Lean to the left

Georgew48

Georgew48

Senior Member
My A has a slight lean to the drivers side. Can the springs be turned around to compensate for the lean where the weak side of the spring would now be on the right side or should I just plan on replacing the springs with new ones. The car sits about an inch lower on the left than the right. I measured from both the front and rear bumpers to the ground and came up with an inch difference. All four shocks are good so I know that's not the problem and the springs are centered with good center bolts. I don't see any broken leafs on either spring.
 
I had a new posie on my 38 truck that settled to the drivers side, flipped it and glad I did. (great spring by the way)

So what I'm saying is a spring will settle. New or old. I wonder how much is torque and how much is a single rider....

I vote for a flip.
 
Remove the springs, take them apart, mix up the leaves and reassemble.Or you might have a sagging frame Or you could also install a 1/8 inch spacer between the left side of the frame and the spring to **** the whole car a little to the passenger side. I know these are mickey mouse fixes but the alternative (removing the body and straighting the frame) will be a lot more work.
 
Have you checked your shackles? I have had a few cars in the shop here that were leaners. Many times a tight shackle that will not take grease was the problem.
 
Glenn that is assuming the frame is bent. My experience is springs settle more often. But I'm open to ideas.
 
Check your spring shackles and bushings. They do tend to wear more on the drivers side. When I first got my Phaeton you could see daylight through the bushings on the drivers side.

Darryl in Fairbanks
 
Thanks for the replies. I've already checked the frame so that's not the problem. I will check the shackles and bushings next. I have noticed that when I get out of the car I can lift that side of the car and it will be level until I get in the drivers seat again then it leans again.
 
George, This is a good time to lube the springs if you are taking them apart anyway. See Les Andrews book for details. Don't forget to order new bolts for springs. Bubby Sharp in KY
 
Inform yourself about disassembling that rear spring before you start into it. It's deadly -literally- if handled wrong.
 
Thanks. The previous owner undercoated the sheet metal pans on the car and it has a lot of undercoating over spray on the springs. I think I need to clean all the undercoating off the springs also. Luckly he didn't get any on the shocks or other movable parts. The frame has a nice clean paint job only the seat pan and rumble seat pans are undercoated. There is no rust anywhere underneath so I'm not sure why the need to undercoat the pans.
 
I'll check the U-bolts. I have been doing all the reading I can on the springs so i'm aware of the dangers. I got a couple of good Model A restorer books that explain how to remove the springs.
 
George,

If one or more shocks are stuck in the down position it can hold the spring down on one side...

Or a shock on the opposite side can be stuck in the "up" position.

Many shocks leaked in the past and folks just ignored the problem until they froze up.
 
Benson, I've checked all four shocks and they are working fine. The car ride great even over some pretty rough roads. I'm pretty sure it's a weak spring.
 
Before committing to the hard stuff try this, crawl under the rear end. Loosen the left side spring u-bolt clamp. Tighten the right side then the left side and check the frame to floor measurements. This worked for me.
 
Ditto what Milton said. My 29 Tudor leaned to the left until I replaced the clutch. Just R&R'ing the rear end fixed the lean.
 
You might also check that the spring is installed correctly in the cross member of the frame. The bolt that holds the spring leafs together is supposed to have a square head that fits into a square hole in the center of the cross member. Often someone installs the spring and misses the hole.

What I do is put a chalk mark down one side of the center line of the spring and another chalk mark at the center of the cross member and line the two up when you push the spring up into place. On some body styles, such as a Victoria, you can remove the bottom of the back seat and see or feel if the bolt is in the hole.

Tom Endy
 
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