i noticed today on the rear of my f-150 the driver side is 1 inch lower than the passinger side. i put a level on the tail gate and measured the ground to the bumper the driver side is 1 inch lower???? the ground is totaly level. what is going on hear? the front is totaly level, could it be a full tank of gas is the reason. the fuel tank is on the driver side rear . i wouldnt think it but dont know . you can stand behind the truck and see the driver side lower than the passenger side . its like its got a flat tire on the driver rear but all psi are good? im about to go back to a dodge with all the problems im having with this truck...o didi i just say that shame on me

 

My rear driver's side is 1 3/4" lower than the passenger side. I guess after almost 8 years the springs just start to weaken from all that weight.

 

doesent it just eat you up ? i mean when i look at it , it is so un-even i just want to scream. what can i do to fix this problem. maby get new springs??? what is the cheapest.

 

doing a little digging . check this out item #150053686950 on ebay its a leaf helper spring that claims to restore tired leaf springs to orginal arc. sounds good and cheap what do you think???? would this fix my problem

 

It kills me. I'm thinking I'm going to put on new leaf springs over the winter, I'm hoping that F-250LD springs will work. If those don't fix it, then I'll do an add a leaf on that side.

 

most trucks don't sit level from the facory. Back when I used to own a dodge, they made a kit to level the truck 3/4 of an inch side to side ( i'm not talking about a front leveling kit). I have no idea where these problems come from, possibly just poor geometry from the factory? My 04 fx4 is the same way though.

 

Oh, for crying out loud... a 6-year old truck is out of level by an inch, and it's an absolute tragedy. Better call a waambulance....

Seriously.... If a inch of suspension sag after 6 years is enough to drive you back to a Dodge, then don't let the door hit you in the rear on the way out of the Ford dealership.

As for the problem, if it's a 4x4, you can adjust one torsion bar on that side a little bit to level it back out. But, before you do that, was the ground the truck was sitting on level to start with? Did the truck have a full tank of gas? Was there junk in the tool box, bed, or behind the seat?

When the truck is set at the factory, everything is brand new. The truck has less than 1/4 tank of gas, and, depending on the assembly line, may or may not have a driver in the seat. Then, you take the truck out, rack up 6 years worth of mileage, primarily with a full tank of gas and a driver on the left side of the truck, and things settle a bit: Leaf springs settle and lose some of their springiness, torsion bars lose some of their torque, and coil springs lose their bounce. With consistently more weight on one side of the truck than the other, it's to be expected that one side would settle more than the other as one side endures more punishment than the other. It's the nature of using a piece of steel to support the suspension. If you want more consistency over the life of the vehicle, replace them all with airbags.

Don't think Dodges or GMs, or Toyotas are immune to it either. Springs are just a bent (or twisted) piece of metal holding roughly 1500 lbs of truck when parked, and significantly more weight on many roads/loads. A little bit of wear and tear is normal and can be compensated for.

-Joe

 

he said the front was level what good does it do to level the rear by torsion bar when the front wont be

 

For the record, the side to side difference spec is 1/2 inch in the front, 1 inch in the rear. If you tweak the front end 1/4", both would still be within specs. If the front is level, it's more than likely the rear left spring has settled a bit. That doesn't come as a shock. No vehicle sits perfectly flat at any given time. It's not humanly possible to have a perfect weight distribution at all times. The difference between a full tank of gas and driver to an empty tank and no driver can be as much as an inch or two depending on the spring rates the truck was equipped with.

-Joe

 

If the driver and full tank are always on the left, it makes sense to me that the left leaf spring would sag / wear out first.

 

first thing joe if you could read i explained all of your questions. again since you have a hard time reading, i said yes it was on level ground and yes it has a full tank of gas . and as far as the dodge "joke" it was just that a joke. lighten up dude

 

As a 4th generation Ford employee, an insult to the company is something I take personally. It's tough to tell on the 'net when people are being sarcastic versus actually pissed at the company. Internet forums don't always communicate the proper emotion.

I didn't see that you said that the truck was on level ground, only that the tailgate was not level. I did see the part about the full tank of gas.

The factory sets the suspension on a known level set of rollers to ensure it's within spec from the factory. Those rollers are leveled to within .004 corner to corner, which is more than most people can say about their driveways. I'm not saying it's impossible, but most driveways aren't level or flat, so my point was that measuring with a level isn't an exact science unless the ground the truck is resting on is also flat and level.

It's not uncommon, but short of twisting the frame manually, it's not likely you'll be able to align it perfectly. In fact, there's always the possibility that the driver that chained yours down wrenched down one side of the frame tighter than the other, thereby tweaking the frame in-transit. It happens more often than any trucking company wants to admit.

If you want to measure it right, you need a frame jig, and a set or measuring scales. Any good body shop would have one, and should be able to measure it to see if it's in spec, and can tweak it as necessary to bring it back in if it's out. Short of doing that, there's really no accurate way to ensure that it's in or out of spec to begin with. A tape measure held to the fender lip or bumper isn't an accurate measurement of the suspension measurements.

-Joe

 

joe wasnt trying to insult you . i thank you for all your input you are a great help and seem to no allot so i thank you . but in your opinion do you think the e-bay item i had stated will work thanks man

 

Those are just a pair of add-a-leafs. If it's, say, a difference of 40 lbs of spring rate from side to side that causes the side to sag, adding a pair of helpers won't eliminate that 40lb difference. Additionally, the AALs will stiffen the ride when empty.

If it was a spring issue, the thing to do would be to have the spring pack re-arched. However, I'm not sure that's the problem. Did you measure to the body or to the chassis? The body is bolted to the chassis, so if the chassis is out, the body can't be any closer.

-Joe

 

I think I feel better after reading this???
My F150 has been leaning for a while now. Just got in from replacing the front shocks because the truck would dip futher on the drivers side when driving and hitting a bump in the road. I knew I had to replace the shocks and thought it would level it out..No deal! I still have almost a 2" difference in height.. I think I'll talk to my wife and just go buy a new F250. I hope she goes for it!