Body Lean

[kwilford]

Hmm... You made me go back out to the garage, and look again at my front suspension, which happens to be lying on the floor. The spring perch DOES contact the front transverse leaf spring, but the rubber only seems to come in significant contact when the suspension is FULLY loaded. So I guess if the rubber is seriously deteriorated, then the leaf will sit higher, and that side will sag.

So, you are back to disassembling the front suspension. I rebuilt my front suspension with it right out of the car last winter, before I got a digital camera, so I don't have a photo essay of the event. It was easier than it looked, but I did make a pretty skookum spring compressor. If you decide to disassemble it in situ, make sure you are very respectful of the power of the spring. I was AMAZED how much arc the spring had when it was fully decompressed.

[opeldean]

i never put on the "front spring percH"...instead i went the way of many others...i put on stiffer and taller sportwagon springs...
i am now level at my jack points..when i measure... although car sits higher
in back...but i have 7 in wheels and 205'sx 13 to put in there.

car feels firmer,havent driven it yet as i have the intake out...

i am happy..prior to today i had an annoying lean...

i never would have believed i could put on a set of springs..only glitch was the reinstall of the panhard rod..bolt wouldnot line up till a budddy came over to "rock the car..while i hammered a bit"


thanks for the springs BSQ4 and the 2 phone calls to guide me thru.

may the force of the opel be with you!

[opeldean]

ps:thanks kwilford...you were right on.

my spring seats were a ripped up rotted mess..with the springs i also put in used but good spring seats..car feels nice and firm when i press on the rear end.

[opeldean]

side view for what its worth(fwiw)..there is more wheel well space..
it is a stiffer spring that will settle in some

[opeldean]

i have not driven my car yet...but i decided they were too tall to ever look right...i cut off a loop ..1 -360 degree turn...


PS: the earlier idea about rotating and placing a washer NOW makes sense...the springs sit at odd angles..so if you rotate ..that would change your level.

Do you think i looked jacked up? i am on 13 in tires.

[Old Hippie]

Bucky, a question. Are you going to tweak the cut down so that spring face is flat? With that cut 'high' up like that, I'm afraid you may cut up your spring seats. Maybe you can take them to a rearend shop so that they can match up the sportswagon springs and set the surface flat so it won't wobble.

[opeldean]

my guess is to not tweek the cut down. (i noticed the gt springs
have an angle cut on the bottom tho.sportwagon have right angle cuts on both ends),

the uncut sportwagon springs are shown...the hats seem to indicate that the surface is a right angle not a bevel.

my guess is to leave it square to match the square hat seat.

advise

[flipper]

Hi Bucky, I dont mean to disagree with what you have going on here, but I went through several years of the same stuff with the drivers side lean. It is probably 1 of 2 things, 1; your front leaf spring is warped (not likely) 2; your perch is deteriorated (you have already confirmed this). If your perch is deteriorated, it will absolutely sag to that side. The leaf spring always rests on that perch, laden or unladen. when you put the taller stiffer springs in, you made the rearend pull the front left off of the perch. That is merely a temporary cosmetic fix. Soon after you get it on the road, the constant bumps will make the body twist just enough till that side is once again touching the spring. Also, when you drive and make turns, or hit bumps, the left side will go down farther on that side that the right. It would make for unhappy handling. It also could eventually make the leaf spring shift over as well. If you need an instruction sheet to install the perch, call ogts and they should be able to mail or fax you one. Your car will handle extremely well if you just replace that perch, and add the sway bars(which I think you already have) and just use the stock rear springs. Oh! an easy way to change the rear springs is just jack up whichever side you want to change really high, and look at where the top of the spring is and you will be able to pull it right out without having to unbolt everything. Just watch the spring top and make sure you guide it in as you lower it. I am not sure on this, but I think if you raise the rear like you had it, it might have some adverse effects on your drive haft and carrier bushings. But once again, I am not sure. If you ever get down near Spfd Mo. give me a shout!

[opeldean]

I bought a spring perch from gil a few months ago but have not
installed due to rear spring possibilities.

now that new springs are in..i think i need to look at the perch.

Gil told me: "there are 2 holes in the spring perch..how you mount it will raise or lower the front corner"..

.seems that is what my real problem is

flipper..I think I need to replace a spring perch ..i think the prior photo
of how my front spring rides is the diagnosis.

I will refer the perch install to a pro.

yes...i think the springs can be replaced by jacking up the car and not unbolting the panhard rod/shocks...but you will have more room if you do.

[Old Hippie]

Bucky, what I meant to say I put in a drawing since I no speak no good, eh?

[opeldean]

old hippie:

your photo made sense..thank you

i was assumming that the rubber hat would compensate
for an unlevel top coil..and that the coil was uniform through out

the problem that you illustrate is:if you cut a top loop off the coil,
the coil wont have a flat top..i will go back and study the springs again..

thank you again for thinking for me!

[Old Hippie]

Hey, that's what this family is for! Watch out for your brothers (and sisters)!

[N61WP]

Had a friend do this on the rear springs of his Miata. He ground flat the rounded top coil (where he made the cut) with an angle grinder. This allowed the spring to sit flat.
Jc

[opelgtmaster3]

i have a 73 gt and it leans toward the driver side. the car looks like its slated
i put new springs in and it still leans. whats the problem. can anyone help.
thanks aaron

[greensmurf20]

seems to be a common problem, altho i havent had it. everybody talks something about a rubber spacer or bumper of some sort in the front leaf spring that deteriorates and falls apart.

[nobody]

There is a rubber coated item in the front suspension that is located where the lower A arm bolts in. If it's got problems it can allow whichever side it's on to be lower. It acts as a pivot point for the front spring. You should also look for any broken or missing bolts. It would probably be a good idea to at least inspect what you can see of the front spring for any sign of cracks while your checking it out. If you do get into that area for repairs do something about your ball joints before 1 decides to come apart. There was a set on ebay not too outrageously priced. What's the front suspension like on the other car?

[kwilford]

I just merged this thread with a recent thread on the same topic. Have a look around and see if there are some answers here for your problem. HTH

[nobody]

The ball joint remark was meant for gtmaster as I know that his ball joints are shot.

[jeff denton]

We were playing with front springs last Saturday on Speedway GT for the first time and I was quite surprised at how much tension there is up there!!
(and I do similar things to big trucks every day for a living) Just use good common sense, although I found a bottle jack and lots of wood blocking handy, too. I figured it would go best if I dropped the entire lower A arm out complete with spindle (upper ball joint disconnected from upper A arm) and this made it go pretty easy. Just be careful and respect that spring tension. Plan ahead what could happen if things go wrong!! Have an assistant dial 9-1 and then hold his finger over the last 1 while you do it...

[opeldean]

I cut 2 loops out..car seems firmer..doesnt seem jacked up...car will be
jacked up if you dont cut 2 loops..

I dont know if cutting 2 loops is ok to do..I did it to firm up the back..which it did..i will drive it some more and see.

advise as needed.