Ozwald25

Hi everybody I'm fairly new here please excuse me for that, but I was wanting to know how I could fix a suspension issue. I recently bought a 1994 C4 6 Speed and I love it so far. However the one thing I dont love is how the previous owner lowered the front end of the car. I couldnt seem to find any DIYs for front end leaf spring adjustments and was wondering if I would have to add shims or if there was any other adjustment. I plan on replacing my shocks at the time I do this, because everywhere I drive it seems I always scrape whether it be over drops or speed bumps and it rides pretty rough. My friend has an 85 that has no problem going over speed bumps slowly which is why I know this is an issue. I have about an inch or less of clearance between the front fender and the top of the tire whereas I have about 3ish inches of clearance between the rear fender and the tire. I would like to just make the ride height stock all the way around if anyone might know the Factory clearances. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

bob arrowsmith

check the front leaf spring for splintering, could be on its way out, this would be a weak spring..

c4cruiser

Various Corvette accessory vendors sell a kit made for lowering the front of the C4. That's probably what has been installed. It involves adding shims to the spring where it attaches to the front crossmember. To get the car back up, you would need to remove the front spring and take the shims out.

It's possible that the front spring is cracking, so check it carefully looking for any signs of cracks or gaps. Replacement springs are available but make sure you get the correct spring for the suspension that was on the car when it was built.

Given that the car looks so low in the pic, I would suggest that you get a reputable shop to re-align the suspension to factory specs after you get the front back to the proper ride height. Also, the correct ride height is not measured at the wheel well opening. Maybe somebody with a '94 FSM can copy the page that shows just where the measurements are taken and what they are.

WVZR-1

With the car on a lift you check the front spring for damage. About 1" inboard of a control arm where the spring meets the control arm the SPRING CODE will be embedded in the spring. Generally a 3 letter code and easily seen.

While on the lift measure also the length of the bolts on the ends of the rear spring. The more information you supply the better the iformation you can receive.

Do you have or have you considered buying a FSM - Factory Service Manual?

It's to your advantage to have one.

This thread has snapshots of typical damage but less could influence it's effectiveness also.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...condition.html

Stock rear spring bolts on a later C4 are 225mm (8.75").

vette196

This is what the splintering looks like

Kevova

If you remove front tire(s) and look in the "tunnel"of the front cross member you should see the spring mounts. The pad on top of the spring should be 5/8"-3/4" thick. Lowering kits reduce the distance to around 3/16". It's also possible aluminum brackets were cut down when / if pads were altered. If for some reason pads deteriorated you will probably need new spring.