Huge change in ride height!

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doogievlg

doogievlg

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So today I put my motor back in my dart. I got rid of some extra weight...heaviest would
Be the iron heads. Anyways I got everything in and hooked up but now the front of my car is sitting about three inches higher then the rear. Should I drop down the torsion bars a bit or just wait and see if it eventually drops back down.
 
I will be in the same boat eventually. Aluminum heads, aluminum radiator, battery relocated. Drive it for a while to let it settle on it's own. Then crank the bars down if you need to get the right ride height. I would recheck your alignment afterwards also.
 
Don't drive it too much, just some good bumps to settle it. When the ride height increases, it can greatly increase toe-in, which can wear your tires very quickly. The flip side is as the front end sags, you get toe-out which makes the car wander. That is why toe-in should be checked and adjusted regularly. Just sight along a straight-edge, held against each front tire, at the rear tires to get a feel. A tape measure front to back across the front wheels let you measure exactly.
 
BillGrissom said:
Don't drive it too much, just some good bumps to settle it. When the ride height increases, it can greatly increase toe-in, which can wear your tires very quickly. The flip side is as the front end sags, you get toe-out which makes the car wander. That is why toe-in should be checked and adjusted regularly. Just sight along a straight-edge, held against each front tire, at the rear tires to get a feel. A tape measure front to back across the front wheels let you measure exactly.
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I think you got toe in and tow out reversed Bill :)
Unless the car started out with under center right height on the tierods anyways.
 
When you raise the wheels off the ground, camber goes as far positive as it can. Once you let it back down, the tires hold the suspension from letting the car all the way back down until you move the car and allow the tires to get back to their original track. It will be fine once you move it.
 
oldkimmer said:
............Drive it 1st, it will settle some...............kim.........
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X2. I'd drive it around your neighborhood to get it to settle. If it's still too high, then I'd adjust the torsion bars and take it for an alignment.

I've adjusted ride height and tow in my driveway before, but anything more than that I take it to an alignment shop.
 
If there is a big difference in height, I'd probably loosen up the LCA pivot shafts before adjusting the torsion bars. You don't want to put any strain on the lower ball joints. Always have the pivot shafts loose until you have the ride height where you want it.
 
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