Front End Sag

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jhdeval

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Okay so about 2 weeks ago I replaced the shocks with KYB Gas A Just shocks on all four corners. Today sitting in a parking lot I was looking at the car it appeared to be sagging slightly on the passenger side so I measured. The passenger is 1/2 an inch lower the the driver side. Can or should I just tighten the torsion bar to level the height? If so should I do what I did and measure the same on both side until level?
 
on flat ground, i measure from the top of the tire to the wheel well lip, and adjust the torsion bars as necessary (or however i prefer my ride height). tighten to raise it, loosen to lower it.
 
Also dont forget that any movement at all on the torsion bars will cause the toe in to change.
 
And indirectly the caster will change a bit if the front height changes with relation to the rear.
 
The factory height is set by measuring from level ground to a) bottom of the lower ball joint and b) bottom of the torsion bar pivot, and subtracting a from b. Varies w/ year and model. I recall 2.125" for my 65 Dart. Doesn't really matter as long as left and right are equal, as 73Abodee says, and Trailbeast is right about toe-in. I ruined a set of new tires quickly after adjusting my 69 Dart's height.

Hope you find no damage like a stripped adjusting bolt or popped welds on the rear anchor. Most suggest that you raise that side of the car by the frame whenever you turn the bolt. I am usually too lazy and just bounce the car up and down with one hand and turn the bolt a little on each up-bounce.
 
Bill is correct. A-B = 2 1/8th inch both sides.

Inflate all four tires to correct pressure, empty trunk of all junk except spare tire & jack, and top off gas tank.

You will have to adjust one side than the other side, and back & forth until each side has the same measurement with car on level floor, on its wheels; no jack stands. As one side is adjusted, the other will come out of adjustment a little bit, bounce the front end up & down, and keep at it until both are equal.

The factory service manual outlines this procedure step by step, and I have found that most of today’s front end technicians are clueless of the Mopar torsion bar front suspension height adjustment procedure, and correct height must be set first before adjusting camber, caster, and toe.

Some folks measure from ground to a body or frame point, this won’t get your car’s ride height properly adjusted, as ride height adjustment has to do with relationship between suspension parts only.

Correct ride height will make a big difference how the car handles, and rides.
 
"Some folks measure from ground to a body or frame point, this won’t get your car’s ride height properly adjusted, as ride height adjustment has to do with relationship between suspension parts only. "

Can this method be used as an estimate which is what I did? I was also thinking about this is it possible that the nut on the left versus right side shock are not tightened down the same?
 
I would check everything you touched regarding the shocks first. I'm assuming the car was sitting level before, and that you didn't mess with the torsion bar adjustment to install the shocks. Since the shocks were just done, I'd suspect something relating to the installation or the shocks themselves before I just figured the torsion bar needed adjustment.

Once you've checked to make sure nothing is falling off the car, then you can adjust the torsion bar.

If you're trying to adjust to factory specifications (and you still have stock factory suspension), then you'll need to follow the factory method of measuring things. If you're just trying to get the car level (and don't care if its exactly at factory height, or want it lower, etc), then you can park the car on flat ground and measure from the ground to another reference point (top of the wheel arch, etc.).

Keep in mind that if you change the height much you should at least get the alignment checked, and if you change it a lot you may run into problems getting the alignment specs right. I don't use factory alignment specs either, they were intended for the factory tires at the time, which were awful. Modern tires do better with more positive caster (4+ if you can get it) and either 0 or slightly negative camber (up to about -.5 degrees on the street), which is definitely not the factory spec.
 
Question on the ride height points, I read that I use the lowest point of the lower balljoint, but the other point I am a little fuzzy on. This point is the flat part of the adjuster where the bolt comes through?
I have been trying to get the 2 1/8" between those points but am at about 1.5" and the car front end looks like it wants to take off like an airplane.
Can someone please verify the inside measuring point for this tired old fart?
Thanks for all the great experience here!
John
 
I use the "where I like the look setting".

I set the ride height where I like it. Measure from the center of the wheel to the fender lip to make sure it's even then go get an alignment.
 
If you drive alone in it a lot then leave it up that tiny bit. I bet it's more even when you're sitting in the car
 
My technique is a s follows..

We'll assume both of your lower ball joints are identical. Measure from the bottom of the lower ball joint to the floor, and the bottom of the torsion bar socket. Obviously the LBJ numbers should be the same, so you adjust the torsion bar preload to equalize the height of the torsion bar sockets. Make sure you jounce the car at ALL FOUR corners before you start, and after each adjustment. I would probably raise the low side, unless the car is really nose high. Keep in mind these cars typically sat a little higher when new than most of us set them now, mostly because the leaf springs have settled, but also because they look better a bit lower with modern aspect ratio tires.

Once you get the ride where you want it, you'll want to do a couple more things. First look at the LCA bumper stop. There should be some space between it and the unibody. The "point" can be trimmed off the top of the bumper, you'll lose some of the "progressive" nature of the bumper but it's no big deal. More important is to make sure it's the same side-to-side, and that you have enough clearance to keep from bottoming in a corner (which is BAD). Second is to measure between the floor and the inner and outer tie rod ends. Again, this should be the same side-to-side to minimize bump-steer, or at least make it the same right or left. To really dial out the bump steer, the actual angle torsion bar center to LBJ pivot center should be the same as the angle between the pivot centers of the TRE's. This is getting pretty advanced, and the Mopar Performance Chassis Manual does a really good job of explaining the whole process of dialing in the suspension and steering.

Biggest thing to remember is EVERYTHING the same side-to-side. Set the ride height to where you want it, THEN have the camber, caster and toe set at the alignment shop.
 
Thanks Chief. So to be clear, I take my offset measurement at the lowest point of the torsion bar socket and not the torsion arm adjusting screw socket? This seems to make better sense to me since this point would be more vertically affected but adjusting the torsion arm tension.
I know I saw a link to the Mopar Performance Chassis Manual onlne here at Summit(?) so I will pick up one since it will explain the finer points perhaps more eloquently.
Blessings!
John
 
Shocks don't change ride height. You can take them out and the car will sit where it sits. Their function is to keep the tire on the road, not the vehicle in the air. Crank up the torsion bar a bit and get an alignment. You should be good to go.
 
I like the torsion bar socket because it's round. Therefore LCA angle does not affect it. Kinda like billiard balls, or the fence on a router table.
 
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