Car leaning. Need help.

[smallblock]

I'm loosing my mind and am about to call it quits on this car. I have a 74 Challenger and the rear driver side sags very bad. It was like this when I bought it and had air shocks on it to level it up. I always figured it had a weak or broken leaf spring. I ordered the super stock leaf springs from Summit and replaced the one I thought was bad and its worse! It sits right on the tire as I have a pretty wide set on the back. I then bought a set of those extended shackles and put it on with the new spring and it still sags!!!??? So far I haven't touched the passenger side and it still sits higher. I'm lost. What could cause this?

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Well, my first thought is the leaf springs, especially if you have a transplanted big block.

How does the front look? Is the passenger's side higher than the driver's side? Do you have new shocks on the back? What size tires in the rear?

[1 Wild R/T]

Could be a weak torsion bar.... Or a twisted frame.. Unfortunately I've seen more twisted frames of E bodies than you'd believe.. Dukes of Hazard antics aren't kind to these cars...

[Jesus H Chrysler]

Try swapping sides with the springs to see if that changes anything.  That would decide if it's spring related, or frame/hardware related.  Also, try to keep springs in pairs, meaning don't put one XHD spring and one Super Stock spring on the car.  While you're in there, look for signs of bent or tweaked frame rails.  Wrinkles, pinching or asymmetry can be signs somethings not aligned right.  For what it's worth, I and many others have had NO luck with Mopar rear springs when it comes to saggy butt syndrome with these cars.  From what I hear ESPO and a few others make good springs, I just have no personal experience with them.

[torredcuda]

Are the air shocks still in it? If you have a level garage floor put it on jack stands and see if the frame is level front to back, height of the floor etc. Can you read the part numbers on the leaf springs that were in it, maybe they are wrong for the car, wrong sides

[torredcuda]

Also check the torsion bars and mounts as it could be a problem up front. 

[Edison1970]

Mine did the same thing.  I put new torsion bars in and problem resolved.  I would first re-adjust the torsion bars.  Adjust them equally on both sides.  See what happens.

[dodj]

Agree on the front torsion bars. Make sure they are set up level on the front. Adjusters on each side should stick out about the same amount.

[brads70]

Agree on the front torsion bars. Make sure they are set up level on the front. Adjusters on each side should stick out about the same amount.

x 3

[dutch]

 

make sure the car is on a super straight concrete floor when measuring. It drove me crazy adjusting mine ,thinking the floor was level.... it had a small dimple and screwed up all measurements.

[dougs bs23]

Also check all you frame alignment points to make sure the body's not twisted


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[ChallengerHK]

Try swapping sides with the springs to see if that changes anything. 

Somebody posted a long time ago that the front and rear spring eyes are angled so that the springs are closer togethe in the front than in the back. If so, you might be able to get them to fit in a side-to-side swap in the short run for testing, but in the long run you're going to want to have them mounted on the correct side.

[smallblock]

Thanks for all the help! What is the best way adjust and set the tortion bars? Visually everything looks good under the car.

[dfrazz]

Thanks for all the help! What is the best way adjust and set the tortion bars? Visually everything looks good under the car.

Measure your fender height on both sides, either from the ground on a flat surface or center caps to lower rim.  There is a bolt that is sticking out the bottom of the a arms - clockwise to raise the car, counter clockwise to lower the car. After a few turns, bounce the front end and on both sides and re-measure.  You should be close, within a an 1/2" or so.  Once you get it to the right height, take it out for a quick spin and then re-measure.  You want to make sure your front tires don't rub when hitting bumps.  This will also change the camber of the tires so you will need to get an alignment.

[ChallengerHK]

Make that adjustment with the front tires off the ground. If you adjust with the weight on the tires the adjusting bolts can strip.