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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Brakes, Frame, Steering & Suspension => Topic started by: 1987V204X4 on April 04, 2012, 01:41:42 pm
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Ok here goes..... I just bought this truck a week ago, it is a 99% rust free 87 V20 4x4 6.2 Diesel with 81,500 original miles. It needs alot of little TLC. I will start with the Suspension It had a 3" lift and the truck leans/ sags to one side, "driver side" It looks like everything is good but I'm not for sure???? Could it be the shocks??? If so why would both the front and back be leaning 1" compared to the right side???
My next question is how difficult would it be to remove the 3" lift kit and put it back to the stock hieght??? What all is involved with the swap??
My tires are 315-75-16. From the ground to the bottom of wheel well the driver side is 41 1/4" passenger side is 42 1/4" that is from both the front and back wheel well.
What is the biggest 16" tire that will fit under a stock hiegth 87 3/4ton 4X4 ???? I will be putting on a Boss snow plow befor next fall, so I'd really like to bring it back down if I could.
The truck needs alot more, but I will post that in other threads.
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I had a similar problem with a jeep I lifted, it had one broken leaf in the rear and the whole truck leaned to that side, Check the spring packs for breaks or cracks.
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Ok here goes..... I just bought this truck a week ago, it is a 99% rust free 87 V20 4x4 6.2 Diesel with 81,500 original miles. It needs alot of little TLC. I will start with the Suspension It had a 3" lift and the truck leans/ sags to one side, "driver side" It looks like everything is good but I'm not for sure???? Could it be the shocks??? If so why would both the front and back be leaning 1" compared to the right side???
Shocks don't normally have anything to do with ride height unless they are coil spring assisted shocks.
Ride height and the state of being level are controlled by the leaf springs, shackles, bushings, tire pressure etc...
My next question is how difficult would it be to remove the 3" lift kit and put it back to the stock hieght??? What all is involved with the swap??
If it's a suspension lift, there is normally spacer blocks on the rear leafs that you can remove but a true lift kit has special leaf springs in the front. You'd need a set of stock front leaf springs.
For lifts above 2" some installers add a modified steering arm to keep the steering geometry correct. You may have to go back to a stock one of these if the original installer added this.
You may also have extender brackets on the front sway bar if you have one.
Installing or removing a lift kit just takes time. It's pretty simple mechanics but can be a bit time consuming.
Good luck !!
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This is a really loaded question. In short, you can get a thousand possibility's, what you need to do is look at all the suspension parts, I mean all of them, and compare between the left and right side.
Make sure to look at the frame left to right, make sure the tires are the same (aired and size, though you probably have), the thing you are looking for is a difference between the left and right side that could have a 1" difference. Don't forget the simple things like measuring the leaf springs shackles to make sure they are the same length, like I said it could be thousands of different answer's.
Do a very through look over and report back your findings.
As far as returning to stock height, as firefighter stated, depends on how they lifted it and weather it was done correctly or someone hacked it up lifting it.
Post pics of what you find if you have problems identifying anything.
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Ok thanks guys I will look into this a bit more.
Tomorrow I'm getting a new set of wheels, while it's up on the lift I will try and get a good look. Oh and I'm going to just keep the same suspension lift that on the truck. I might go to a smaller tire later down the road after I ware these down.
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i know my brothers 82 c10 305ci 2wd leans on the drivers side but thats just the heavy gas tank and drivers always leaning to that one side
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Weightwatchers? ;)
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1" difference on a 4x4 isn't that huge. No vehicle is going to sit level due to the characteristics of the steel in either spring. To remove the lift, find out how it was lifted and removed everything and put stock replacement pieces back in.
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I've had similiar problems with older lifted Toyotas. Not sure if Chevy did the same thing in the 80's as them. But, Toyota used to actually put a heavier spring pack on the drivers side. This was due to driver and fuel tank weight. They tried to keep it from getting saggy with time.
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You could always raise the low side 1" and call it good.
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The driver side is 1.75" lower than the passanger side. Last time I checked it was only 1" ?????? It is very noticeable, and it's driving me nut's everytime I walk out to look at it!!!!
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Mine is doing the exact same thing in the left front (drivers side), and yes it looks really bad. I suspect that the repeated abuse of the steering motion (back and forth) in the same direction of the leaf spring causing it to flex each time you turn the wheel has worn the spring out causing it to sag. Mine has the cummins that weighs a few hundred pounds more which makes it even worse. I plan to go to the cross over steering soon to improve the steering, and potentially put new springs in the front. Check for any broken leafs as mentioned before.
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It may just be worn out cab mounts.
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mine is sagging on the right side. and it did it with the old springs that where broke, and the new springs
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THats a Head scratcher...... all you can do is get in on a level surface, and break out the tape measure and start measuring all kinds of supsension points comparing left and right sides.
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THats a Head scratcher...... all you can do is get in on a level surface, and break out the tape measure and start measuring all kinds of supsension points comparing left and right sides.
You would have to check not only the metal stuff, but all the rubber bushings, air in tires and heights, the actual height of the springs under load, etc, etc. It would take you some time and you might find more than just 1 item is contributing to the loss.
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Agreed, axle centerline is a key suspension point.
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Ok I removed the 4" superlift and installed a set of HD 4"leafs in the front, along with new ubolts and socks on all for corners. The truck still has a sag on the driverside. It's not as bad as it was with the 4" lift but it is still defiantly leaning to the left. WTH ????? The only other thing I can think of is the body bushings. What do you think?
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You can keep replacing parts until everything is new and it might still lean, you have to get a standard base to work from and find out why it is leaning, otherwise you are just chasing your tail in a circle.