i used an actual spring compressor when I put them in. I dropped the rod down through the tower and use one set of hooks to compress the spring against the upper tower. That way I made sure it was seated right, but might just have to be rotated. I then lifted the lower arm with the jack and used my foot to bend the bottom of the spring toward and into the bottom arm. I put the spindle onto the upper and lower joints, just tightened the nuts on a couple threads to keep the spring in place, used a pipe wrench to turn the spring where it needed to be and then torqued the nuts on the ball joints.

I'll try peeking around again to see if I need to rotate something. trying to cook dinner, but keep jumping on the computer.

Did you roll the car back & forth after setting it back on the ground? The wheels hit the ground at an angle and willnot spread back to their original position due to friction. Make sure the bushing bolts are loose & roll the car several feet back & forth. CAn you take a pic from the front that shows both wheels?

Jim

New springs and gas charged shocks are the problem :D

Looks like you have the sway bar tightened down way to tight. The torque spec is some where around 14 ft lbs. The sway bar should not be tightened down as far as you have it. Dave..

Take the shocks out and see if it settles, if not, its got to be the springs, could they be installed upside down? push on the front end several times and check for full range of motion...

pushing down on car and suspension seems to operate fine. dropped the car and rolled it around so the wheels could kick out. I'm now measuring 3-3/4" between the tire and fender on drivers side and 4" on the passenger side. tires are 235/60's. Similar to the rear end. with 295/50's, I'm measuring about 3-1/2" to 3-3/4". tip of nose is just about 20" off the floor. Am I back in the ball park?

If I am in the ball park now, how do I adjust the height on each side so they match?

thanks for the comments guys. i appreciate the help.

I torqued to 18 ft-lbs like the gm manual says. just to make sure it's not overtightened, i shot dan at van steel a note to see what he has to say. i also thought the bolts were hanging a little low myself after tightening, and wondered if I over did it.

I just looked to see if I have a pic of mine as I installed them.. However I know that you have them torqued to tight... If you did it with the car on jackstands the torque rating was incorrect.. SUSPENSION parts that have RUBBER should be torqued at REST not while on the stands... This is to include the a-arms upper and lower, sway bar, trailing arm bolts, rear shock mounts, etc... Loosen the sway bar and that will probably help some loosen the a-arm bolt and move the car forward and back even in and out of the driveway. Then retorque... Dave..

Sway bar is loose as are the a-arm bolts. Everything was installed without any weight on the suspension. GM says to torque sway bar with suspension loose. Only thing tightened when the car was on the floor were the lugnuts. A-arm pivots will be torqued with the car on ramps.

I took some measurements again last night after moving the car around and posted them. Can someone let me know if they measure the same or close on theirs? stock springs and rubber is 235/60/15

"If I am in the ball park now, how do I adjust the height on each side so they match?"

Take em back out and cut a half coil off or so. :rofl:

But come on - that is the truth :ack: :D With rear end you might chance longer bolts, but with front end :crazy: :smash: :smash: :smash:

can someone measure their clearance from the top of the wheel to the fender or from the nose of the car to the ground, so I can determine whether or not things are where they are suppose to be? I'd like to torque down the pivot bolts if I'm set.

I ha ve slightly over 2 fingers between the tire and the lip, but my tires are 245/45/17 !!!

I have 26.5 " from the garage floor to the center of my front wheelwell lip.But,this is after cutting a half of both front stock coils and my tires are 245-60-15's. :)

Edit:It is important to understand that average factory heights measured from ground to center of wheelwell lip was 27.50" =+ at curb weight (gas tank full). No one uses the height from the top of the tire or the "nose" for a reference...it is either as I have quoted,or a dimension from the ground to the underside of the frame,which is consistant with factory charts for curb weight as delivered.
So take dimensions from these points,and tell us what you have. :eek:

I have 27" with 550 front springs and 245/45/17 tires

[QUOTE=rihwoods]Edit:It is important to understand that average factory heights measured from ground to center of wheelwell lip was 27.50" QUOTE]

ok. see I wasn't aware of that. I'll check that when I get home. I'll just have to adjust for the difference in tire heights (stock vs. what's on the car now)