coils sit in the pockets on lower control arm.

As far as the rear leaf, I removed the rivets from the front mounts and moved back 8inches (or it probably was 8, its been a minute), then cut about 11 inches from the rear of the frame off, flipping them and switching sides to make the mount to the rear vs. the front of the removed sections. Moving the front mounts made the truck to sit lower due to it being higher up on the frame rail but I wanted a little drop. Then installed leaf as usual. I did add some channel tube behind the leaf for the bed to mount to. The saying "measure twice, cut once" was more like" measure hundreds of times over a course of multiple days, cut once".

[robertsjm711]

Some pics if interested.

[Ace70C10]

Is it obvious at all that the uneven issue is in the front or rear? I did run into an issue at my shop with the front lower control arms on an early truck. The lower control arm shafts have a hole or dimple on them that is to align with a button on the mounting point on the crossmember. If you don't align that correctly the truck will lean on that side, just an idea.

[robertsjm711]

It is consistent, both front and rear. The whole truck leans. I will look into the control arms, they were off when I got the truck & frame.
I am not 100% sure what you mean by lower control arm shaft- it just has 2 bolts that attach to the frame mounts and the lower ball to the spindle.

[NC_John]

My 70 leaned- lower in the LF by about 1/2-1". Drove me crazy. A trip to the frame shop didnt fix it. New body mounts, coils, shocks, etc.... it still leaned. I ended up cutting a coil to level it.

When i did my front disc brake conversion i found it. I had a bent lower control arm on the passenger side. I only found it when i had them removed for cleaning, painting and new control arm shafts and had them on the garage floor, side by side. It was impossible to see while they were still on the truck. Good luck.

[robertsjm711]

I may have found my issue. The from coil spring on the high side was not seated properly in the frame. The frame has a couple of tabs to guide it in place and the spring was hung up, about an inch from seating. I still have to roll the truck to get it to sit unbound but it already looks better.
Thank you all for your advice. Taking a closer look at the control arms got me in the right place and I don't know how long it would have been before I found it, if ever.

[NC_John]

Originally Posted by robertsjm711

I may have found my issue. The from coil spring on the high side was not seated properly in the frame. The frame has a couple of tabs to guide it in place and the spring was hung up, about an inch from seating. I still have to roll the truck to get it to sit unbound but it already looks better.
Thank you all for your advice. Taking a closer look at the control arms got me in the right place and I don't know how long it would have been before I found it, if ever.

Glad it helped- even if only indirectly.