Chevy Lean Issue. Need Guidance

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projectmidnight74

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This ol project is getting close to being finished but one thing is causing some concern. From research this ain't new, but its the chevy lean. Mine is on the passenger side.
Truck has new suspension from front to back. Everything is new. 5/7 drop kit from crown suspension.
What is the best way to get this thing level to eliminate a serious rub issues on my new inner tubs. My mechanic wants to weld something in place on the leaf springs. I don't think that's a good idea. Any suggestions.
 

Ricko1966

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This ol project is getting close to being finished but one thing is causing some concern. From research this ain't new, but its the chevy lean. Mine is on the passenger side.
Truck has new suspension from front to back. Everything is new. 5/7 drop kit from crown suspension.
What is the best way to get this thing level to eliminate a serious rub issues on my new inner tubs. My mechanic wants to weld something in place on the leaf springs. I don't think that's a good idea. Any suggestions.
Looks like you're going to have to eat more,and start lifting.
 

RanchWelder

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We need some detailed pics of the new suspension and the truck. :popcorn:
Try to take them nice and level by using something to brace the camera.

Unless you frame was previously bent, or in an accident, with all new suspension and springs, you should sit very close to straight...

Might you have a bad shock, out of the box? Or a bad spring, instead?
 

Keith Seymore

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Put a spacer in it.

For the leaf spring: you don't have to weld anything. Just take a chunk of the material and size of your choice and capture it with the center pin that holds the leaf pack together. Put the head of the pin/bolt back in the pilot hole of the axle pad just like it was before.

Mine's had a small spacer under one of the leaf springs for 37 years.

K
 

projectmidnight74

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We need some detailed pics of the new suspension and the truck. :popcorn:
Try to take them nice and level by using something to brace the camera.

Unless you frame was previously bent, or in an accident, with all new suspension and springs, you should sit very close to straight...

Might you have a bad shock, out of the box? Or a bad spring, instead?
Yeah. Every spring and shock is brand new. All control arms and everything else. It's my dad's old truck. Say for 35 years on the backyard. He had it since I was a kid. Not sure if it was in a wreck or not.
 

projectmidnight74

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Put a spacer in it.

For the leaf spring: you don't have to weld anything. Just take a chunk of the material and size of your choice and capture it with the center pin that holds the leaf pack together. Put the head of the pin/bolt back in the pilot hole of the axle pad just like it was before.

Mine's had a small spacer under one of the leaf springs for 37 years.

K
Even the leafs are brand new. Are you saying the flip kit should be lowered. It's at a 6' inch drop right now. Fronts on a 5 with 3.5 drop spindles and 2 inch drop springs.
 

Keith Seymore

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Yes. I am saying it should be evened out.

These trucks leaned when new.

K
 
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TotalyHucked

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Very common on these trucks, even with straight frames and all new components. Is you truck a single fuel tank truck or dual tank? Where is your battery? My truck leaned toward the driver's side because the battery, tank and me are over there. I tried to compensate by trimming the pass front spring a little extra and went too far so now it's lower on the pass side lol.

You can either trim a little off one of the front springs or add a spacer/block on one side in the back. Like Keith said, just make sure the block/spacer can be captured by the center pin. Figure out how much lean you have an make the spacer roughly that height.
 

projectmidnight74

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Very common on these trucks, even with straight frames and all new components. Is you truck a single fuel tank truck or dual tank? Where is your battery? My truck leaned toward the driver's side because the battery, tank and me are over there. I tried to compensate by trimming the pass front spring a little extra and went too far so now it's lower on the pass side lol.

You can either trim a little off one of the front springs or add a spacer/block on one side in the back. Like Keith said, just make sure the block/spacer can be captured by the center pin. Figure out how much lean you have an make the spacer roughly that height.
Got ya. That same suggestion came from another gent and I think we will go that route. Not sure how adding to the back fixes t he front but I am willing to try anything. Also, battery and fuel tank are on the passenger side. This is new to me that's why I am so full of questions and thank you gents for allowing me a platform to be inquisitive and grow. So, spacer in the rear driver should fix the front passenger dip or vice versa, OR, just add a spring stabilizer to the front. Correct or nah.
 

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Learned something new from the engineering team today!

"These trucks leaned when new. K"

Great info K.

Hope this admission of faulty, substandard balanced spring to weight ratio's during manufacturing does not blow back on you or your team... The J-Turn Jeep Team got beat to death over this type of admission...

I was trying to help you out, brother...

"I abhor litigation... and the creeps who perform it." -Welder

See my Sig, for my opinion on this type of "bad", (or "poor" for the emotionally sensitive engineers out there...) engineering...

So... every Barrett Jackson Auction, for a fully restored truck, which does NOT lean... has been a scam sale and the insurance value after the sale is the F-word?

The GM roll-over liability claims specialist "probably" just had heart failure.
 
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TotalyHucked

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Got ya. That same suggestion came from another gent and I think we will go that route. Not sure how adding to the back fixes t he front but I am willing to try anything. Also, battery and fuel tank are on the passenger side. This is new to me that's why I am so full of questions and thank you gents for allowing me a platform to be inquisitive and grow. So, spacer in the rear driver should fix the front passenger dip or vice versa, OR, just add a spring stabilizer to the front. Correct or nah.
Going back and re-reading your original post, I would suggest starting with a coil spacer or riser to raise that corner up. The Chevy Lean can be fixed front or rear, but each situation is different. Since you're saying you're too low up front, you need to raise that corner. If it was more toward the back, you could add a block or shackles and set your shackles at different heights.

Can you post some pictures of your truck? Also, before you do anything, measure all 4 corners. Since the wheel wells are not the same height on these trucks, I usually measure to the bottom of my trim behind the front wheel and in front of the back wheel. Parking on level ground and measuring there gets me the most accurate results.

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TotalyHucked

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These are the best 2 pictures I could find to illustrate what I mean, you can see how the driver's fender is about even with the top of the tire/right at the tread. The passenger fender is down the sidewall a good bit. My truck is ~3/8" lower on the passenger side front without me in the truck and you can tell it in person. Much harder to see in pictures. In the rear, I'm within 1/8" of each other. So to fix my truck, I need to either trim the driver's side spring a touch more to bring it down even with the passenger side, or I need to add those coil risers to the passenger side to bring it up higher to be the same as the driver's side.

Since you're rubbing, you'll need to either raise your lower corner or install SloshTubz and trim the high corner to bring it down level. I rubbed real bad on my original inner fenders but wanted the down in the weeds look, so I installed SloshTubz to get the clearance I needed.

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These are the best 2 pictures I could find to illustrate what I mean, you can see how the driver's fender is about even with the top of the tire/right at the tread. The passenger fender is down the sidewall a good bit. My truck is ~3/8" lower on the passenger side front without me in the truck and you can tell it in person. Much harder to see in pictures. In the rear, I'm within 1/8" of each other. So to fix my truck, I need to either trim the driver's side spring a touch more to bring it down even with the passenger side, or I need to add those coil risers to the passenger side to bring it up higher to be the same as the driver's side.

Since you're rubbing, you'll need to either raise your lower corner or install SloshTubz and trim the high corner to bring it down level. I rubbed real bad on my original inner fenders but wanted the down in the weeds look, so I installed SloshTubz to get the clearance I needed.

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Amongst all that graffiti and there's Bigfoot!
 

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