46 Coupe leaning 3" if its not 1 thing its another

[yahbut]

Yup if its not one thing its another. I bought the car in Nov. 2014. It was completely restored.....or supposedly. I knew there was some tiding up and changes I wanted to make but this is getting ridiculous. If its not one thing its another. When I started driving it in May and tinkering with it I noticed a 1/2" shim shoved in from passenger side between top of rear spring and cross member I knew that wasnt right and decided to check it out some day... that day was today. I removed the shim and set car back on the ground. Now it leans to the passenger side both front and back 3"....and not exaggerating. I removed the lever shock on rear of drivers side as well as tube shock on front drivers side hoping that a seized shock was causing it.... nope wasnt that. Anyone know what it could be? I am hoping either a weak front or rear spring and not a twisted frame

[Lawson Cox]

Get a big fat girlfriend and have her sit in your lap. Besides making the car sit level she will give you heat in the winter and shade in the summer. LOL

[larrys40]

I would say that someone didn't get the center bolt in the hole properly when the rear axle was out and put back in. They tried to cheat the problem with the shim... instead of fixing it. It is also conceivable that you could have a rear spring issue as well. Study the problem, plan on dropping the rear axle to inspect the spring, center bolt, and crossmember for damage. It's really not that big a deal. Just be sure you use a quality spring spreader if spring service is needed.

Larry Shepard

[Randy in ca]

What does the front end look like? Hopefully similarly tilted to indicate no frame problems.

[yahbut]

Yes front end is the same tilt

[yahbut]

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Im hoping its an issue with the center bolt. The guy I bought it from said he removed 3 leafs from the rear because it rode so rough. The 3 smallest leafs which he gave me. When the shim was in place the rest of the spring sat tight against the cross member. Do you still think it might be the center bolt?

[Tony, NY]

Sounds to me like you have frozen shackle bushings (harsh ride). Compare the shackle angles side to side. Jacking up the car to work on it probably set the shackles at the now lean.

[51 MERC-CT]

Adding a 'wedge' was common practice to compensate for abnormal spring 'sag'.
The 'wedges' came in increments of 1 to 5 degrees and were combined to make the necessary correction to level the car.
If there are one or more broken leaves in the spring then it's time for replacement.
Also check the spring seat area of the cross member for cracks.
If you reversed the spring you would probably get 'sag' on the drivers side.

[scooder]

You don't need a spring spreader on your 46, so that makes it a much easyer job to service the spring.
Martin.

[STEVE O]

HI,
My son is working on a 47 sedan rear spring. I have done my 40 springs with a spreader to put the springs back on. What is different with the 47 where it doesn't need a spreader to reinstall? Also did some 46-48 use the type bushing where you can just push them in with your fingers and some had the drive in bushings? Thanks

[39topless]

Originally Posted by Lawson Cox

Get a big fat girlfriend and have her sit in your lap. Besides making the car sit level she will give you heat in the winter and shade in the summer. LOL

Why are some solutions so much more obvious than others?

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT

Adding a 'wedge' was common practice to compensate for abnormal spring 'sag'.
The 'wedges' came in increments of 1 to 5 degrees and were combined to make the necessary correction to level the car.
If there are one or more broken leaves in the spring then it's time for replacement.
Also check the spring seat area of the cross member for cracks.
If you reversed the spring you would probably get 'sag' on the drivers side.

Aren't those wedges for correcting pinion angles?

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by Mike51Merc

Aren't those wedges for correcting pinion angles?

As a matter of fact today they are used in parallel spring configurations for just that purpose.
Back in the buggy spring era they had a different purpose.
In NASCAR racing today sometimes you may hear the term "add a little wedge" when they talk about the cars handling.
That term originated back when the buggy spring Fords dominated the scene and the wedges were used to correct the handling.

[scooder]

Originally Posted by STEVE O

HI,
My son is working on a 47 sedan rear spring. I have done my 40 springs with a spreader to put the springs back on. What is different with the 47 where it doesn't need a spreader to reinstall? Also did some 46-48 use the type bushing where you can just push them in with your fingers and some had the drive in bushings? Thanks

The the need for the spreader on your 40 is due to the spring being under tension, the 46 up has a different set up. The springs on these are a lot more relaxed, and have the fat rubber easy push in bushes.
On your 40 the springs act as a spring (obviously) and they mostly control side ways sway, they do this via the tension on the spring and the 45 degree shackles. On the 46 you'll notice the shackles point pretty much straight up and down, therfor no real tension on the spring at rest, this makes for a softer ride, but no sideways sway control. This is done by the panhard bars fitted to these year Ford's.
So no need for a spreader with the relaxed later springs.
Martin.

[STEVE O]

Thanks Martin, I thought I had read that the 47 springs were relaxed but I wanted to be sure as my son is in the army in Ky and I live in Va and I can't be there to help him only advise how to do it. That's great news on the spring and the bushings! On the other hand when he comes in sometime in Oct to Va I guess my 40 spring plys won't work in his 47 spring?
Thanks again
Steve

[1931 flamingo]

Before you go any further try tightening the rear spring U-bolts. Try loosening all four nuts and then retighten, probably more so on the left side. Make sure the lower clamp is not fully bottoming on the frame. You may end up putting the extra leaves or a spacer on the bottom of the spring pack.
Paul in CT

[Heard]

Lawson, you really cracked me up with that.

As to the issue, I spent a lot of time trying to figure this out on my '36 coupe. It didn't lean nearly as bad as your car, but it still didn't look right. As I recall, it leaned about a half inch. This is with new springs front and rear. I disconnected shocks, took many measurements front and rear, dropped the rear axle and spring pack several times, put the car on jack stands in front and measured the rear, vise versa, loosen and re-tighten the bolts, etc. etc. I never could figure out the cause. Something was obviously tweaked somewhere but I could not put my finger on it. Be aware though, a very small difference in the way the spring pack mounts will make quite a difference out at the wheels.

I did manage to determine that if I put a small shim on the rear spring pack on one side, it sat perfectly. So I declared victory.

[supereal]

The clue is that the former owner removed spring leaves to improve the ride. Disassemble. the spring and look for broken leaves, deep wear pockets st the spring ends, and an incorrect spring center bolt that doesn't match the hole in the crossmember. I prefer the Teflon spring bushings, as they ride better and don't develop a squeak as they age. Replace the "spare" leaves, grind the pockets smooth, and consider installing spring liners.

[yahbut]

Well I spent the good part of today trying to find the problem with the rear suspension. Set the frame on jack stands and lowered the rearend and spring. Spring bolt was in the hole made for it in the cross member. Although it wasnt the right bolt. It was just a regular six sided bolt. I left the main spring attched to th3 shackle and removed the rest of the leafs. Non were broken. When I put it back together I turned each leaft 180 degrees. My thinking was if the spring was sagging and i did a 180 with the leafs, once but back together then theoretically the car should now be leaning to the drivers side......well no such luck. So spring aint sagging. I pretty much tried everything you guys suggested. I am thinking a set of parallel leafs and a 9 in ford rearend maybe in order.
I am now thinking well why couldnt it be the front spring. Its possible that it sagged out....thats were all the weight is....so well check that out next

[JSeery]

So why not put the shim back in?