91FBIRDLS1

iTrader: (1)

does any one know wich front springs work best for getting rid of the 6" front fender gap on my '91 fbird since i dropped in the ls1, this doesnt look to nice & cant be good for handling?
I will also be changing to a taller tire like a 50 or 55 series right now i have 235/40/ZR17 on the fronts and when i dropped the ls1 in the car it didnt hardly move & now i have 6" of fender gap in front.
how else do you fix this?, shorter struts?

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Don't put in a taller tire to get rid of fender gap. That will make your car ride higher. Get dropped spindles or lowering springs.

If you have a 6" gap now, something was wrong before. V8 springs on a V6 car?

91FBIRDLS1

iTrader: (1)

I'm thinkin springs, dont have alota money righ now, so do you know wich ones are good for just the front? the ones I saw only drop 1.5"
this used to be a 5.0 formula & i rebiult the front end w/ poly graphite bushing kit just before doing the swap, but ran outa cash so had to leave the orig. front springs in, but when I had the old iron 355ci in it the fender gap was maybe 2" I know the ls1 is lighter but this is frikn crazy!

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Keep in mind that the 1.5" drop is based on an iron block 1st gen SBC. Your LS1 is lighter & they may only give you a 1" drop.

The best way, but not the cheapest, is to put weight jacks on. Then you can adjust thhe height at will.

You could cut your springs. Done correctly, this is a perfectly safe & acceptable way to do things. Your lighter weight LS1 is what is going to give you the biggest hassle, in regards to lowering the car. I've just never seen, not even after a LS1 swap, a car to end up that high.

Are you estimating or did you measure? Pics?

91FBIRDLS1

iTrader: (1)

i'm wondrin if the stock springs are hosed?

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

YIKES! 4x4 S10 frame? I have never seen a 3rd gen sit that high, not on purpose.

If you meant worn out by "hosed"....Springs get shorter when they wear out, not taller. Are the springs indexed (sitting correctly) in their pockets?

91FBIRDLS1

iTrader: (1)

i know, right! ive never seen it b4 either, its not on purpose its crap! should i have them cut then? or get something else, aftrmrkt, 4th gen?
this is very lame!

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

Is it possible that the springs became unseated in the swap and have never reseated in the pocket correctly? Might be worth a peek.

JamesC

THADURTYBIRD

you got a point there, i didnt think of that, i'll look into it.

1988-305-tbi

did you remove the front cotrol arms at all, if you over torque the control arm bushings , with the car raised, it will cause bind and cause the car to sit like that, the factory springs are too long to come unseated when the car is lifted....... they have like 6" of preload when the suspension is drooping, plus your tires are undersized at 25" tall they will leave more gap than the propper sized tire at 26"

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

you did something wrong, the springs are not sitting right or something, the car should never sit that high with any engine in it.

THADURTYBIRD

yes the a-arms were removed to torch out the stock (rusted in)ball joints & replace the bushings w/ the poly graphite kit when the front end was re-done so its entirely poss. that it was over torqued by the shop that did it, but it wasnt like that unti l pulled the iron block 355 & when I got the ls1 in it didnt change at all!
whats the torque supposed to be for the a-arms?
& yes your right also about the tires thats why i wana change 'em also cause it rides like crap w/ lo-pro's!!
so i dont need to lower the front w/ new springs or cut the stockers then?
thanx again to everyone here for all your help w/ this!!!!

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

I agree with everyone else, either you have a spring not lined up correctly, or a bushing binding up....or both....and maybe bent a arms if you heated up too much to get ball joint out....and the strut could also be locked up... I don't think my car was that high without my motor.

Try to loosen the control arm bolts (with jack stands under a arm so car doesn't squish you)and see if car settles, then re tighten.

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

No, that isn't possible. Maybe if you tightened the A-arm bolts so much that they crushed the steel sleeves inside the bushings, but I think the threads would pull off the bolt before that happened.

Outlaw28

from what ive read on here most of the guys with ls1s are running stock v6 springs...due to fact that the ls1 is a lot lighter then your gen 1 sbc...just go pull some from a junker and see if it works for ya..if it does then buy new ones

ATX-Iroc

Im with everyone here the spring is not seated correctly. Theres a lip inside the spring pocket that they like to get stuck on. When it happened to me i decided to use a pry bar to slip it off lip, bad idea when it finally slipped in it made the loudest conceivable noise ever.

