How To: Correct Chevy Lean

[Kovz]

Quote: Originally Posted by stevehh

Does summit carry the sway bar end link?

I can't find one on their site...And I need to replace mine

you can pick some up from autozone. they are 6.99 each. just tell them what make and model, they should have them in stock

[SteveHH]

Groovy, I read that, Was just curious if summit had em while im ordering a bunch of other shit from them.

[silverpanic]

Thanks to whoever wrote this, I am encouraged to give this a try when my back gets better...just realized my drivers side is sagging even more this year..can't get my jack under it with my rims on....hopefully I can with snow tires on.......

[SteveHH]

saggin' more than last year? whats up with that?

[rockinguitar876]

the whole left side of my truck is leaning, so if i just do this to the front will it fix the rear also??

[SERIALKILLER]

im guessing if u went with a longer link it would raise the truck up

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by SERIALKILLER

im guessing if u went with a longer link it would raise the truck up

no.

[Old_Guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by SERIALKILLER

im guessing if u went with a longer link it would raise the truck up

Just going by post #51 in this thread yes.

[mels98s10]

will this affect you wheel alignment cuz i just had my alignment done about a month ago and i dont want to F**k that up cuz i dont wanna spend another 80bux to have it realigned

[Kunde]

ok so i have an Xtreme and i just took the sway bar off cuz its hitting the frame. and i just put new bushings in the upper controll arms. but now the passenger side is higher that the drivers side and it was never like that before so WTF?

[SteveHH]

uhmm.....weird

[greencactus3]

did the coil unseat itself?

[SERIALKILLER]

maybe your new bushings are in a bind, u are suppose to tighten everything up with the suspension loaded.

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by SERIALKILLER

maybe your new bushings are in a bind, u are suppose to tighten everything up with the suspension loaded.

its a possibility but if they were rubber bushings, doubtful, and even if they were poly bushings, still unlikely imo

[Kunde]

so if i tightened everything up while there was no weight on it, it would bind up and cause the truck to sit higher and eventually cause the bushings to fail??? the coils havent moved At all i have them securely supported just for that reason. lol
im so confused.

[SteveHH]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kunde

so if i tightened everything up while there was no weight on it, it would bind up and cause the truck to sit higher and eventually cause the bushings to fail??? the coils havent moved At all i have them securely supported just for that reason. lol
im so confused.

That makes two of us.

[greencactus3]

very unlikely... the rubber bushings allow for lots of 'twist' so it shouldnt bind, not enough to hold you up at all

i really cant think of a way to help you without seeing the truck myself

[Kunde]

thanks for your help guys i came up with a way to "FIX" it lol i did the bushings on the drivers side put it together and sat it down and it was still higher on the passenger side so we took it apart pulled the coil cut off about two inches flipped it upside down and put it back together and what do ya know IT PERFECT. :P :P thanks you guys

[greencactus3]

fail. thats not a fix. thats a hack

[NORCAL SS]

i got coilovers now dont need to deal with uneven sides no more

[Kunde]

its actually not a hack its corrected. i dont like buying lowering coils cuz they are way soft i have had three different sets from three different places and they have all sagged or bent, one of them even broke so i cut the stock ones. i measured remeasured and measured again. but since my bushings were SHOT things didnt pan out so i took them out and measured again after the bushings were replaced and OOOOPPPPSSSS 2 inches needed to be chopped from the coil.

[slammdsonoma38]

i remember ridin around with that chevy lean. it looked like shitt

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kunde

its actually not a hack its corrected. i dont like buying lowering coils cuz they are way soft i have had three different sets from three different places and they have all sagged or bent, one of them even broke so i cut the stock ones. i measured remeasured and measured again. but since my bushings were SHOT things didnt pan out so i took them out and measured again after the bushings were replaced and OOOOPPPPSSSS 2 inches needed to be chopped from the coil.

no its not, corrected would be by adjusting preload. not rate.
its hacked. unless you only turn in one direction, its a hack

[terryl]

Yep. Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by terryl

Yep. Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack Hack

you okay there grampa? need an o2 tank?

[terryl]

Not just yet.

[SpYnOnU]

if some are wondering how well this holds up, this is my black truck after the accident, didnt even hurt the link, and it was a new link from autozone put on about 6 months prior to the wreck.

[terryl]

Ouch! Took a licking. Were you OK?

[SpYnOnU]

Quote: Originally Posted by terryl

Ouch! Took a licking. Were you OK?

broken wrist, slight concussion small fracture in one of my vertebrae and a big bruise from the seatbelt, walkin around right after it happend helpin the other people get out of their vehicle

[David12460]

When I saw that picture I thought you were going to say that the link mod was what caused the crash.

But that sucks!!!!

What exactly happened?

[terryl]

Yea what happened? Looks like you got hit in left front. Would have been worse if it was in the door a couple of feet back. I think you were lucky!

[SteveHH]

I agree...

[Drrm8R]

i read through the thread and i didnt notice if this was asked before but how can you fix the lean after you have bagged the truck. I have no sway bar upfront cause i have BLF control arms.

[BudRacing]

^^Hit a side.

