Uneven front suspension

[T3chn06789]

I put some bigger rims on my 96 tahoe 4x4
But I noticed the front right side has about 6" gap from the tire to fender
And the front left has a 8" gap
So one side is rubbing
Is my shocks?

 

[retorq]

Could be shocks, spring, bound up bushing ... lots of things. 1000s even.

 

[MarkD51]

Last year, I noted a similar discrepancy with my 1997 4dr 4x4 Tahoe, in that the passenger front was slightly lower in ride height than my driver's side.

Being the original owner, I had made an indelible mental note many years ago, that my two front Torsion Bar's Key's Adjustment Bolts showed the exact same amount of threads showing.

And last year when I spotted this discrepancy, I had noted that it appeared that the passenger side Key's Bolt appeared to had backed out some.

Perhaps vibration, and time causes this, I don't really know, that somehow inheritly the Passenger Bolt backs out?

I would check this (as well as other things) to see if this is the issue.

Was a simple enough job, just needed my big floor jack, lifting the front to take pressure-weight off the torsion bar, a 1/2" Breaker Bar with 3/4" Socket, parked on level ground, and with tape measure did a number of minor tweaking adjustments, dropped the truck, drove it for 5 minutes, then repeated the procedure till the passenger side height matched the driver's side in height.

I never touched the driver's side bolt. When I got through, both bolts again had the exact same amount of threads showing.

Hope this helps,
Mark

 

[T3chn06789]

I'm going to mess with the torsion bar thanks

 

[MarkD51]

I'm going to mess with the torsion bar thanks

I would say that would be one place to start. A visual inspection of the Torsion Bar's Key's Adjusting Bolts.

Now I assume any form of spring, be it leaf, coil, or such as a rod of steel which is twisted (a torsion bar) may possess different levels of resistance.

That any two coils, or leaf packs may not behave the same, support the exact same weight, and then rest at the exact same height under load.

Same true with Torsion Bars but I see the beauty of the torsion bar as "an adjustable spring" that can be tweaked if need be.

I would also assume that almost no vehicle has perfectly distributed weight left to right, one side of a vehicle may weigh more than the other side due to onboard components, thus over time more stresses upon those suspension components.

One of my Torsion Bar Bolts actually appeared to back out. I assume this can happen, there's no locking "nut" on these Bolts to insure they stay put after installation.

Oddly, after adjusting the one to mimic the other side, and how many threads were showing, it actually looked like both sides of the truck were rising in height via tape measure check. ( I may go back again, and tweak some more, maybe slightly de-cranking, and checking, to maybe drop a 1/2"?)

Regular Shocks, I would say, no matter what, or how much gas pressurization they may have basically do nothing to support weight. The exceptions would of course be an adjustable Air-Shock/Leveling Shock, Gabriel Hi-Jackers, Air Bags, Coil Overs, and the like.

2" is a considerable difference, and I would not discount even the back suspension having a negative effect on front ride height. How's the back measure?