latter bar car????

[kw89425]

my car sits lower on the passenger side 2". i put it on stands all 4 corners took off the shocks and still have the same difference. my tape says the frame is within an 1/8 all the way around. took it apart all the ends are free. what next???????

[Oldewalnut]

my car sits lower on the passenger side 2". i put it on stands all 4 corners took off the shocks and still have the same difference. my tape says the frame is within an 1/8 all the way around. took it apart all the ends are free. what next???????

Honestly here, my friend, you're asking alot to try get a chassis diagnosed over the internet. Did you build the car? Or did you purchase it from someone else? What you have sounds a little scarey, the frame tiself may be straight, what about the shock location, did the previous owner(s), do something unusual. Is it a leaf sprung or coil sprung car? Is the ladder bar location correct, there has to be a reason you have a bias?

Not trying to be a smart a-- here, you need to find someone in your area that has built a car or two and have them look at it. I know I've been away from this for a long time but a truism still exists, "oftentimes people sell cars for reasons other than just needing money". A friend of mine bought a "bent" Super Stock Chevy II in the mid-80's and proceeded to put a BBC in it, trust me, he only created more problems for himself. He didn't discover this until after the fact and only enhanced the problem with the higher HP motor.

Good luck and I hope you can find a fix.

[kw89425]

yes the front mounting points are exactly the same measurement. i dont see the shock mounts being a problem shock are off the car. really it looks like the ladder bars are way off on adjustment. would that not make the rearend off?

[kw89425]

ok what if my car was setup for a really big guy? that would make it high on the driver side with nobody or some one lighter right? i would need to adjust the bars for me which should make it level with me in it. does that put me on the right path?

[Oldewalnut]

I'm a little nervous on this. Trust my judgement here, I'm no chassis expert like others on this board probably are.

Given what you're telling me. If the bars are adjusted unevenly, if you take a tape and measure center to center of your wheels, front to rear or vice versa, your measurement ought to be squirrely. Your front to rear measurement should be fairly square, I'd say at worst within 1/32 - 1/16 of an inch at worst. You get the wheels out of wack, the car is gonna track real funny, as in dangerous. Heims adjusted too far out create another dangerous situation. I know this first hand, really sucks when a heim comes out. About wrecked my car at Terre Haute, Indiana over this once. Had the heims adjusted with too few threads in the bar, under hard accelleration, the heim pulled it's remaining threads out.

With ladder bars, adjust the heims out, you move the rear in or out, to move the angle up or down, you move the bars up or down. This still doesn't address your side to side bias. Unless what you're saying is, one side of the bars are set up in a different hole than the opposite side?

I'm only throwing this out because I'm preparing to put a 4 link under my old car that has been parked for 20 years. I've never done a suspension myself, I'm more than a little nervous. A friend that has built a couple is helping me, so, I'm having to put alot of faith in his judgement and abilities. I've seen badly set up cars do some equally dangerous things.

I'm going back to my first post. Find someone with chassis knowledge and have them crawl under that car with you.

[us7race]

I tried to adjust mine with weight simulated in the seat and set it level like that and the thing pulled like crazy to the right all the way down the track.
So I set it level with it's own weight and it drives straight as can be.
I am not sure why it is differant for me but it works...
Sounds like to me you have too much pre-load in one side. Are your bars double adjustable?

[kw89425]

well they have hime joints on all 3 points but you have to take them off to make any adjustments. i have had 4 link this is my first ladder bar car

[SST4530]

Do the ladder bars have an adjustable link on the lower rear portion of the bar? If so with the shocks off, if one side is hanging lower the preload may have been set differently than the other or something is binding up. It is typycal for the driver side to be lower than the passenger side, not the other way around. There are many scenarios which could cause this. But I would start by ensuring all the rod ends are adjusted out equal amounts. If it still is an issue, start looking at bracket mounts on the rear end housing, maybe they aren't in the same location on the housing.

Bill

[john858]

to many thing to list ,take it to someone or shop that knows what to look for and that has scales,its not worth getting hurt over. good luck

[us7race]

Here is a single adjustable....

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/5/14707495632.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic/8206972)

and a double adjustable....

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/5/14707495615.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic/8206971)

[Tod74]

Does it work? If it goes straight leave it alone. You could be opening a big ol can of worms. Mine goes straight as an arrow and it is higher on the passenger side..I bought the car 10 years ago as a roller and asked the guy what did what in the suspension and all he would say was "Don't f#@k with it it works!" :shock: So I have never messed with it. lol

[kw89425]

i can understand higher on the passenger side i havent run it yet so i dont know what it acts like. im just not sure how it will act sitting lower on passenger side

[itsabird]

is this a full chassis, or back half, caged car? in other word,s is the chassis fairly stiff.

[kw89425]

its back half with12 point cage it is stiff

[itsabird]

if the car is not preloaded heavy on the driver,which would cause this condition. i would measure the distance from the floor to the bottom of the front frame horn,s, to make sure they were same height. do this on as flat a surface as possible, if the pass side frame horn is lower for any reason, weak spring, bad shock, diff roll out on tires, ect, this would cause the driver side rear to be too high, rather than pass side too low, hope this helps.

[kw89425]

i have it up on stands and it measures good the shocks are off and the rearend still sits the same way thats why i was thinking maybe it was setup for a big guy.

[itsabird]

check it off jack stands, with load on the car.

[kw89425]

i have im not heavy enough to level it

[SST4530]

Take it somewhere and have it scaled, maybe it has a huge amount of preload on the driver side, either ladder bar or spring.

[kw89425]

ok i got it lined out. its about 1/2" off now less than a 1/16" with me in it. with me in the seat you can wiggle the front passenger side bolt out. now doesnt that sound about right?

[olds48]

This is gonna sound nuts:If I pull my car into the garage from the left and pull up straight,it will sit down on the pass. side,if I pull in from the right and straighten it up it will sit down on the driver side.If I am in an open parking lot and roll forward about 15-20(past what would be like pulling into the shop) it will flatten out :? Car goes straight,so I just let it do what it likes.

[SST4530]

ok i got it lined out. its about 1/2" off now less than a 1/16" with me in it. with me in the seat you can wiggle the front passenger side bolt out. now doesnt that sound about right?

The way I used to set my baseline adjustment was as follows:

With no weight in the car and it sitting on the ground, adjust the front drive side till the bolt will slide out with ease. Then load the driver seat with weight equal to my body weight and adjust the passenger side front the same way. Then at the track make a slight adjustment of preload on driver side either more or less depending on how it would drift during the burnout. If it drifts left take preload out of the left side. If it drifts right add preload to the left side. Usually only takes about 1/2 turn. Aside from minor adjustment to coil springs if you have them, forget about it.

[kw89425]

ok thanks. i should be at a good starting point anyway

[SST4530]

This is gonna sound nuts:If I pull my car into the garage from the left and pull up straight,it will sit down on the pass. side,if I pull in from the right and straighten it up it will sit down on the driver side.If I am in an open parking lot and roll forward about 15-20(past what would be like pulling into the shop) it will flatten out :? Car goes straight,so I just let it do what it likes.

Does that thing have a spool? Sounds like the tires dragging on one side or the other creating preload on the suspension. :?

[olds48]

Yes,it does have a spool