[Drrm8R]

yea i just realized i asked a stupid question lol

[moel16]

cactus, while i am not an expert, i have one question for you, you say that the right way to do this is to preload the coil spring by useing a spacer. This is in fact exactly the same thing people are doing when they shorten the end link. They are preloading the sway bar. Preloading in my experience is used to increase the spring rate (read stiffness) by compressing the spring on Coilovers. When you are using a coil spacer (not on coilovers), you are essentially doing the same thing as useing liftblocks on a leaf spring, given that because of the way the front suspension functions there may be a little preloading. In reality when you use a spacer you are creating the same effect as moving the coil bucket. I do not personally condone cutting the endlink as it will mildly affect handling by increasing the stiffness on the one side, but i think i would be good to be a little more clear on the actual functions of some of these components, and maybe this will explain it to some people why a spacer is better for the fact that the suspension will function more similarly to stock.

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by moel16

cactus, while i am not an expert, i have one question for you, you say that the right way to do this is to preload the coil spring by useing a spacer. This is in fact exactly the same thing people are doing when they shorten the end link. They are preloading the sway bar. Preloading in my experience is used to increase the spring rate (read stiffness) by compressing the spring on Coilovers. When you are using a coil spacer (not on coilovers), you are essentially doing the same thing as useing liftblocks on a leaf spring, given that because of the way the front suspension functions there may be a little preloading. In reality when you use a spacer you are creating the same effect as moving the coil bucket. I do not personally condone cutting the endlink as it will mildly affect handling by increasing the stiffness on the one side, but i think i would be good to be a little more clear on the actual functions of some of these components, and maybe this will explain it to some people why a spacer is better for the fact that the suspension will function more similarly to stock.

i totally disagree.
the swaybar MUST have zero torque acting on it when the truck is sitting still to get the full benefits of the swaybar in both directions of turns.
you are also confusing preload and spring rate. these two are similar, but they should not be confused.
the correct definition of preload does not change rate at all.

[SteveHH]

Quote: Originally Posted by greencactus3

i totally disagree.
the swaybar MUST have zero torque acting on it when the truck is sitting still to get the full benefits of the swaybar in both directions of turns.
you are also confusing preload and spring rate. these two are similar, but they should not be confused.
the correct definition of preload does not change rate at all.

Word cactus...

[moel16]

i think i may not have been very clear in what i was saying i did not say anything about agreeing with preloading the sway bar by shortening the endlink, so in fact you agree with me. I may not be completely correct, but on some coilovers spring preload is used to increase stiffness. A stepped system or a threaded system is used and depending on the ride or weight carrying ability you want you increase the step and compress the spring, obviously this is only so adjustable. Cactus if what you are saying is true about preloading the spring, a person could stick in a 2 inch spacer on top of their coil spring and see no increase in ride height. All you are doing when you use a coil spacer is essentially moving the coil bucket on the frame without all the fabrication work.
definition courtesy:http://www.toolingu.com/definition-5...on-spring.html
spring rate The amount of force necessary to compress a spring. Spring rate is an important factor in compression spring design because springs should be capable of compressing, but should not normally reach solid compression.



preloading A procedure used by spring manufacturers to increase the operating capabilities of coil springs. Preloading consists of creating a slightly longer spring than needed and applying an initial amount of load to create some set before being shipped to the customer.

[greencactus3]

i dont know if i want to argue or correct or what with your statement, because there are some mixed things in there

you can adjust the nut on a threaded coilover body or add a spacer under/over a coil to adjust load, which will be the correct way to set ride height (within allowance), but more widely used to adjust cross weights.

you do not want to adjust crossweights by changing rates.

do not bring nascar into this, as they only turn in one direction, their wedges are a whole different story from street or roadcourse cars

to change rate, usually you would swap the spring, modify the spring,(or add wedges like nascar).

the preload definition you pulled up is not the 'typical' 'preload' used in automobile suspension tuning. same as 'preloading' the swaybar.
these are 'incorrect' uses of the term (for suspension technical stuff)

[la bonbita]

well in the 99 and up gmc and chevy turks got a lean about 1.5 to 2 inches will this work

[morbid8573]

Ah man I'm so glad I found this. I noticed my driver side in my 99' Sonoma was lower than the passenger side and I thought it was an actual problem with my suspension or something. Knowing it's a stock thing and it's easy to fix then I'll definitely tackle this here soon before I buy my wheels

Thanks a ton man.

[kmccona]

Ok so instead of cutting out a half inch in my case on the passenger side i added a half inch worth of washers to the drivers side. It did the job and now she sits level. You think this is going to hold up just as good or should I take the half inch out?

[terryl]

[greencactus3]

wow dude

[terryl]

Keep asking and some one will tell you what you want to hear.

[SteveHH]

lol

[Kovz]

i dont have to worry about this anymore either, now that im bagged

[SteveHH]

lucky bastard

[azpoolman]

***Newbie Alert***

So from all the reading that I have done in the thread... I just want to clarify something.

I have a '99 S10 and when the fuel tank is full there is a noticable lean towards the driver side. Adjusting the sway arm will correct this problem?

When measuring... Do I not worry about measuring the lean in the back... and just measure the lean between the two front wheels?

Also... lets say that its an 1" difference... would it make better sense to take a 1/2" down on the left and add 1/2" of washers to the right? Or just to take the full 1" out of the right?