drivers side sag

[hdff]

I bought a truck in june and the PO had just installed new lowering springs , 2" in the front and 4" out back. I have noticed that it leans a little to the drivers side. I measured it today and it is 3/4" lower on the drivers side front and back. I have also noticed that when I hit a bump in the road that the truck seems to go from side to side a little and also the drivers side from the rear seems to go down more (according to my wife who was riding behind me ). I am not a suspension guru by any means so any suggestion are welcomed. like I said the 2/4 drop is on a 71 short bed with a 402 in it. as far as I know other than the springs everything else is stock. here is a pic and the difference doesn't look that drastic but in person it is more noticeable

[cdowns]

normal chevy sag in about close to 100% of old chevy trucks

[PGSigns]

With a new set of springs it should not have any sag. There was one here a couple of months ago that had the same issue. It was the front springs were not seated correctly and it was sitting up on the spigot that aligns them in the upper spring pocket. He pulled the front apart and correctly aligned the springs top and bottom and it went back to sitting level side to side. Did the truck get new shocks with the spring swap? New shocks and shock relocators in the back made a huge improvement in the way mine drove. Also was an adjustable panhard bar installed in the back.
Jimmy

[hdff]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

With a new set of springs it should not have any sag. There was one here a couple of months ago that had the same issue. It was the front springs were not seated correctly and it was sitting up on the spigot that aligns them in the upper spring pocket. He pulled the front apart and correctly aligned the springs top and bottom and it went back to sitting level side to side. Did the truck get new shocks with the spring swap? New shocks and shock relocators in the back made a huge improvement in the way mine drove. Also was an adjustable panhard bar installed in the back.
Jimmy

I'll have to research what to look for in properly seated springs. I do not know about the shocks but they don't look new. Don't know what the shock re locator is and not sure what a pan hard bar is but I do not see anything adjustable . Looks like Google will be my friend tonite. Thanks for the info and starting point. With new shocks are there shorter shocks I need to get? I'm on a major learning curve here.


Update.... No it doesn't have an adjustable pan hard bar or a shock relocator...

[t76turbo]

Look for a thread I started almost a year ago.

Even with new springs, some trucks do still sit lower on the drivers side. I had to add small spring spacers to the front left corner to level it out. I will be converting to bags in front soon and will just run extra air in the same corner to level the truck.


Edit.... Here is a link to my thread. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=614923

[3drburb]

It may be a good idea to check the other side spring to make sure it's seated properly also check your body and core support mount bushings.

[panhandler62]

There is more stuff on the left than the right. Not surprising it sags over time.

[69gmcc10]

If you cant find anything wrong with the way the springs are seated, you may want to swap the springs from side to side and see if the problem continues to be on the passenger side or the drivers side. that way you can rule out if it is the spring or not.

investing in an adjustable panhard bar is almost mandatory when lowering one of these trucks. if you dont have one it can (and most likely is) holding one side of the truck up a little and simultaneously pulling the rear axle to one side of the truck.

[dougf]

Hope you get this figured out.

[72MARIO]

MY SUBURBAN has a sag to one side even when its aired out. Original spring had the same problem as well as the drop springs before I bagged it. This is a straight original paint truck never wrecked. just the tolerance they were built to.

[64chevmn]

I had the same issue; all new 2 1/2 drop spindles with 3 inch lowering springs in the front and 5 inch lowering spring in the rear. The front driver's side sat a full inch lower. I bought the below .375 coil spring spacer from summit racing (part #sps-1702) an it raised it the one inch i needed.

[hdff]

Originally Posted by 69gmcc10

If you cant find anything wrong with the way the springs are seated, you may want to swap the springs from side to side and see if the problem continues to be on the passenger side or the drivers side. that way you can rule out if it is the spring or not.

investing in an adjustable panhard bar is almost mandatory when lowering one of these trucks. if you dont have one it can (and most likely is) holding one side of the truck up a little and simultaneously pulling the rear axle to one side of the truck.

