The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Truck Lean????

Okay when standing behind my truck I noticed this weekend the drivers side was leaning lower than the passager side. Any ideas on what might cause this and how to repair?

Thanks,
Chris

Oh yes it is my 55.1

Mine leans lower on the passenger side.

mine leans to the drivers side too. don't know about yours but with mine it's because the springs on the drivers side are flatter than the passenger side. best explaination so far is that over the years the drivers side gets more use (driver always in the car), plus a few heavier parts (exhaust, intake manifold, steering column and gear, etc.). eventually the springs get tired and start to sag.

either that or i've got to lose some serious weight.

with the truck on a leverl surface, i've measured the distance between frame and spring. i think it was in the neighborhood of about an inch difference in the front and about 3/4" in the back. funny thing is that my driveway slopes to the right so when the truck is parked it looks level. if i back it in it looks like it falling over.

as far as a fix for this. since shackles and spring pivots are on my list of "next projects", i'm trying to find out if it's better to have the springs re-arched or buy new. any opinions on this?

also had some tire hop issues when i mounted up a new set. didn't know if the softer spring was maybe contributing to this condition because some of the life had gone out of it.

Basically, it could be springs or your cab/box mounts. Best way to determine whether or not the springs are the culprits is to park the truck on a level surface and then measure from the floor to the frame, at the same point on the left and right sides at both front and back. If the left and right distances match, then your springs are ok (or at least are sagging the same amount) and you need to be looking at the cab and/or pickup box mounts.

Go,with Jeff Nelson,he's right on the money.My guess is the cab/box mounts or the front cab support are rotted.

I am guessing the box mounts, the cab appears to be level. I will however check the rear springs as well.

Thanks gang.

I looked last night and the box mounts seemed to be in good shape, I pushed up on the box and the springs just gave. So I suspect that the rear springs will need to be replaced. Any idea on cost? are there donor vehicles to look at that will work?

Of course I didn't have my tape measure so I will be doing that tonight.

Thanks,
Chris

You can get your springs re-arched at a local spring shop if there is one around, also check your U-bolts carefully, as they like to rust out where they go through the lower mounting plate, and also inside the mounting plate, also Chev-Duty has replacement springs and hardware.
www.Chevy-Duty.com

on my 54/3100 the inner kick panel is rusted away from the floorboards on the drivers side. so mine leans and the floor has a hump in it. ron

My 53 with the side mount tire leaned badly to the left. Don't know why GM decided to put the tire and mount on the left side as it is always where the weight is. I ended up putting 9 leaves in the rear left to compensate.

I talked to the local spring shop, they quoted me $68.00 to re-arc the 5 springs on the drivers side if I take the springs off the truck. They also suggested adding some leaves instead of re-arcing.

Chris

I measured last night and the drivers side is at 8 3/4 inches and the passenger side is at 9 1/2 inches for a difference of..........3/4 of an inch.

So do I re-arc or add some leaves to the drivers side?