Stovebolt.com Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop *Truck Is Leaning*

I didn't notice this when I bought my 49 as it was out in the middle of nowhere and nothing was level. Once I got it home I realized it was leaning. I have been addressing other issues and today I finally got around to checking things out and taking measurements. Tire pressure is fine. At the rear axle the frame checks out the same side to side to the floor, I unbolted the bed on the passengers side in the rear and jacked it up and added about 3/8"under the pad. Got back and did a sight check and it helped a little. If I go much more the tailgate is going to be off compared to the cab. The cab seems to be leaning just a little. Measuring from the floor to the wheel opening on the front and they are only 1/8" off side to side. The back is off 1/2". I can jack the passengers side of the bed up and add shims but what about the cab? Is that going to be a horse of a different color?

New cab mounts and new bed mounts may be in order. They are available from all the usual suppliers.🛠

Thanks. How much of an issue is it to jack up the cab and is that going to affect the front fender?

You need to first ensure that the cab is mounted properly on the frame. For this to happen, you must have solid front cab supports (they take a beating over the years and are prone to rusting out), and as-new rubber in the rear cab shackles. You also need to set the gaps between the bottom of the front of the cab and the frame, and between the bottom of the rear of the cab and the frame. You can find these measurements in the Factory Shop Manual or at the online version of this manual.
Once this is complete, then the front clip is adjusted to fit the properly mounted cab.
The bed is the easiest to set level, but it would be hard to do if the cab is crooked.

52Carl,

Thanks for the info. Well.....my 49 has a nice paint job so at this point I don't want to get into readjusting everything. I think for now I'll just jack the bed up as much as I can on the passenger side without throwing the sight line from the bed and cab off and call it a day.

From the picture it looks like cab might be level and the box to cab site line is off ?????? Meaning the box mounting might make for an easy fix. Obviously measuring the individual part and pieces would confirm.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah...the cab doesn't look as bad in the pic but when you stand in front of the truck it's noticeable. I'm heading to the parts store today to pick up some shims and see what I can do with the bed for now.

Wouldn’t worn out rear springs show this type of listing as well?

Yesterday I unbolted and jacked up the right hand rear of the bed and shimmed it up 1/2". Looks a whole lot better. I'm not finished tweaking yet but I'm headed in the right direction.

This remedy adds to my suspicion the root problem is that the springs are worn out and likely the suspension bushings as well.