Uneven "stance" - anyone shim a spring?

[burlybryan]

A few people here have mentioned one corner of their car being lower than the others for some reason. My driver front is 3/4" lower than the others even after a full suspension rebuild. That wheel had and still does rub when turning sharp. There is some evidence in the engine compartment of a long ago minor collision that's probably the reason, but the car aligns fine and drives straight.

I'm wondering if anyone has shimmed a spring to correct the height. Any reasons not to try?

[engineerted]

Have you check to see that the other front spring (not the low one) is seated correctly in the lower A-Arm or maybe the rubber isolator is missing?

[azruss]

it is also possible the a-arms where tightened down incorrectly. I'm not sure how you would shim the spring and keep it in place. may want to try a spring spacer.

[4uall]

a couple of things, spring might have rotated a little as you said,

the shock may not be seated fully into the hub, they can be hard to get down fully.

or

It may be settling faster on the drivers side cos that's were you(the extra weight) are sitting, do you take passengers often?

Some are generally heavier on the right/left due the position of the battery and shape of the fuel tank.


I have the exact same problem in my Civic however, I only use it occasionally and I have been the only driver/passenger

[vandor]

I've done this on the rear of a 124, one side was nearly an inch higher. I ended up adding an extra pillow block on top of the left spring, that made it almost level, where it was not perceptible by sight.

[burlybryan]

Thanks all. I should have said spacer not shim. Shims are for alignment...duh. I've used spacers on the rear springs of my 9-5 Aero wagon and got to thinking about the spider. I'm pretty confident that I tightened the a-arm according to proper procedures and the height difference predated the spring/shock/bushing replacement. I did reuse the original a-arms, so it could be one is bent. I made sure the spring is seated correctly on all 4 corners.

The PO was a "big guy" but probably not much heavier than me - just distributed more towards center mass.

How about adding a second spring rubber seat/cup to the top of the spring?

[vandor]

> I did reuse the original a-arms, so it could be one is bent.

Very unlikely.

>How about adding a second spring rubber seat/cup to the top of the spring?

That would work, as long as it does not raise it too much. Remember, the springs acts on the middle of the a-arm, so any change will be amplified by the length of the a-arm.

[burlybryan]

Thanks Csaba. It's worth some experimentation over the winter. Fortunately I have a short memory and I'm willing to take apart the front suspension again. I'll post what I do when the time comes.