Front end not level

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73stroked duster

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driver side is about 1 inch taller from ground to fender. Can this be adjusted with the torsion bars? Been messing with it and keep seem to get both sides equal. Passenger side is strewed almost all the way in and driver is way out.
 
73stroked duster said:
driver side is about 1 inch taller from ground to fender. Can this be adjusted with the torsion bars? Been messing with it and keep seem to get both sides equal. Passenger side is strewed almost all the way in and driver is way out.
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Yes. but if one side is screwed all the way in and the other side is all the way out on the torsion bar adjusters, you've got bigger issues. Worn out suspension or torsion bars, or both. Or even worse yet, tweaked/bent frame rails or K frame.
 
It could be that the torsion bar is totally wiped out, but as dukeboy pointed out it could also be a bunch of other stuff. Stripped torsion bar adjuster, torsion bar socket broken loose from the crossmember, LCA pivot mount torn out of the K member, bent just about anything structural.

It could also be a problem with the rear suspension, if the rear suspension isn't level it will load the front suspension differently from side to side. Time to take a good look at everything and see what's going on.

It would also help to know more about your car and suspension. Is everything stock? Has the front end ever been rebuilt?
 
72bluNblu said:
It could be that the torsion bar is totally wiped out, but as dukeboy pointed out it could also be a bunch of other stuff. Stripped torsion bar adjuster, torsion bar socket broken loose from the crossmember, LCA pivot mount torn out of the K member, bent just about anything structural.

It could also be a problem with the rear suspension, if the rear suspension isn't level it will load the front suspension differently from side to side. Time to take a good look at everything and see what's going on.

It would also help to know more about your car and suspension. Is everything stock? Has the front end ever been rebuilt?
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and pics would help as well. I could see a bent LCA or UCA causing it too.
 
Seems stock except tubular upper control arms.All the ball joints look newer and have no play. I installed a new steering box and just put on a sway bar but problem was there before the sway bar and steering box install. Car does pull slightly to the left. Also just upgraded to the 11.75 brakes
 
73stroked duster said:
Seems stock except tubular upper control arms.All the ball joints look newer and have no play. I installed a new steering box and just put on a sway bar but problem was there before the sway bar and steering box install. Car does pull slightly to the left. Also just upgraded to the 11.75 brakes
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Has the car had an alignment since all the new parts were installed?

Check the LCA pivot mounts and torsion bar sockets, check the adjusters to make sure they’re not stripped now (no adjustments with weight on the suspension). Check that the end links on the sway bar are set the same.

And yeah, check the rear suspension too. If you have SS springs back there the front will not have the same adjustment left to right with the front end level. Or you could have a broken spring, etc in the back.
 
72bluNblu said:
Has the car had an alignment since all the new parts were installed?

Check the LCA pivot mounts and torsion bar sockets, check the adjusters to make sure they’re not stripped now (no adjustments with weight on the suspension). Check that the end links on the sway bar are set the same.

And yeah, check the rear suspension too. If you have SS springs back there the front will not have the same adjustment left to right with the front end level. Or you could have a broken spring, etc in the back.
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I got the pull out by adjusting the torsion bars a bit. I noticed that the rear is also high on the drivers side.
 
73stroked duster said:
I got the pull out by adjusting the torsion bars a bit. I noticed that the rear is also high on the drivers side.
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So in other words, who knows what the alignment numbers look like. The alignment numbers all change with ride height. Also, if the camber is completely different side to side, it could contribute a bit to the ride height being a little different. Oh, and the rear springs are probably involved in this issue too if it's not the same height back there either.

Right, back to what I said. You need to inspect everything for damage, including the rear suspension, and figure out what rear springs you've got in there. Should be a part number stamped into them or painted on.

Diagnosing a problem, sight unseen, over the internet, is not likely to narrow down your problem to a single thing. The best any of us can do is give a list of possible issues for you to check, and you've already got a bunch of things to look at. To actually find the problem you're just going to have to check everything.
 
72bluNblu said:
So in other words, who knows what the alignment numbers look like. The alignment numbers all change with ride height. Also, if the camber is completely different side to side, it could contribute a bit to the ride height being a little different. Oh, and the rear springs are probably involved in this issue too if it's not the same height back
Right, back to what I said. You need to inspect everything for damage, including the rear suspension, and figure out what rear springs you've got in there. Should be a part number stamped into them or painted on.

Diagnosing a problem, sight unseen, over the internet, is not likely to narrow down your problem to a single thing. The best any of us can do is give a list of possible issues for you to check, and you've already got a bunch of things to look at. To actually find the problem you're just going to have to check everything.
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nobody mentioned the rear torsion bar anchors. If the torsion bar anchor has broken loose because of rust or such, you can crank the torsion bar all you want and it won't change. I've never actually seen it, because I think it's more of a northeastern thing, you know salting the roads, but I've read of it. It may not be common, but evidently it does happen.
 
rustycowll69 said:
nobody mentioned the rear torsion bar anchors. If the torsion bar anchor has broken loose because of rust or such, you can crank the torsion bar all you want and it won't change. I've never actually seen it, because I think it's more of a northeastern thing, you know salting the roads, but I've read of it. It may not be common, but evidently it does happen.
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I did, post #3. “Torsion bar socket broken loose from the crossmember.”

