ride height

[Ray Greene]

I have a recently restored 65 BJ8, new rear springs were installed at that time along with everything else(2-3 years ago).
From behind the car, and looking at the rear, the drivers side is exactly 1 inch lower then the passengers side. That is measuring from the inside top of the wheel opening. It really bugs me. On my car lift, everything looks fine, the suspension looks idential to me on either side. Could a spring be losing its arch so fast?
Thanks, Ray

 

[Henri]

Could a spring be losing its arch so fast?

No...it shouldn't...are you sure that the spring has not broken...pulled out from it's mounts...something is obviously wrong...

 

[Dave Russell]

It could be uneven front springs. Did it ever sit level? Is the front level side to side?

The nominal ride height for all big Healeys should be 27" from fender opening to ground on all four corners. Except the phase two BJ8 should be 28".

It's not clear how much the car has actually been driven since the spring change. If very little, drive it for a while & then check. Sometimes things take a while to settle.
D

[ 05-15-2004: Message edited by: Dave Russell ]</p>

 

[healeys4me]

Ray,

had the same thing happen on my BJ8. Replaced the rear springs several month ago, added new bushings, and shocks. Now the car sits at 28" drivers side, and 29" passenger side. I am taking the listers advise and driving this summer to see if things settle down on the right side (plus looking for overweight hitchhikers). The bright side is a much improved ride.

 

[ynotme2]

I was reading a healey magazine that talked about rear leaf spring replacement. It said that some of the replacement springs were not manufactured right and had a propensity to sag over a short period of time. I wonder if that is the case here?

 

[Dave Russell]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by ynotme2:
I was reading a healey magazine that talked about rear leaf spring replacement. It said that some of the replacement springs were not manufactured right and had a propensity to sag over a short period of time. I wonder if that is the case here?<hr></blockquote>

While this was true of some replacement springs manufactured "back when", I'm not aware of it being a problem with springs purchased after about year 2000.

A good possibility is the the springs were painted after assembly which "glues" the leaves together & it will take some time & road bumps for the springs to flex enough to let them move freely. They will all settle a little bit as springs, bushings, & shakle bearings settle & loosen.

It's actually hard to determine if a Healey is level & what the problem is. Due to the semi hand built nature of the cars, two fenders can actually be installed at different heights in relation to a frame reference point & the fenders can have different contours/dimensions. Variations in springs & suspension parts are a possibility. The lack of straight body lines makes it hard to get a visual reference.

What really matters is, how the car looks. If the variation is only an inch or so, the side to side level appearance can be changed by raising or lowering the bumper ends at the semi adjustable frame attaching points. Sometimes the frame attaching holes need to be slotted a bit to get adjustment room.

Other tricks include having a spring shop slightly alter the arch on a single rear spring, or changing a front coil length slightly. The front ride height can be reduced by placing spacers betweenn the spring pans & the lower control arms. 1/2" spacers would lower the front by about one inch.

Being determined to make the car look "level", I have used all of the methods. Takes a whole lot of time & effort on some cars. If you start carefully measuring various places nothing is really level but the car looks straight.

Since bumper alignment with the ground is the most obvious visual cue, I would probably concentrate efforts there.
D

[ 05-16-2004: Message edited by: Dave Russell ]</p>