Lean-to-the-left....

[socalplanedoc]

My Fordor leans to the left when it's parked on the level..



What's the best way to approach this? I can't endure the political overtones

[V4F]

i have loosened the rear spring U bolts , jumped up & down on the right side . it moved the spring just a lil bit , but it leveled the car out .

[mass A man]

If you can remove the inside spring hump cover under the rear seat cushion, see if the spring center bolt is seated in it's hole in the rear cross member. It should be a square bolt head sitting in a square hole in the cross member. If it looks OK there, you may have a broken or weak rear spring, compounded with worn shackles. If front of car is leaning as much as the back, you may have a bent frame, usually near steering box area.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Also, the fix may be as easy as loosening the two nuts on the left spring clamp and tightening the two nuts on the right.

[TinCup]

Front and back.

[socalplanedoc]

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Thanks guys, that's a huge help.
Nice to confirm what I suspected, I'm still a Model-A newbie.

[BLACKNRED]

You can make a wedge and put it between the spring and cross member, this can be done to both front and or rear.

Or you can drive around with a 500lb guy in the passengers seat

[Hotrodfil]

I have a right hand drive Fordor Sedan - it leans to the right...

[CarlG]

One of the guys in our club has had good results in rotating the spring 180 degrees.

[ericr]

This is an annoying common distraction on our cars. I read somewhere that, contrary to intuition, the front spring is more likely to be the culprit.....do people think that is accurate?

[CarlG]

I will soon find out -- I just replaced my front spring with a new one.

[oldmanandakid]

Carl I hope that front spring works for you. Same problem here, replaced the front spring. Oh, Oh same problem. Back spring is now on order. And a spreader.

[Brobrian]

Crazy, Man, how many of us experience the same problems. I just spent a week fooling around with this too. Thought I had it whipped several times. On the advice of the Barners I loosened and retightened the U-bolts in various orders, checked that the center bolt head was seated in its proper hole (they weren't) and finally decided to shim one side of the rear spring to even things out. Nothing ever worked for long, though.
Eventually, I'll replace the spring in the rear with a new one, not just because I believe it to be the culprit, but also because it's an 8-leaf spring, and I need the extra load capacity that would come from the full 10-leaf spring.
These old buggies sure have character.

[socalplanedoc]

Originally Posted by mass A man

If you can remove the inside spring hump cover under the rear seat cushion, see if the spring center bolt is seated in it's hole in the rear cross member. It should be a square bolt head sitting in a square hole in the cross member. If it looks OK there, you may have a broken or weak rear spring, compounded with worn shackles. If front of car is leaning as much as the back, you may have a bent frame, usually near steering box area.

Thanks, but the hump cover on mine is riveted in place.
I looked at the frame as carefully as I can in the steering box area and don't see any obvious signs of bending, but I'm not sure how effiective a visual inspection can be here..

[john charlton]

Most LHD cars lean to the left ,most RHD cars lean to the right . This is caused by many years and miles with only the driver aboard . As the springs are hard bolted up to the cross members the two halves right and left sort of work independantly of each other . The uneven passenger weight over time causes the drivers side spring half to "set" It is very seldom caused by spring misalignment. The rear spring is the main culprit .Dont waste money on new spring etc etc . Remove the rear spring and rotate it 180 degrees and refit . The car will now lean a little to the right but not as much lean as before as you have not rotated the front spring .

John in cloudy rain showers England

[Benson]

Originally Posted by john charlton

Most LHD cars lean to the left ,most RHD cars lean to the right . This is caused by many years and miles with only the driver aboard . As the springs are hard bolted up to the cross members the two halves right and left sort of work independantly of each other . The uneven passenger weight over time causes the drivers side spring half to "set" It is very seldom caused by spring misalignment. The rear spring is the main culprit .Dont waste money on new spring etc etc . Remove the rear spring and rotate it 180 degrees and refit . The car will now lean a little to the right but not as much lean as before as you have not rotated the front spring .

John in cloudy rain showers England

Good to see you are back!!

Just the other day I was thinking it has been a long time since I saw you post on FB.!

[quickchange]

John . like wise thought you may have jumped the fence??? Been 5 months since Lie & Bragg, Don & I been swatting up on Kiwi jokes in case we make it back, Was not prepared at the last one , Sping coming here . BUT had wettest July -Aug on record & it aint over yet, Too hot in AZ too. Keep that boy in toe.

[Juggler]

A tour bus full of tourists stops by a Kiwi farmer holding a sheep. One of them calls out "are you shearing?".

The farmer yells back, in an unhappy tone 'NO, **** off and get your own!'


Hey Derek how goes it?

[John Walters]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Also, the fix may be as easy as loosening the two nuts on the left spring clamp and tightening the two nuts on the right.

Should vehicle be on jack stands while this is done? Or, can it stay on its tires. If jacked, where should jack stands be located?

Thanks.

John

[Great Lakes Greg]

Juggler, I didn't get it until I read it out loud, then laughed till I cried. Thanks.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by John Walters

Should vehicle be on jack stands while this is done? Or, can it stay on its tires. If jacked, where should jack stands be located?

Thanks.

John

Leave it on the tires, no jacking needed or wanted, except to maybe help push the body over while you tighten the nuts on the high side, as you lift up on the low side.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

A friend had a lean from a seized shock. Bill W.

[Ray64]

John glad you are back. Missed your knowlege

[matt92vr4]

This is great! My dad's A leans way to the left and he was just talking about how much it bothers him. We'll flip the rear spring 180 and let gravity work out the rest over time. Thank you.

[bogiediver]

A friend works on 'A's all day long at a local 'A' museum - I mentioned I had this issue. After he asked if this was only a problem when I was in the car... he showed me a coupe he was working on that was leaning to the left...

As you look at the rear spring - the center bolt should be, well, centered between the U-bolts. What he showed me was the center bolt shifted to the passenger (right) side - obviously closer to the right U-bolt - pushing up the right rear corner, which was forcing down the left front giving the list to the left.

He ls going to loosen the U-bolts - carefully jack/lift the body to move it to the right to re-center the center bolt and then tighten the U-bolts to hold it in place again. He's done it on others and indicates that has solved the issue for him each time.

Your mileage may vary...

[TudooR31]

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This seems to be a tricky thing to fix.
I've recently replaced both front and rear springs.
The front was just worn out.
The rear had a snapped off center bolt which let most the leaves to shift to the right side.
Someone also bent up the 2 lower rear leaves for some reason.
I had a 2.25" lean to left measured at both fender openings.
Now I have a 1.75" lean to the left and the car sits 2" higher in back.
IT frustrating and my Model A friends have been very patient with my problem.
I guess replacing both springs/shackles with new units are only a partial fix.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

[QGolden]

Rather than flip the rear spring 180, what if you pulled the center bolt and flipped every other spring 180? Would not you equalize the error?