Tech Question - Ford Woodie Leaning

Hi Mike,

My woodie is a show car, all stock to Early Ford V8 standards.

It lists low on driver's side like a big guy has driven it daily for years, with no other weight or passengers along. I've not been able to locate any info on "leveling" the car.

As you probably know it is a full transverse spring width grease zerk under center bolt and grease channels cast in the leaves.

I recently lowered the rear axle and spring from the frame for a transmission repair, then raised the spring back up into its frame channel, and re-set the U-bolts.

Are left or right side shims placed at the top of the spring against the frame the correct way to level the car? Could it be listing low on driver side because of spring fatigue?

Is torque on the U-bolt nuts a critical concern ... and can this make any difference in the ride level?

Thanks, Brian

Brian,

As you know, springs support weight and over time the amount of weight a spring carries eventually wears down the spring.

Sagging to one side is real evident on vehicles that just carry the driver and no passengers.

Shimming of your spring should not done because the spring must sit squarely and firmly on the spring seat. If it did not it would break through the centerbolt.

Your question about the amount of torque on u-bolts makes me think that you are wondering about tightening the u-bolt on one side and leaving the other u-bolt a little bit looser.

Forget it, not a good move. Torque on the u-bolts is very critical and one that gets over looked way to often. The weakest part of any spring is the hole in the leaf were the centerbolt goes through.

Any movement and I mean any movement in this area will cause the spring to break. So the u-bolts must be torqued to the correct value and should be checked whenever one is under the vehicle.

The quickest way to get rid of the sag is to replace the springs.

However, because you have what I consider a real classic, one that should stay as original as possible, let me give you a couple of other options.

A real down and dirty way to correct the lean while you are in the car is by reversing the spring. The car will be low on the passenger side when parked, but she will look level as you are motoring down the road.

But the best way to level her out while maintaining it's originality is to have the spring re-arched and re-tempered. By doing this you get to keep the original spring with the groove down the leaves, today's steel does not have this groove. And it does save you close to a couple of hundred dollars over the price of a new spring.

Mike