92 LX uneven front ride height.

[lojo1]

I just purchased this car a week ago which the previous owner had lowering springs put on. I noticed the front left ride height is about 1/2 lower than the right side. He told ne to check the sway bar bushings and see if the front left were bad. I checked and noticed the upper front left bushing was almost flat. The right side appeared to be fine. My question is can the bushing condition cause the ride height to be uneven? Pics below.

 

[90sickfox]

It can cause handling issues like that. The squished one is tightened up too much. In theory it could raise that control arm up and cause that corner to lower. I've never noticed a height difference caused by a sway bar end link though.

The suspension works together. If the right rear is bound up it'll lower the left front. If the right rear is sagging it can raise the right front. The ground where you are measuring the ride height has to be flat. ( I'm sure you know that ).

With him just doing the springs, the most likely issue would be them not sitting in the spring cup of the control arms correctly. They are supposed to be oriented so the lowest coil end sits down in the pocket up front. In the rear the bottom coil is supposed to point in a certain direction. Either one of these could cause your exact issue.

Sway bar end links aren't supposed to be tightened until the bushing flattens out. They should be tightened to the point where they just barely start to bulge. When you jack up a car the front suspension drops. That causes the sway bar to drop and cause an angle at the bushing. All suspension bolts are supposed to be tightened with the weight of the car on all 4 corners.

I've seen people tighten a control arm bolt with the car jacked up. That caused the control arm bushing to bind, acting like a helper spring, and raised that corner of the car.

 

[Dan02gt]

This type of stuff is normal for foxes. I was able to get mine fairly level by installing Caster/Camber plates to allow better articulation at the strut mount and adjustable rear lower control arms. The difference in adjustment is probably 1/2" on the rear spring perches to get it within 1/4" level all the way around.

 

[lojo1]

It can cause handling issues like that. The squished one is tightened up too much. In theory it could raise that control arm up and cause that corner to lower. I've never noticed a height difference caused by a sway bar end link though.

The suspension works together. If the right rear is bound up it'll lower the left front. If the right rear is sagging it can raise the right front. The ground where you are measuring the ride height has to be flat. ( I'm sure you know that ).

With him just doing the springs, the most likely issue would be them not sitting in the spring cup of the control arms correctly. They are supposed to be oriented so the lowest coil end sits down in the pocket up front. In the rear the bottom coil is supposed to point in a certain direction. Either one of these could cause your exact issue.

Sway bar end links aren't supposed to be tightened until the bushing flattens out. They should be tightened to the point where they just barely start to bulge. When you jack up a car the front suspension drops. That causes the sway bar to drop and cause an angle at the bushing. All suspension bolts are supposed to be tightened with the weight of the car on all 4 corners.

I've seen people tighten a control arm bolt with the car jacked up. That caused the control arm bushing to bind, acting like a helper spring, and raised that corner of the car.

Lots of great points. Thanks for replying. I'm planning to replace the front sway bar and didn't realize the car should be on the ground before completely tightening the bolts. I watched a few videos and wondered why they waited to tighten them when it was on the ground.

 

[mikestang63]

believe it or not, if the rear springs are not clocked even it can cause the front side to be off from one side to the other

 

[Mustang5L5]

Since the springs look to be relatively new, my guess is they may not be clocked correctly.

 

[lojo1]

Thanks. Can you suggest how I go about finding out if they are not clocked correctly? Do I need to take the wheels off and check each one?

 

[Mustang5L5]

You’ll likely need to pull the wheels to see up front.

In the lower control arm, there are two drain holes. You can see them in this pic. Typically installation method usually has the lower coil cover one of those drain holes, but leave the lowest one exposed.

Now, if both are covered it’s not a huge deal. The main thing to check is that they are both equal on both sides.

However, it’s quite common for the rear springs to play a bigger role in the front being uneven. Let me see if I can find a pic to show how to check those

 

[Mustang5L5]

On the rear springs, the lower pigtail is what you’ll want to pay attention to here. You can see in this pic, the end of the lower pigtail is at the rear of the car, pointing directly to the drivers side.

Again, don’t stress out if it’s not exactly like this, but check to see if both sides are equal.

 

[Bree]

Maybe it's just the camera angle but that left one doesn't look like it's seated in the pocket correctly.

 

[7991LXnSHO]

Another possibility is the sway bar is torqued (bent). I would expect it to also smoosh the opposite side lower bushings, but the top left bushing is the one that would be pushing that control arm up if it was twisted.
How would that happen? A pothole, curb or improper tow are suspects. So loosen up the end links and see what happens before you clock the springs.

 

[Rdub6]

On the rear springs, the lower pigtail is what you’ll want to pay attention to here. You can see in this pic, the end of the lower pigtail is at the rear of the car, pointing directly to the drivers side.

Again, don’t stress out if it’s not exactly like this, but check to see if both sides are equal.

In addition to this, I noticed the rear springs will want to turn as you start to put weight on them, so watch as you lower the car. You may need to twist them a little, then lower, twist some more, lower some more, etc. to keep them where they need to be.

 

[lojo1]

Thanks to you all for the suggestions. Very much appreciated!!

 

[lojo1]

On the rear springs, the lower pigtail is what you’ll want to pay attention to here. You can see in this pic, the end of the lower pigtail is at the rear of the car, pointing directly to the drivers side.

Again, don’t stress out if it’s not exactly like this, but check to see if both sides are equal.

Thank you very much for the info.