Yet another truck leaning post

[Tamnative3]

I have read exhaustingly almost all about this after noticing that my unit now that it’s sitting on all the wheels, I have a lean both front and rear equally on the left side. A little history: I have had this unit about 1 year and have not done anything with the suspension except new WH shocks. I have just taken off the jack stands which were placed under the front and rear axle housing. I never noticed any issues not that I was aware of . The previous owner has done some work on this not all of it very well. I did notice early on that he had put one of those twist screw things in the left front coi springs but with all the other crap that was done I didn’t give it much thought. Now what I do know that has been done: the “c” bushings have been replaced with blue poly and it looks like the front springs have been replaced as they are the only things that look new. Other than that everything else looks well used and filthy as you would expect. Both front and rear on the left side are about 1 1/2 “ lower than the right. Where the h@ll do I start?

 

[DirtDonk]

Well, one and a half is quite a bit. Probably more than the normal “Bronco Lean“ would end up.
One way to gauge more accurately, is not to measure by the body, but between the top of the axle tube and the bottom of the frame rail.
That way you can start to determine just where the lean starts.

But if it just came down on the tires today, I would drive it. Drive it around and go around corners, go over speed bumps, jump up and down on it.
It’s the rear springs were recently installed. I’d say loosen the bolts and drive it around and then tighten the back up. But it sounds like only the coils were changed more recently.
That loan can cause some lien as well, by the fact that you raise the spring height and it, Bose, the springs unevenly due to the track bar, twisting and the radius arms changing an angle.

So get us a measurement at all four corners and let’s start from there.

 

[Tamnative3]

Ok first the truck is stock hight with a 3” body lift and all the mounts are good. The previous owner has changed the “c” bushings with poly they are blue if that means anything. I have checked all the tires and they are all at 32 lbs. Also the PO put one of those screw things on the left coil. Now for what you asked: RF 7 3/4”. LF 7”
RR 10 3/4”. LR 10 1/4”
I know that doesn’t add up to the 1 1/2” of body lean. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DirtDonk]

Ok first the truck is stock hight with a 3” body lift and all the mounts are good.

Well, that would seem to rule out one of the more common issues. Sagged body mounts.
As long as none of them have been over torqued, which wouldn’t count for much anyway, then you should be good there.
It’s also easy to see body mount problems when bumpers don’t line up the body

The previous owner has changed the “c” bushings with poly they are blue if that means anything.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean anything regarding the number of degrees of correction. There were other manufacturers that used blue as a color, but generally speaking blue would be the Duff brand bushings nowadays. Available mostly the same offsets.

Also the PO put one of those screw things on the left coil.

Most of them are to fix a sagging spring. Perhaps they were trying to shore it up to get rid of the lean that they noticed.

Now for what you asked: RF 7 3/4”. LF 7”
RR 10 3/4”. LR 10 1/4”
I know that doesn’t add up to the 1 1/2” of body lean.

But you did verify that one and a half at the body? If so, where are you measuring from?
Perhaps a corner of a bumper as far enough away from the axles to account for the discrepancy.
Speaking of discrepancies, it appears that your front is roughly stock height, while your rear is lifted almost 4 inches. At least, according to our normal rating system. Does it look stinkbug high in the rear?
Maybe your springs are a little wacky. Can you take some pictures of your rear leaf packs? Or at least count the leaves and tell us what you see?
Better to have pictures.
If you don’t want to become a contributor for $12 a year, you can upload the images to a hosting site and then paste the link here. Or you could upload them to your “garage“ and “gallery“ functions on the forum.

There is still more than one potential source. Springs could be uneven, the factory could’ve mounted spring towers in the front and spring hangers in the rear inconsistently. Could be anything.
I still suggest driving it around a little bit and giving it some minimal stress testing.

A friend Local here took a long time to find his lean. Turned out one coil spring tower had been welded on 3/8 of an inch different than the other side.

 

[Tamnative3]

I will go around and check things more closely and try to get some pics. Thanks it gives me more to think about.

