front ride height concern

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rigger3006

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when my 72 demon has sat for awhile my front settles so top of my tires are above fender lip.if i use a jack on front end then pull jack out i have at least 2" clearance above top of tires for a couple of days.is this normal or is something amiss?. shocks are new monroes if that makes any difference
 
sounds like you need to increase the ride height by adjusting the torsion bars. If you just bounce the car and let go when it is up does it hold the higher ride height?
 
Are you saying the car stays 2" higher for a couple of days after you drive it or a couple of days just sitting there?
 
This is normal. When you jack up the front of the car and relax the suspension, the tires are pulled inward. When you then set the front end back on the ground the tires do not allow the now inward set of the wheels to return to their normal position, the car is now higher. Driving the car a short distance or bouncing the car up and down in place should return the car to it's normal height.
 
Adjust the tbars up A LITTLE and just bounce the front a bit by hand.
 
Get the FSM and set the t bars tension correctly through the ride height measurement procedure. If you still have issues then worn bushings or non torqued pin bolts are causing it likely. Your K-frame pin tubes might also be an issue. This opinion is based on a pure stock setup.

Be aware the ride height settings effects overall alignment!
 
This is normal. When you jack up the front of the car and relax the suspension, the tires are pulled inward. When you then set the front end back on the ground the tires do not allow the now inward set of the wheels to return to their normal position, the car is now higher. Driving the car a short distance or bouncing the car up and down in place should return the car to it's normal height.

Exactly, that perfectly explains why bouncing the front end of the car won't settle the car to ride height. Bouncing on the front of the car will settle the suspension, but it won't move the tires on the ground (unless you have a really slippery floor). You MUST roll the car to get it to settle to its true ride height once you've raised the wheels off the ground. If all you do is bounce on the front end, the first time you roll the car more than a couple feet it'll settle again.

Get the FSM and set the t bars tension correctly through the ride height measurement procedure. If you still have issues then worn bushings or non torqued pin bolts are causing it likely. Your K-frame pin tubes might also be an issue. This opinion is based on a pure stock setup.

Be aware the ride height settings effects overall alignment!

Stock ride height and alignment specs are listed here. Remember, all of this information is for bias ply's, and is not what you want if you run radials.
factoryalignspecs.jpg


If you run radials, refer to the skosh chart for your alignment. You should run lower than factory height as well for improved suspension geometry, but if you're running stock torsion bars that's not really an option.
alignment-specifications-jpg.jpg
 
72 demon, originally a slant, 76 valiant k member and suspension.not sure what torsion bars are in there
 
72 demon, originally a slant, 76 valiant k member and suspension.not sure what torsion bars are in there

The ride height specs would come from the "V and L" lines in the shot from the FSM I posted. They didn't change from year to year.

As for the torsion bars, you can just measure the diameter with a set of calipers and be in the ball park. If the car is constantly sitting on the bumpstops though the bars could be worn out. The original bars are over 40 years old now, so really they should be replaced if any kind of serious driving is to be done.
 
72 demon, originally a slant, 76 valiant k member and suspension.not sure what torsion bars are in there

Really does not matter. The ride height setting procedure is across the board. All models and options period! Granted they are mostly based on bias tires.

I do not subscribe to the theory that radials are that much different. To me it loads the bars and sets the angles in the suspension. I use the same settings and have since the mid 80s. Never wore a set of radials out, caster/camber/toe can certainly be optimized for a specific circumstance.
 
Really does not matter. The ride height setting procedure is across the board. All models and options period! Granted they are mostly based on bias tires.

I do not subscribe to the theory that radials are that much different. To me it loads the bars and sets the angles in the suspension. I use the same settings and have since the mid 80s. Never wore a set of radials out, caster/camber/toe can certainly be optimized for a specific circumstance.

First, that's not true. The procedure was the same, but the measurements were different by make and model as you can clearly see in the FSM excerpt I posted.

Second, radials and bias ply's perform completely different with regard to handling and load distribution. It's literally tire construction 101. The alignment settings to make each one perform properly are actually opposite from each other.

It's not a theory, it's basic physics.

Might want to do some reading before you keep spreading that misinformation.

Basic construction and performance differences
https://www.hemmings.com/hmw/bias-ply-or-radial-tires.html

Differences and how/why they effect alignment settings
Tire Tech

Differences in how they stress rims (some rims are not safe for radial tires!!!)
https://www.sema.org/files/attachments/WTC-2011-05-Bias-vs-Radial-Tire-Wheel-Fitment.pdf
 
I sure do love how all these members asking for help always answer every question they're asked. <rolls eyes>
 
I sure do love how all these members asking for help always answer every question they're asked. <rolls eyes>
ME , MURRY, and 72BUNBLU ANSWERED HIS QUESTION, THE REST IS ALL PISSING AND MOANING--------and a lot of inexperience !
 
First, that's not true. The procedure was the same, but the measurements were different by make and model as you can clearly see in the FSM excerpt I posted.

Second, radials and bias ply's perform completely different with regard to handling and load distribution. It's literally tire construction 101. The alignment settings to make each one perform properly are actually opposite from each other.

It's not a theory, it's basic physics.

Might want to do some reading before you keep spreading that misinformation.

Basic construction and performance differences
https://www.hemmings.com/hmw/bias-ply-or-radial-tires.html

Differences and how/why they effect alignment settings
Tire Tech

Differences in how they stress rims (some rims are not safe for radial tires!!!)
https://www.sema.org/files/attachments/WTC-2011-05-Bias-vs-Radial-Tire-Wheel-Fitment.pdf


Yes it is true! The FSM does not distinguish Which motor or option or torsion bar size. Although the specs may change year to year the procedure for that specific year is the same across the board.
 
Yes it is true! The FSM does not distinguish Which motor or option or torsion bar size. Although the specs may change year to year the procedure for that specific year is the same across the board.

That is not what he said. Read it again.
 
Stupid question #1 thru whatever.

A - B = front suspension height

So on a Barracuda, I want the difference on each side between A and B to be 1 and 1/8, within a tolerance of 1/8, within 1/8 side to side?

Do this prior to any alignment steps, yes?

Nothing else should be done, or set, other than what is laid out in the first two paragraphs, before the ride height procedure?

Thank you.
 
Stupid question #1 thru whatever.

A - B = front suspension height

So on a Barracuda, I want the difference on each side between A and B to be 1 and 1/8, within a tolerance of 1/8, within 1/8 side to side?

Do this prior to any alignment steps, yes?

Nothing else should be done, or set, other than what is laid out in the first two paragraphs, before the ride height procedure?

Thank you.

Correct. Before you can do the alignment you have to set the ride height. The alignment numbers change with the ride height, so if you set the alignment and then change the height you’ve got to reset the alignment.
 
ME , MURRY, and 72BUNBLU ANSWERED HIS QUESTION, THE REST IS ALL PISSING AND MOANING--------and a lot of inexperience !

I was talking about the OP answering the question that I posed him.
 
Lol, yes it stays up just sitting there, sorry bout that.just stripped intake bolt hole on my head during cam change so my head has been elsewhere
 
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