Tahoe not level

[tybardy]

So my front driver side sits about a full inch lower then the front passenger side and the rear driver side sits about a half inch lower the the rear passenger side...

Any ideas on how to fix el problemo?

[BOSS]

Mine does too, I think it has something to do with how much the driver side of the truck body shifts a little upwards upwards on initial acceleration personally...maybe the body mounts are a little more compressed on the driver side? Dunno the answer on that one.

I'm going to correct it with body drop but for now I just pulled down the front pass side a little with my keys and removed the rear spring isolators. When I removed the isolators I wrapped the springs with a little thin rubber from a water hose I spliced. What I did to compensate for the higher pass side was to add a little more rubber on the driverside (edited) rear spring. It did help, but being a perfectionist I still the the difference and so does my measuring tape. :D

I finally contributed to someone's problem, pretty damn proud of myself! Gotta give back!


BOSS

---------- Post added at 07:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:39 PM ----------

I have a 3/5 drop, not sure if you have dropped yours or not but it doesn't look like it. Still you should be able to do what I did to alleviate the height difference some..make it tolerable anyway.

Don't forget, measure from the wheel lip to the body. Some jackass tried to measure my shit at a shop when I was looking into this body drop thing...moron was measuring from the rock gravel pavement to the truck body.


BOSS

[tybardy]

well, now this brings me to my next question for you... you might be two for two today

how do you adjust the front keys?

[BOSS]

There is a hex bolt for each key under the truck just about the middle way down the body of the underside...follow the long suspension bars from the front suspension, they end and slide into the "keys". Then underneath where those bars end, are two bolts that you can loosen to lower and tighten to raise.


BOSS

[danimalmax]

page 2 of this pdf will show u where the bolts are, ignore the rest of the instructions

http://z71tahoe-suburban.com/iboard/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=2

actually, dont forget if u adjust them at all, you need to go get a tire alignment, or your tires will be toed in

[BOSS]

What I did to compensate for the higher pass side was to add a little more rubber on the driverside (edited) rear spring.
BOSS

Sorry I meant added more rubber on the driverside rear spring to raise it up a hair.

---------- Post added at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 PM ----------

page 2 of this pdf will show u where the bolts are, ignore the rest of the instructions

http://z71tahoe-suburban.com/iboard/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=2

Tried it but I guess you gotta register



BOSS

---------- Post added at 08:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:13 PM ----------

Here is a picture of the bolt


http://www.truxxx.com/chevrolet_products/chevrolet_images/1999_21.jpg

[tybardy]

if i go ahead and do this, what does it do to my alignment?

[danimalmax]

if i go ahead and do this, what does it do to my alignment?

it'll bow it in to the middle or outwards, depending on whether you lower or lift, the recommended thing to do is adjust your bolts, drive around the block and make sure u like where its at, then go get an alignment so one side of your tires dont get worn

[BOSS]

it'll bow it in to the middle or outwards, depending on whether you lower or lift, the recommended thing to do is adjust your bolts, drive around the block and make sure u like where its at, then go get an alignment so one side of your tires dont get worn

Sorry - I forgot to mention that important part! Must get an alignment.

Also, try two full turns of the torsion bolt at a time, should give you exactly what you need each time you do it so you don't under, or over do it. Drive around the block like a those guys do in nascar on caution flag, turn your steering wheel from side to side and level the suspension out. I get funny looks in my hood when I do this. :driver:


BOSS

[MOBmentality]

Sorry - I forgot to mention that important part! Must get an alignment.

Also, try two full turns of the torsion bolt at a time, should give you exactly what you need each time you do it so you don't under, or over do it. Drive around the block like a those guys do in nascar on caution flag, turn your steering wheel from side to side and level the suspension out. I get funny looks in my hood when I do this. :driver:


BOSS

if it is sagging is suspension based (99.9%) and hasnt been aligned since the sag then adjusting it back level on on said would actually fix the alignment back to zero

[JKmotorsports]

if i go ahead and do this, what does it do to my alignment?

Your camber will become affected mainly. The toe will also, but not as significantly as the camber. The lower you go, the more you put the wheels in negative camber. Lifting will put the wheels into positive camber. When the control arms are moved up and down, this also changes the angle of the tie rods, although it is very minimal. And when that happens, the distance between the centerlink and steering knuckle changes, affecting the toe. If you don't have a problem with abnormal tire wear now, you will afterwards if you don't get it re-aligned.

[Grebbler]

Say a person is 1 inch off. Raising one side 1/2 inch and lowering the other 1/2 would cancel out the toe changes (with a tiny shift of the steering wheel to off center), wouldn't it?

When the shop aligned mine after cranking it up (against my wishes) the toe was the only thing out of spec.

[fatnlowtahoe504]

yea mine sits higher on the passenger side too, thought it might be cus im always sitting on driver side and im 6'3 250lbs lol

[MOBmentality]

yea mine sits higher on the passenger side too, thought it might be cus im always sitting on driver side and im 6'3 250lbs lol

lol uh ohhhh here comes the new forum challenge.. body weight of driver.. lol

mine sags a little... when im in it... 6'3 272lbs

[fatnlowtahoe504]

lol uh ohhhh here comes the new forum challenge.. body weight of driver.. lol

mine sags a little... when im in it... 6'3 272lbs

lol hopefully no NFL lineman's are on this forum

[tybardy]

yea this thought actually crossed my mind... the weight of the driver + fuel tank saging the truck on that side... even still, i want it fucking fixed, its horse shit

[danimalmax]

why would the weight of the driver have anything to do with it? who can see the outside of their car while they're sitting inside anyway?

[tybardy]

why would the weight of the driver have anything to do with it? who can see the outside of their car while they're sitting inside anyway?

my thought was, that 5 years of weight being distibuted to one side of the truck more then the other is what made it sag on the driver side

[fatnlowtahoe504]

my thought was, that 5 years of weight being distibuted to one side of the truck more then the other is what made it sag on the driver side

exactly my thought

[danimalmax]

i guess the previous owner of my tahoe wasnt tiny

[BOSS]

my thought was, that 5 years of weight being distibuted to one side of the truck more then the other is what made it sag on the driver side

Could be BOTH the compressing/decompressing of the body mounts from engine pulling on the body/frame the way it does in acceleration and the driver weight. Isn't the fuel tank supported by the frame? Wouldn't be the tank then.

I replaced my suspension and the body still sat higher on the passenger side so it would seem logical that it's the body mounts that are more worn on the driver side.


BOSS

[tybardy]

Could be BOTH the compressing/decompressing of the body mounts from engine pulling on the body/frame the way it does in acceleration and the driver weight. Isn't the fuel tank supported by the frame? Wouldn't be the tank then.

I replaced my suspension and the body still sat higher on the passenger side so it would seem logical that it's the body mounts that are more worn on the driver side.


BOSS

few things would end up pissing me off more then if you are right....