I Am looking at adjustable panhard bars, not knowing much about them, I am looking at 2, an adjustable and a super track bar. I am 4" down on the back would the super track bar be the best for me

Originally Posted by 64chevmn

I had the same issue; all new 2 1/2 drop spindles with 3 inch lowering springs in the front and 5 inch lowering spring in the rear. The front driver's side sat a full inch lower. I bought the below .375 coil spring spacer from summit racing (part #sps-1702) an it raised it the one inch i needed.

Was this spacer hard to install?

[69gmcc10]

The super track bar is longer and mounts lower on the suspension, that means that as the suspension travels through its cycle up and down the rear suspension will move side to side less and it will help with lowering the roll center for better bite in the corners. It is the best option. The only down side is that you need to unbolt the rear end from the trailing arms, install the mount on the passenger side and a spacer on the drivers side under the axle pads. It is not difficult, but the shorter adjustable arm is just simply removing 2 bolts and replacing the OE bar with the adjustable one. Both short and long panhard bars are adjusted the same way.

I would go with the Super track bar my self, but my OCD about efficiency out ways my laziness weather I would ever notice it or not.

[64chevmn]

The coil spring spacer was an easy install since all my parts were new. Pop the bottom ball joint off and remove the spring; put the spacer in the lower control arm and re-install anything.

[hdff]

Originally Posted by 69gmcc10

The super track bar is longer and mounts lower on the suspension, that means that as the suspension travels through its cycle up and down the rear suspension will move side to side less and it will help with lowering the roll center for better bite in the corners. It is the best option. The only down side is that you need to unbolt the rear end from the trailing arms, install the mount on the passenger side and a spacer on the drivers side under the axle pads. It is not difficult, but the shorter adjustable arm is just simply removing 2 bolts and replacing the OE bar with the adjustable one. Both short and long panhard bars are adjusted the same way.

I would go with the Super track bar my self, but my OCD about efficiency out ways my laziness weather I would ever notice it or not.

Looking under my truck it looks like super track bar will hit my exhaust . Now is it worth it to get the exhaust moved or just go with the adjustable bar over the super track bar

[69gmcc10]

Originally Posted by hdff

Looking under my truck it looks like super track bar will hit my exhaust . Now is it worth it to get the exhaust moved or just go with the adjustable bar over the super track bar

I cant answer that question for you, sorry.

What I can tell you is that in your OP you mentioned that the truck moves from side to side going over a bump and the panhard bar and shocks play a significant roll in that action. The centering and leveling of the rear will almost certainly be corrected with either bar.

The question you need to answer for your self is: If the side to side movement bothers you now and how will you feel about buying the short bar and and the wobble over bumps "possibly...possibly" is still there and it "possibly" could have been corrected by the longer bar?


Theses are the things that keep me up at night! Knowing there is currently an issue, no matter how small, "I" would set myself up for the highest chance of success and get the long bar. Then I would see if it fits and after running the suspension through its cycle see if I needed to have the tail pipe rerouted, a tail pipe is not that expensive in my opinion. But like I said earlier, my OCD would force me into getting the longer bar even after I bought the shorter bar if the problem continued in any way shape or form. Now, if I got the long bar and the problem continued I could live with the wobble knowing I did everything I could to fix it and move on to a different part to try and fix the problem. Believe me, as I writhe this I know how crazy it sounds, it is just how my brain works.

You need to answer a few questions about yourself for yourself so you know how crazy you are about your expectations and decide accordingly. Good luck in finding your crazy level!

[michael bustamante]

if the truck is lowered more than 4" in the rear a longer trac bar is better. it will keep the rear end centered and youll be happier.
on the same note if the truck is lowered in the rear you shold also get a shock relcator kit for the rear. its cheap and will really make a difference in your ride. you can do the trac bar and the relcators at the same time in about 3 hours. look into early classic parts