Sagging front end, help??
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 252
Likes: 60
From: Ventura CA
Sagging front end, help??
I have a 2002 zo6 and I realized about 2 months ago that the front passenger side is sagging a bit. You can tell the difference by looking at it from the front and also when I sit in the drivers seat, its not even. I tried researching what it could be but haven't really found much. Anybody else have this issue in the past? I recently changed out the shocks, tie rods, sway links, and I checked the stock lowering bolts, their the same on both sides. The car has been aligned already.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 1,844
Likes: 375
From: San Jose, CA
One easy thing to do also is to drive the car (so the suspension settles) and put it on even, flat ground. Measure 1) from the tops of the tires to the bottom of the wheel arch (at the highest point), and 2) from the ground to the jacking points. If you see a significant disparity between right and left, you have a problem.
At this age, a lot of springs have failed. They might not be visibly cracked or failed when you get under the car, but you may lift the car and just find that the spring is not behaving properly. You may need a spring replacement. Of course it is possible that at some point, someone adjusted the ride height improperly and you only now noticed. If you believe that this never happened, an actual hardware failure is, I think, more likely than the ride height simply changing by itself from you driving. There are other components that may have failed that cause this, but I'd look there first -- after measuring to confirm your theory.
At this age, a lot of springs have failed. They might not be visibly cracked or failed when you get under the car, but you may lift the car and just find that the spring is not behaving properly. You may need a spring replacement. Of course it is possible that at some point, someone adjusted the ride height improperly and you only now noticed. If you believe that this never happened, an actual hardware failure is, I think, more likely than the ride height simply changing by itself from you driving. There are other components that may have failed that cause this, but I'd look there first -- after measuring to confirm your theory.
Last edited by gimp; Sep 22, 2021 at 11:06 PM.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 252
Likes: 60
From: Ventura CA
One easy thing to do also is to drive the car (so the suspension settles) and put it on even, flat ground. Measure 1) from the tops of the tires to the bottom of the wheel arch (at the highest point), and 2) from the ground to the jacking points. If you see a significant disparity between right and left, you have a problem.
At this age, a lot of springs have failed. They might not be visibly cracked or failed when you get under the car, but you may lift the car and just find that the spring is not behaving properly. You may need a spring replacement. Of course it is possible that at some point, someone adjusted the ride height improperly and you only now noticed. If you believe that this never happened, an actual hardware failure is, I think, more likely than the ride height simply changing by itself from you driving. There are other components that may have failed that cause this, but I'd look there first -- after measuring to confirm your theory.
At this age, a lot of springs have failed. They might not be visibly cracked or failed when you get under the car, but you may lift the car and just find that the spring is not behaving properly. You may need a spring replacement. Of course it is possible that at some point, someone adjusted the ride height improperly and you only now noticed. If you believe that this never happened, an actual hardware failure is, I think, more likely than the ride height simply changing by itself from you driving. There are other components that may have failed that cause this, but I'd look there first -- after measuring to confirm your theory.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 6,008
Likes: 723
The car was sagging before I replaced the shocks, tie rods, and sway links. I did drive it around after I got the alignment to see if it would settle or if anything would change but nope. I will try to measure today and see what I find. By adjusting the ride height do you mean stock lowering bolts? I did check those when I was working on the car, and I reset them and lowered them to the same length on both sides. Thanks for your response, I will try to measure today.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,044
Likes: 9,808
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Make sure the problem isn't a sagging fender that needs to be realigned. Check the body panels and the suspension height from the ground to see if the fender has become loose/tilted. Just went through this on a C7Z when the front track tire started rubbing the fender and wearing out parts that shouldn't wear.
Bill
Bill
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,337
Likes: 1,590
From: Western NY
OP, keep in mind, that an issue in the rear, could manifest itself in the front. My suggestion would be to check the ride height at all 4 corners. And while many people use the "wheel opening height method", as it's "quick and dirty", it isn't always 100% accurate. The factory shop manual calls out ride height measurements be taken at the inner pivot bolts for the lower a-arms.
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