It definitely does happen, and the rust doesn’t necessarily need to be that bad. The factory welds on some of the torsion bar anchors were pretty bad from the factory, so in some cases very little rust can cause the welds to fail and the anchor to spin.
 
72bluNblu said:
I did, post #3. “Torsion bar socket broken loose from the crossmember.”

It definitely does happen, and the rust doesn’t necessarily need to be that bad. The factory welds on some of the torsion bar anchors were pretty bad from the factory, so in some cases very little rust can cause the welds to fail and the anchor to spin.
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yes, I see. I just skimmed the replies, and thought you were referring to the front anchor, probably because when I think cross member I think trans mount, not torsion bar anchor. You say tomato....
Another remote possibility , maybe someone mixed up the torsion bars: left where right is supposed to go, and vice versa. Or mismatched t-bars.
 
If the bolts are one screwed all the way in , the other all the way out, I would expect the ride height to be off by an inch side to side. What happens when they are both backed out the same amount and bounce the front end a few times?
 
B'cuda said:
If the bolts are one screwed all the way in , the other all the way out, I would expect the ride height to be off by an inch side to side. What happens when they are both backed out the same amount and bounce the front end a few times?
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I got both sides within 1/2 inch and the car does not pull to the left as bad. Underdercarage very clean don’t see anything broke or rusted thru.Guess I will leave it at that.Will continue to look for anything broken or loose
 
73stroked duster said:
I got both sides within 1/2 inch and the car does not pull to the left as bad. Underdercarage very clean don’t see anything broke or rusted thru.Guess I will leave it at that.Will continue to look for anything broken or loose
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Where do you take your measurements?
 
73stroked duster said:
I got both sides within 1/2 inch and the car does not pull to the left as bad. Underdercarage very clean don’t see anything broke or rusted thru.Guess I will leave it at that.Will continue to look for anything broken or loose
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how does the head of the adjusting bolt compare: lt side vs rt side. They should be pretty close to each other, otherwise something is still wrong.
 
73stroked duster said:
The heads of the bolts are about 1/2 inch apart. Measuring from the floor to the wheel well.
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did you loosen the lower control arm pivot nut, the one that is on the front side of the k-member, PRIOR to adjusting the torsion bar adjusting bolt? That is absolutely necessary. Of course, when you are done adjusting the ride height, then you must retighten the LCA pivot nut.
 
I would check these spots first and see if they are more than 1/8” different from side to side. Fenders and bumpers can be adjusted differently. And it sounds like your front end had some work. The pulling is probably alignment

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rustycowll69 said:
did you loosen the lower control arm pivot nut, the one that is on the front side of the k-member, PRIOR to adjusting the torsion bar adjusting bolt? That is absolutely necessary. Of course, when you are done adjusting the ride height, then you must retighten the LCA pivot nut.
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I have only been turning the bolt for the ride height which is located in the lca
 
rustycowll69 said:
did you loosen the lower control arm pivot nut, the one that is on the front side of the k-member, PRIOR to adjusting the torsion bar adjusting bolt? That is absolutely necessary. Of course, when you are done adjusting the ride height, then you must retighten the LCA pivot nut.
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This is important on initial setup after replacing everything from scratch. Once done though you should not have to lossen the pivot pin nuts again after initial ride height adjustments IMO. Minor adjustments should put no undo stress on the LCA bushings at that point. I am a firm believer when using “stock” components follow the FSM to set the geometry as designed and called out in the FSM with the ride height directions.
 
1969383S said:
This is important on initial setup after replacing everything from scratch. Once done though you should not have to lossen the pivot pin nuts again after initial ride height adjustments IMO. Minor adjustments should put no undo stress on the LCA bushings at that point. I am a firm believer when using “stock” components follow the FSM to set the geometry as designed and called out in the FSM with the ride height directions.
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Loosening the pivot nut is important every time the ride height is changed much from what it was torqued at. 1” is significant. The rubber in the LCA bushing only will flex so far, if the pivot nut isn’t tightened at the current ride height you’ll tear the bushings. If you have rubber LCA bushings anyway.

Now in this case the front end being crooked is the change, changing it back puts it where it’s supposed to be. So as long as the car wasn’t being driven around with one side 1” low it should be ok if it’s put back at the ride height the pivot nuts were torqued at. To be safe though it wouldn’t hurt to loosen the LCA pivot nuts and retorque them at the new ride height. I still think there’s other problems in the OP’s case though.

As far as the FSM, using the stock components includes bias ply tires. If you’re running radials, none of the geometry in the FSM is correct. The alignment specs in the FSM are terrible for radials. But even the ride height isn’t ideal. At the factory ride height your suspension geometry, mainly the camber curves, favor bias ply’s and not radials. Which makes sense, because that’s what these cars were designed for. So if you run radials and use the FSM to the letter you’re doing yourself, and the factory engineers, a disservice. Because the factory engineers wouldn’t have used those specs if these cars came with radial tires.
 
Start by eliminating stuff to find out where the problem is first;

- Jack up the car under the rear axle center. Now look at the car from the front; does it still sit uneven?

- Do the same at the front, jack it up at the K-member from the front, now look at the car from the rear. Is it level there?
 
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