The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Uneven Height After Leaf Spring Replacement

So last week I replaced the front leaf springs on my 56 Chevy pickup. It handles so much better than before but I recently noticed that the driver's side is about 1 1/2 inch lower than the passenger side, visible when looking at the truck head on. There were shims beneath the old leaf springs and I kept them the same way beneath the new springs. A quick look doesn't show anything obviously wrong. I'm wondering what could cause the uneven height. I will say that the shims were pretty thick, like nearly 3/8 to a half inch. They're roughly the same thickness on both sides. Any ideas on what could be happening? I understand the shims are for caster adjustment. I don't know how much they affect ride height.

If the shims are wedge shaped they're for caster adjustment.

Disconnect the shocks to see if one isn't the cause.
If not the shocks also try to loosen all the shackles and bounce the front end a little to see if they settle. Then retighten.

If it's in the springs you might swap them to put the higher side on under the driver.
Good luck
Dave

Was it level before you started replacing the springs?

I will try what Volfandt recommends.
To the best of my recollection, yes, it was level before I put the new springs on. And the shims are not tapered. They are just flat, square pieces of metal, so I guess they have nothing to do with caster.

Check the rubber mounts for the cab and the frame, they may be worn out.

Cab mounts are about two years old. Are there others? I pulled both shocks and there was no difference. Also loosened the shackles and bounced the front end of the truck a while but that had no effect. I checked the tires and they are evenly inflated. Also checked to make sure that they didn't send me mismatched shackles but they are the same on both sides. Both leaf springs are sitting on flat metal shims that are about 5/8 inch thick. I'm wondering if that was done to correct some condition that existed with the old springs. If I remove the shims from the passenger side and leave the drivers side shims in place, that ought to level the truck out. But would that have any effect on handling/tire wear? I will double check the cab mounts in the meantime and make sure all is well there. I did not replace the rear leaf springs yet by the way, though will be doing so next week. I don't know if that has any bearing on what's happening up front.

I wanted to post an update on this. Recap: I installed brand new leaf springs from St. Louis Springs on the front of my truck. When I was done, the passenger side was about an inch and a half higher than the drivers side. Both springs had blocks under them that were about 5/8 of an inch thick, so I removed the one from the passenger side. Truck is much better but still about 3/4 inch uneven. Also, I discovered that in addition to the blocks, each side had one caster shim, which I assume has to stay. When I look at the two springs from under the truck, the passenger side has much more of an arch to it than the drivers. The drivers side spring is flatter. I didn't notice any difference between the two springs when I got them but I'm wondering if they didn't send me two differently arched springs. This problem didn't exist with the old springs. So tomorrow, I get to pull both the new springs and compare them side by side to see what the heck is going on. If they're the same, I'll swap them side to side and see if that makes any difference. I doubt the spare tire mounted on the drivers side is causing this, since there wasn't any problem with the old springs. If anyone has any experience with this, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Sorry...stepping into this sort of late, but have you counted the spring leaves on both sides? They must be equal. Also if you remove the springs the length (eye to eye) must be the same. If the eye to eye length of one is shorter than the other, it will cause that side to sit higher...but unless the difference is small, I think you would have noticed this when you installed them. The number of leaves can get overlooked, though. And if one spring was put together with fewer leaves, that side will sit lower. I don't have data for the 1956 truck, but I'm almost certain it had 6 leaves in the front and 7 in the rear.
Jon

Two associated occurrences/observations:

In 1954, the optional bed-side spare-tire mount came with a shim for under the spring and over the axle (I think over, not under) - on the passenger's side, I think.

Greg Hill or others will confirm this (from the Factory Assembly Manual)?

I have to decide if I am going to raise the front of my Suburban, because the front-end sits higher than the rear end - it does not look right. Springs are from Eaton Detroit Spring.

Yes, I counted the leaves. There are six on both of them. Just to eliminate the spare tire as a suspect, I'm going to take it off and see what happens. This is a really weird problem. I asked in an earlier post if the fact that the rear leaf springs are still original would make a difference but I didn't get any answer on that. I'll be replacing the rears soon.

Hmmm....well Tim mentioned a shim for 1954 if a spare was on the bed side. That would raise the driver's side to compensate for weight. If it wasn't sitting oddly with the old springs, I wouldn't think the rears would make a difference. I suppose you could jack the rear end up to the point each wheel was off the ground and set it on equal height blocks. If the front still sits higher on one side, you'll know the problem is in that (or the other) spring but not in the rear.

One of my questions would be "how much extra weight did the side mounted spare add?" If a shim was needed to level the front, wouldn't it have also been needed on the rear?
Jon

Have you thought about taking measurements? Ie frame to top of axle, frame to ground, etc. (difference in spring to frame could point you to spring issue or bumper not straight, etc.) Checke tire pressure, etc. sounds stupid but I am trying to think of items I would miss or screwed up

Chris

Jon,

I edited my post. I think that shim was on the passenger's side, but I do not recall if the FAM showed it on the passenger or driver side.

Maybe Greg Hill, or someone with an easily accessible Factory Assembly Manual will correct/confirm/clarify.?

Greg Hill mailed to me 3 photos with/without the spring shim use on his 54 3100 with spare tire carrier.
The photos are attached.

Look at the names of the photos:
driver's side has no shim
passenger side has the shim

Thanks a lot, Greg

Not from my truck. Just pictures that someone shared with me that I saved for just this occasion.

I did check tire inflation and they're all uniform. Both leaf springs were originally shimmed up by about 5/8" just like shown in Greg's pictures. With both evenly shimmed, measurement showed the frame to axle height to be lopsided (higher on passenger side). Right now, the drivers side is shimmed up about 5/8" and there is no shim at all on the passenger side and the drivers side is still low. Taking both springs off today to compare and will report back.

the real measure for these differences is the frame height. If the springs are at fault, you should be able to see a difference in angle the shackles are sitting at.

To eliminate the rear springs as being part of the problem, jack the rear of the truck up and set the frame on a matching pair of jack stands letting the rear axle hang free...now the rear is out of the picture.

A tape measure is your friend...as others have said, measure from the floor to the frame.

Mike B