suspension

[81malibu]

my 81 malibu sits noticably lower on the passenger side. about a week ago i put one inch performance drop springs and two inch drop spindles in the front and inch and a half performance drop springs in the rear. i was wondering if anyone here had any ideas to why it would lean to the passenger side? i had good shocks before i lowered the car but i dont know if the car being lower could cause the shocks to go bad. or if the lean could be caused by one endlink being pulled in farther then the other one but it doesnt seem that the sway bar is pulled to one side. any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[johnny79]

I have the same problem about 1 inch on the psg. side. Not sure if years and years of the exhaust system being there did it, but with new springs, I'd suspect the frame is racked.

 

[shotgun]

Spend time with a tape measure on level ground.

Measuring frame to ground and body to ground will help rule out some stuff.

Are you sure the front springs are seated properly in the cups in the frame?

Shocks don't hold the car up, springs do, so they should not matter unless you are topping them out, which I doubt.

A swaybar should be set neutral and level. And yes it could effect ride height being preloaded as well as handling.

The mounting holes on the bar should be parallel with the ground with the driver in the car. If need be either trim the endlink insert or get longer ones to get it even. You should be able to run the bolt down by hand and then just go a turn or 2 to be tight. Think zero lash like setting valves.

 

[81malibu]

i really doubt the frame is cracked it is a one owner 60000 mile car that had never been in any kind of wreck. i am going to look today after work to see if the springs are seated properly. do the rear springs have a specific position like the fronts? from the look of it the sway bar looks to be the most resonable cause. it is centered with the car but the passenger endlink is pulled in on the top like /. and the driver side is almost straight up and down I.
is it more important for the bar to be centered in the car or the endlinks look symetrical?
also when i tightend quite a few more turns then just a few after i hit top of the endlink washer

 

[81malibu]

solved the lean problem on the malibu. the passengerside sits to the eye the same as the driver. i finally just decided to put a screw in spacer in the front spring so it couldnt compress as much after talking to a local shop mechanic. it seemed to bring that side up slightly and stiffen the side so it feels when turning like the driverside. but it still seemed just a little low so in the back i just doubled up on the spring isolator and it seemed to bring it up just enough to be even.