LUVTruck.com

I finally got my truck out of the dirt and on level ground and it has a lean to the passenger side. About 2-3 inches. It seems to be even front to rear. I jacked the rear up and put equal height jackstands under it and it was a bit lower on the passenger side still. Is there a quick way to tell if it is torsion bars or rear springs which is making it lean?

Did one of the shocks collapse when you were roading ? Just a quick thought. . . good luck man.

Austin

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1975 Chevy LUV Rockabilly Stepside:
Satin Black, V-8 Traditionally Named "Dean"

actually i just replaced all the shocks on it after i noticed the lean...

Take a tape measure and check the length of the torsion bar adjuster bolts. The threads coming out thru the top of the adjuster should be of equal length on both the driver and passenger side.
With the rear end held up with equal length jackstands, are the rear tires equally off of the ground?
If so, remove the jackstands and lift the front of the truck to where the front tires are off the ground (and the truck looks level). Then measure the space between the fender and top of the rear tire. If they're basicly the same, the rear end is most likely ok.
With the front still lifted. The front tires will hang down equally on both sides regardless if the torsion bars aren't adjusted evenly. If one sits higher that the other, you got something bent or bad. If things look goofy, start inspecting the front end for bad ball joints bushings and the like.
If everything hangs down evenly, it's most likely that the torsion bars are uneven.
You said you just replaced your front shocks. Did any of the old shocks have a bind to them? A bad shock could have held the front up higher and adjustment of the torsion bar wouldn't make much difference.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Ask the fat chick to get out and check it again

Or atleast roll toward the center of the truck!!

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77 2wd - Back on the road
05 Ford Five Hundred

"Love endures all things, Love never fails." - 1 Cor. 13:7,8.

Using the torsion bar adjuster bolts as a place to measure isn't always a good indicator. If someone took things apart at one point or another the indexing on the torsion bars could be different from one side to the other. You also can't tell if one bar has sagged vs the other.

I'd guess that the front is the source of your trouble. Either something is bent or the torsion bars are not adjusted equally. You should take a look at the body mounts though, could be one side has rusted through and collapsed. Might be just the body that is shifted.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

actually the fat chick wasn't it, she was sitting somewhere other than in the truck .... with the front end lifted up on equal length jackstands placed under the front crossmember, it is pretty even though slightly lower on the passenger side. I was thinking torsion bar myself, but it's weird how much it leans. None of the body mounts is in danger of collapsing and none of the shocks were binding when they came out. the fronts were so bad that you could pull them all the way out and then put it vertical and it would just drop to fully compressed....

just as a side note/question... will S-10 rear leafs bolt right in place of LUV rear leafs ???

got it leveled today front to rear and side to side. it was the passenger side torsion bar. i turned it a ton and when it finally got to the point it felt like it was snugging up (like it was bottoming out) it was level. it is 28 1/2 inches from the ground to the top center lip of the fenderwell in the front. it looks right but ....

anyways thanks for the help fellas

Mine are about 27 or 28 at that same point of measurement also.

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

good.. i'm not too high then... thanks

I just went out and measured.

My 78 Has 205 70's and is at 27 1/4, and the front is just slightly lower than the rear.

My 80 has 225 70's and is at 28". It is pretty level front to back.

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

ok.. i'm on 195/75 14's and sitting pretty level.. perhaps just a touch high

I know on my old 69 Dart 340 you had to unload the front end, raise it off the ground to adjust the torsion bars. It could have been because it was a lot heaver then a stock love front end.

Richard

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

You need to unload the suspension on a LUV too. You can mess up the threads on the adjusters really quick if you have weight on it. WD-40 on the threads makes for a smoother time adjusting things.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

i jacked the whole front end and put jackstands under the frame. the torsion bar i had to adjust just happens to have been covered from an old oil leak so it turned smooth and fairly easily. now i need to get it set to the stock height when i get it back on the road and put a few miles on it...

Getting the front end set to factory specs can be a problem if you dont have stock tires and rims. The manual shows a measuring point on the lower A-arm. And that seems iffy at best. Get the front end at the ride height you want and get both sides even. If you really want to get technical, you can try and compensate for driver weight. Then go get an alignment if you have good tires.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

right now i am running the stock rim/tire combo... i figure i can get it close using the stock specs and all that... not that it'll be exact but close enough...