Truck lean on driver side
Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,529
Likes: 390
From: SEVA
After mine arrives, I'll measure it and report back since I am located in Tidewater ... AKA; The 7 Cities, Hampton Roads, The 757. Wish they'd just refer to this area as SEVA (Southeast VA), just like the area near the Beltway is called NOVA.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 169
Likes: 2
Yeah, whoever loosened the bed bolts when they sprayed in the bedliner bumped the bed and didn't put back in alignment with the cab. No biggie, easy adjustment.
This whole "my truck isn't level" thing is kind of funny though. There is no such thing as level. Roads aren't level. Level is a fleeting moment as a truck drives down a crowned road and changes lanes. In the U.S. most roads will put the driver's side higher than the passenger side because of the way they are paved. Turn on your truck inclinometer under the "off-road"menu. The right lane will lean you over to starboard approximately 1 degree.
The suspension in this truck is tuned. If my truck is otherwise empty, when I get out it will generally rest a half an inch lower on the driver's side mainly because of fuel in the tank. I carry some tools/chain in the bed on the passenger side under the tonneau then if on a flat surface the truck is relatively true to the frame. If my wife and kid are sitting on the passenger side then we lean a little to starboard.
Funny stuff. Maybe buyer's remorse. In any case, 1/2 inch either way is undetectable by the un-aided human eye.
This whole "my truck isn't level" thing is kind of funny though. There is no such thing as level. Roads aren't level. Level is a fleeting moment as a truck drives down a crowned road and changes lanes. In the U.S. most roads will put the driver's side higher than the passenger side because of the way they are paved. Turn on your truck inclinometer under the "off-road"menu. The right lane will lean you over to starboard approximately 1 degree.
The suspension in this truck is tuned. If my truck is otherwise empty, when I get out it will generally rest a half an inch lower on the driver's side mainly because of fuel in the tank. I carry some tools/chain in the bed on the passenger side under the tonneau then if on a flat surface the truck is relatively true to the frame. If my wife and kid are sitting on the passenger side then we lean a little to starboard.
Funny stuff. Maybe buyer's remorse. In any case, 1/2 inch either way is undetectable by the un-aided human eye.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,250
Likes: 561
i dont know who used the term level but i dont believe it was me. since the beginning ive been talking about ride height from side to side. rather than use shims or spring spacers to compensate for a lean , i would find the root cause and fix it there
More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 642
Likes: 14
The root cause is the truck not having an equal left to right weight balance, yet the spring rates on the left and right sides are the same. This means the heavier side rides lower. Outside of reengineering the truck after having weighed the individual components, including the eventual occupants, or adding to ballast to the lighter side, how exactly would you fix this?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 1,182
Likes: 176
Take it to a spring shop and they can re-arch the left side to your content... Use to do this all the time for people that weighed over 300 Lbs.
cficare Spring Menders 5580 Raby Road, Norfolk, Virginia, 23502
cficare Spring Menders 5580 Raby Road, Norfolk, Virginia, 23502
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,250
Likes: 561
i dont think anyone would dispute a small amount of lean being normal. but i think its hogwash to believe the fueltank is pulling it down 1/2" ,1", 1 1/4" etc. when you have a highly visible lean im betting something funky is going on
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 642
Likes: 14
Yep, that would work. As would shims, adjustable coil spacers, etc. These are all simple fixes to addressing the symptoms. It's trying to address the root cause that I question.
More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 642
Likes: 14
It's not just the fuel tank. It's all the stuff on or along the left side of the truck that weighs more than the stuff on or along the right. The left side has the Steering box and column, pedal assembly, fuel lines, DFCM, transfer case output, front drive shaft, fuel tank, DEF tank, plus the driver. All of this could easily make the left side 400-600 lbs heavier than the right (unless there are passengers in the truck to help offset the left side bias).
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,250
Likes: 561
by your fueltank theory, these truck springs must be unbelievable soft in the first part of compression. but why doesnt every new ford lean over then ? factory swaybars may account for some trucks leaning less than others, maybe. hell the powerwagon with its soft springs doesnt lean 1/2" even with 31gal fuel
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 169
Likes: 2
The root cause is the truck not having an equal left to right weight balance, yet the spring rates on the left and right sides are the same. This means the heavier side rides lower. Outside of reengineering the truck after having weighed the individual components, including the eventual occupants, or adding to ballast to the lighter side, how exactly would you fix this?
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 169
Likes: 2
by your fueltank theory, these truck springs must be unbelievable soft in the first part of compression. but why doesnt every new ford lean over then ? factory swaybars may account for some trucks leaning less than others, maybe. hell the powerwagon with its soft springs doesnt lean 1/2" even with 31gal fuel
Add 200# fuel, and truck components off centerline to the driver's side.......there you go.
Trying to make permanent adjustments for temporary weight and balance issues is not practical IMO.
How do you do that? The options are almost endless.
You could tell the spring tech to adjust the springs for........Empty truck, no passengers, no fuel. 300# driver, full fuel, 600# passenger.......on and on.
Ford has no idea how you are going to load your truck. They install matched spring sets for an even ride. How the truck is loaded is on the buyer.
More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 642
Likes: 14
I can definitely see that before HD pickups started coming with coil springs (either front, or front and rear). After that, shims for the coils is about the only option. Or something akin to the OUO adjustable coil levers. They are not cheap, but they work well.