FriedEGs Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 So, trying to figure out why my '97 with 200k miles has a snag, only on one side. Drivers side front and rear both measure 1" lower compared to their respective Passenger side measurements. What are the causes of this uneven balance? I'm assuming worn out springs? Why only one side? Also, I am fairly certain that the noise coming from my driver's front is from a bad strut mount. (All suspension underneath is in great condition) Would a bad strut mount cause the suspension to sag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyeager Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 In what ways has the suspension been modified? (lift of any kind?) There is a tendency for the strut towers to rust out. I see you are in the snow belt. When you say that your strut mount is bad, what part exactly do you mean? If you eliminate any and all other issues, it can come down to simply having 2 springs that weren't manufactured the same....and have taken a set differently. ie slightly different metallurgy, different heat treat and so on. And I believe that I've seen someone having this problem because suspension bolts were torqued down while the vehicle was on the lift (only 1 side) and it left it jacked up a bit because bushings were binding and taking some of the weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedEGs Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 No modifications, other than replacing a lower ball joint, tie rod ends, CV axle and both lower control arms. I didn't torque any of the bolts after the vehicle was lowered back to the ground. No rust, this was a southern vehicle. Since everything below the springs/struts is good, i can only narrow down to the strut mounts, up top. (That where the popping sound comes from, going over bumps.) The shocks seem fine, since they pass the 'push down and no bounce on rebound' test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyeager Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 You can try loosening the lower control arm bolts (with vehicle on the ground), then retightening. Was the vehicle sitting level before you did this work, and then saggng afterwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenda3 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Ive seen cars with big owners sag a inch on drivers side. Im 6'2" and 360 so my experience is first hand. Sent from my LGMS395 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 If the strut mount is bad enough, I imagine it could've collapsed a bit, but a whole inch would surprise me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedEGs Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 Hi guys, reviving this topic again: Here is an update: Left side is still sagging by one full inch compared to right/passenger side. (1") Replaced recently: Upper mounts, bearings, struts and springs. Everything north of the spindle/knuckle is new and/or known to be good parts. The body is rust free, no visible tweak to frame, etc. At this point, I'm wondering if the drivers spindle/knuckle assembly was replaced at some point. If so, does anyone know if the later generation R50 spindles are different than the early gen R50? I tried looking up the parts, but most diagrams don't show the spindle part# for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Full gas tank? Different sized tires? Different tire pressures? All springs seated properly? (Perches are notched for the spring ends) Upper strut spring perch clocked properly? Any missing/damaged spring isolators? Do you have rubber bushings or poly? (Poly can be torqued whenever, rubber must be torqued on the ground.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedEGs Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 No issues to all of those points above, except the last one. On the LCA's, shouldn't that rear point pivot within the rubber bushing as the suspension flexes? Does that u-shaped bracket that holds this LCA need to be tightened when the vehicle is sitting on ground? (Same with front inside bushing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyeager Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Can't speak authoritatively about these particular bushings...but generally speaking, rubber suspension bushings are trapped. The rubber is bonded to both the inner and outer sleeve and when the suspension is active it's actually twisting the rubber. The mounts are designed so that the inner sleeve is grabbed and held by the torque, so it doesn't get to rotate around the control arm bolts either. Take a measurement for us. Get an exact measurement of the spring height while the truck is resting on the ground. Both left and right sides. Just use a tape measure, rigid or soft, to measure from the top coil to the bottom coil on both sides. It will be very helpful to determine if we can blame the springs/struts, or rule them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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