I know that this topic has been touched on before but cannot remember possible causes. My '76 bronco has a 3 1/2" James Duff suspension lift and I just recently installed a 2" body lift. The truck may have been leaning before and I just did not notice it, but with the body lift on it is 1 3/4" higher on the passenger side of the truck than the driver side and at the rear of the vehicle it sits 1/2" higher on the passenger side. I can't think of what might be causing this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

 

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"but with the body lift on it is 1 3/4" higher on the passenger side of the truck"
I'm assuming that you mean the front of the truck?

If the mounts on the frame and body looked solid then it's the suspension.

First Re-check the mounts underneath the truck. Did pulling the spacers tight cause any metal to collapse or bend? Are the body mount bushings centered properly across the body? Are any bushings more collapsed than other bushings? Did you tighten them with an air-impact? It's likely something here is funky, so really check it out. You can always untorque all the bolts and see if that fixes the lean.

The font usually leans because the trailing arms are tightened to the axle housing incorrectly when c-bushings are replaced in a lift. Also check the C-bushings to make sure they are in good shape. If the lift is relatively new, the bushings should be fine.

On a flat surface at the front of the Bronco measure from the frame to the center of each fron C-bushing and from the frame to the ground. From the radius arm to the frame. Are the numbers the same? You can do the same at the rear, but measure from the frame to the middle of the leaf.

To properly install the C-bushings you need to pull the rear and trailing arms from the bronco and set the rear up on jackstands (have the jackstands under the axle tubes so the rear sits level) on a level surface. Then begin attaching the trailing arms, caps and bushings to the rear. Rotate the rear down to check the position of both trailing arms as you tighten. As you tighten the cap bolts on each arm make sure that the ends of both trailing arms are touching the ground and stay touching the gound. Tighten the cap bolts diagonally in pairs to spec.

Another tidbit of information is that the radius arms and caps are machined sets and are not supposed to be mixed (Ford). If you have to pull everything apart make sure the Right cap is with the Right arm, etc. I know some will tell you this doesn't mean anything, but since you haven't installed extended arms, I would match them.

"at the rear of the vehicle it sits 1/2" higher on the passenger side."

If you replaced rear springs in the lift then spring sag is not the problem. If you installed and add-a-leaf on old springs, those old spings may need to be replaced or re-arched. An old shot set of springs will be lower on the driver's side because that's where you sit all the time.

Hope this helps

 

Sorry Admin...I was trying to post a link to the info but it wouldn't let me and that was the only way I could get the information over to the other member.

 

Thanx for the input Boba Fett. I was thinking that it probably had more to do with the suspension lift than the body lift because the body lift is installed correclty and we checked before and after tightening the body down. Both showed higher on the passenger side than on the driver's side. My guess is that it is the C bushings causing the issue. The suspension lift has been on about a year. If the bushing are switched around can you still just switch them and use the same ones or should new ones be purchased? Thank you for the help.

 

Sorry I took me a while to get back to you. You probably cay re-use the bushings you have if they are in good shape. It might pay to have new ones on hand if the bushings on the truck are in bad shape because it makes the job go faster.

 

I can almost garauntee you that the problem is the control arms. You need to tighten all the bolts evenly. That mean right side to left, top to bottom, and driver to passenger. All bolts must be even or the side you tightened first will sit lower. It's really a pain in the butt!

Good Luck
Sean

 

I agree with CK. My Bronc had same problem. Also I might add start with arms and axel perfectly level and try to seat C bushings evenly.

 

I bought a 1970 bronco which some yoyo placed 5 one inch spacers into each front coil springs to accomadate 38 inch tires. i fear the "Lean". The driver side rear was lower than the passenger side almost two inches and the front as well to some extent. A new 2" body lift, 5-1/2 inch lift put on with new radius arms. The "Lean" currently was almost 2-1/2" in driver rear and 1" driver front. I thought the frame was bent, and took it to a frame shop. They said the frame was bent but couldn't fix it. I cosmetically addressed it by reversing the shim under the driver rear sping. the body sits almost level now! How do i know if the C-bushings are the culprit now? Any other ideas?

 

After reading your post, I was in the middle of tearing some things apart for my trans and noticed a bad lean in the rear of my '68.

I've got the opposite issue as yours, mine is nearly perfect up front, but the driver rear sags 1 1'2". Went ahead and replaced with new leafs, but still have the lean. The closer I look, the truck looks like it "crab walks" a little.

My bro and my mechanic think that the frame is probably bent near the middle of the truck. Is that possible? Wouldn't it show some serious lean in the front?

 

The C bushing issue is probably the right response. Search for it and you'll find it on the web...with instructions of how to either reinstall or at the very least get the radius arms in line correctly.

 

Crab walks? What does that mean?

I would first check the attachment points for the rear springs and make sure they are the same for each side. IE see if one point on one side looks boogered up compared to its companion on the other side. Look at the position of the axle snubbers, etc, and look for out of position. If you can drop the axle, measure the distance between the top of the spring and the frame where the axle mounts on each side with and without the axle attached and see if it changes, as when the axle is mounted the distance are different, but hanging free with no axle attached, while the overall distance is longer.... it is the same both sides.

Also compare the rear shackles...make sure they are not torqued or twisted.

to check your frame you have to X it out with a tape and make sure the measurements are the same crosswise for each side. You might have to google or youtube that....

Also check your axle housing for bent too. If by crab walks you mean moves funny..it might be the axle housing. Nine inch housings are not really that strong, and will readily bend when abused. Untrussed, they will not take a lot of abuse they are after all, only sheetmetal.

 

Sorry, by "crab walks" I meant that it went down the road straight, but the rear end didn't follow the front end straight. If you looked at the truck coming at you head-on, the rear end looks like it sticks out to one side. I'm headed to the shop now and start measuring the front end. Found the links to the c-bushing tech pages. Thanks for the ideas. I've got a few more places to measure and adjust before going to the frame shop. Much Appreciated

 

What you described could also be caused by the torsion in the front end if the C-bushing are not the right degree angle for your life, installed wrong, or bad.....

Also... I don't know if these trucks line up exactly as well..... it the ackerman principle of steering.... you can google that..... rule of thumb... if the truck goes down the road straight.... the frame is not bent.... if you rig pulls, brakes funny, and generally is a dog to steer... .then you might have a bent frame....