 

[Tamnative3]

One thing I forgot to mention, my garage is not level for 1 and I had the truck on jack stands under both front and rear axles for over a year. I don’t know if that could make a difference just a thought.

 

[DirtDonk]

Good to bring up, but I don’t know how much effect that might have had.
It was just the general fact that it had been sitting for a long time that made me think that driving it around a bit might do something. Either help it settle back down, or in fact, make it worse!

 

[Tamnative3]

I don’t have any seats in it yet but when I do I will take it out. In the meantime I am going to jack it up by the frame on the left side and see what happens if anything. I really don’t want to go through that whole process discribed on the WH site. like one person posted you try and fix one thing and a bunch of stuff you have already done has to be fixed again.!

 

[Tamnative3]

Dirtdonk, I have a theory on the lean problem let me know what you think. I think I told you that the PO put Urethane c bushings on it and I think it leaned at some point thus the screw thing in the coil spring ( which didn’t help) also it looks like the coil springs were replaced also. Now I am just assuming all this but it fits.
Now when Bronco’s first came out the C bushings were rubber. Moving forward… now of course we all want to modify them, raise them etc. thus the urethane bushings appeared with different degrees molded in to keep it aligned after raising them. Now this is a new product and not a lot was really known about the long term affects, or installation requirements, and I doubt that the makers know either otherwise they would give you specfic instructions on how to install them.
I worked up this theory after reading hours of posts some involving shops that were getting call backs.
Now I don’t expect my jacking it up by the frame is going to help so I am planning to change the C bushings with the rubber ones as I don’t plan on lifting it. Anyway that is my theory.

 

[Soylent]

Why do you think it’s the C bushing composition? I have urethane and the suspension shop installed them with T Rex arms using the leveling procedure on WH website. No lean. Not sure why you don’t want to check that.

 

[Tamnative3]

I have read the WH write up and more. But I don’t think alot of shops and DIY people know about it. I have nothing against Poly. And was just sharing a theory as to why there are a lot of leaning Broncos when everything else seems to checkout fine.

 

[DirtDonk]

It's certainly possible that, if they were installed incorrectly/inconsistently, that could impart a lean to the vehicle simply because the effect of the radius arms acting like torsion bars on the frame.
Changing them back to rubber with zero offset would certainly eliminate that as a possibility.

It would be nice to know your current caster readings of course, but at this point with stock height in the front it's not hurting anything to go back to what it came from the factory with. Although, most of us want to know the caster readings (maybe even before and after) to help deal with other things in the future.
Your "rear-high" attitude (not yours, the Bronco's!) will also skew the cater readings, and theoretically anyway, at some point you're going to be reducing the rear height back down to stock as well.

If the blue bushings turn out to be the 6.5 degree versions, then it's very likely the PO decided there was not enough caster, or they installed lift springs in the front. Then changed them out to a more stock height spring before selling it on. For whatever reason...

Paul

 

[Tamnative3]

Dirtdonk, I screwed up on the measurements I gave you for the rear, I gave you the he top of the frame they are actually LR 7”- RR 71/2”
and after going around with a tape measure measuring just about everything it isn’t as bad as I thought but the rear bumper sure looks like crap my thought now is that the left leaf has a bit of a sag.

 

[DirtDonk]

Sounds good. Gettin’ it narrowed down!

 

[nvrstuk]

Remember that lean article you read on WH site? Be willing to bet that is your issue. I wrote that article as I figured out what was causing my lean after "everybody" (80% maybe??) that was putting in soft, long travel springs in the late '90's had a lean issue- left or right.

I noticed that the ends of my radius arms weren't parallel. Well, after loosening & tightening & loosening & tightening the caps I finally got the arms parallel ... lo & behold- no lean.

New springs, new bushings be willing to bet that's what it is. Could be crushed body mounts or bent frame but...

Go back to Wild Horses & look up the Bronco Lean article. I think Jim sanitized the article from it's first edition after I figured it out & wrote that article in "BroncoFix" back around '98 or '99. Looong time ago