C4 Tech/Performance L98 Corvette and LT1 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine

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Old Sep 18, 2005 | 10:52 PM
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Today I noticed that my left fender is 1" closer to the tire than the right side. If I look at the vette from the front I can tell the difference. Is my leaf spring going bad? or is it gone?
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Old Sep 18, 2005 | 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by PLRX787
Today I noticed that my left fender is 1" closer to the tire than the right side. If I look at the vette from the front I can tell the difference. Is my leaf spring going bad? or is it gone?
fiberglass doesn't compress over time like steel springs (but will eventually). I would venture that either your spring has cracked or somehow lost its rubber feet on that side. If the spring is cracked, you can probably hear it as you manually cycle that suspension side. Needless to say be careful when/if you drive as the situation can get worse asn result in losing control of the car.

W
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Old Sep 18, 2005 | 11:51 PM
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Thanks!
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Old Sep 19, 2005 | 08:28 AM
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My 86 sits the same way. I took the front end apart and inspected the spring. Looks OK. Turned the spring around and installed it but it made no difference. Called a frame and allignment shop and takled to a Corvette experienced guy and asked if maybe the frame was twisted. He said no way, there would have to be body damage if the frame was bent. I'm going to just live with it until next spring when I rebuild the front end.
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Old Sep 19, 2005 | 05:53 PM
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If you search through the archives, you'll notice that this is an almost common occurence among C4's (especially earlier ones)
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by ZD1
I would venture that either your spring has cracked or somehow lost its rubber feet on that side.
My car does the same thing by approximately 3/4". I was told that this can be adjusted by removing the stock rubber pieces and shimming the ends of the front spring where they contact the lower control arms with a good wear material, effectively evening out the ride height.

The material (UHMW-Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) should be thin sheet cut to the right size. Then stack as many as you may need on each side to even out the height. I haven't confirmed this part yet but I'd guess that the difference in the shim heights would be same as the difference in the ride height, which would have to be measured beforehand.

I think this makes sense because the articles I've read on lowering the front all say you can drop it more by cutting the rubber pieces down, so if the thicknesses were different you'd be able to compensate for a side to side lean.

I plan on trying this theory over the winter if I get to lowering the car.
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by mikey whipreck
If you search through the archives, you'll notice that this is an almost common occurence among C4's (especially earlier ones)

Many have recommended adjusting the rear spring bolts to level the car (its easy to try!)
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