UMI Sales

Just another suggestion for you.....You are going from a cast block to a aluminum that is lighter in weight as well. And it is very possible the spring is not seated correctly.
Take it easy,
Brad

firechicken_3

iTrader: (4)

agreed the springs are not seated or rotated correctly, the spring must also be rotated a certain way but it slips my mind which way at the moment... but i did that when i went v6 to v8 and my car rode nose high untill i read that somewhere and turned them

over tightening control arm bolts while in droop can have some spring like effects also

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

The end of the spring should be situated between the two drain holes in the a-arm.

JamesC

stoning_volcom

I disagree, the ls1 is lighter engine then the cast iron l98 or anyother older engine. My younger bro had a 92 camaro rs that had a castiron 355 sbc with cast iron heads tehn he changed them to aluminum and the fron end did lift a lil not much but it did. So,..... i belive it is from the swap i replaced my springs in mine with springtech springs drop of 1.75. havnt gotten it outta the garage yet cause the control arms are bad so have to replace them. but yea that is my theory let us no man could you get a side shot of the car??

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

I don't think that required any explanation, as there was no question about it.

He already did post pics...

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

That strut looks like it's at full extension like if you were to have the car on a lift. As others have said, springs and/or bushings are probably the culprit.

firechicken_3

iTrader: (4)

according to a quick google, dressed dbc ~600lb vs dressed ls1 ~500lb, a 100lb difference does not allow the frontend to lift that much..

if it sat fine before someone did bushings and such then the springs are fine and dont need to be cut. they and the bushings just need to be installed properly.

control arm bushing bolts need loosened, mind you not sloppy just loose of snug.

springs need to be compressed and removed, look at the wear on them and how they sit in the control arm and top rubber isolater ensure they are not upside down,

make sure the rubber isolater is sitting atop the spring correctly it will have a worn in spot where the tail sat previously

when you reinstall make sure the isolater stays put by taping it to the spring, and rotate the spring so that the bottom tail end is between the 2 drain holes on the control arm, there are actually 3 holes you want it between the closest pair

lastly get the car on its tires on the ground move it around steer it bounce it etc, THEN tighten the control arm bushing bolts.

if it also got front sway bar bushings, loosen that all up as well and retighten only after the cars weight is on the tires on the ground.. if its a problem reaching to tighten this stuff with the car on the ground use a set of car ramps, BUT you must drive the car on to them, so that the suspension stays loaded if you jack it and set it on something then tighten the bushing bolts you wasted all that time and effort, as you will again have bind in them.

stoning_volcom

[quote= He already did post pics...[/quote]

K well a SIDE pic of te car would help to get an answer pretty fast. Like a pic from front bumper to rear, cause the back end didnt lift at all and the front did AFTER the lsx swap then there is you answer. ( unless like others have stated the spring could be seated improperly, but you have to think to did you put the correct insulator in the front? or did you even tought the front suspension at all? Also where the spring ends where it isnt flat that goes to the control arm then the flat top of the springs goes into the K-member just incase you put them in backwards lol

White92RSVert

Hello all! Just bought a 92 RS Vert and am new to this forum. Interestingly, I have the same problem with the lift in the front end. I don't think it was like this when i bought the car. I did jack the car on the a-arms in order to put jackstands on the frame at the torque boxes (my floor jack is too big to go under the motor). Could jacking on the a-arms and having the suspension dangle have caused this kind of gap? It also appears one wheel is toed in. When the steering wheel is straight one tire apeears to be turned in about 1/2". So the question is could I have caused some problems when jacking the car? Should I be looking for the same spring displacement as already recommended in this post? Any ideas appreciated.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

You haven't moved the car since lowering to back down, have you?

Perfectly normal for the nose to sit high & the tires at an angle, until the car rolls and the front suspension settles back in to their correct position.

White92RSVert

P.S. Sorry for the thread jak... just have the same problem.

White92RSVert

No I haven't moved it. I am changing out all of the cooling system components.. radiator, hoses, coolant sensor, water pump etc. and didn't get the job finished. Since I live in southern VA and we've had a freak snow storm with 12" of snow it still sits with the job half done. thanks for the post.

RED_DRAGON_85

i dont think that the tires not moving would have that big of an effect.
ive jacked my car up and down many times and never had that problem

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

You obviously have not had the front end jacked up & one or both front tires at full droop, then set the car back down, without compressing the suspension first.

That or you just don't notice much. Then hop in & drive off.

This is the day I got my Snypers. This is about what it should look like, before the suspension settles.

White92RSVert

Thats definately what it looks like. Thanks for the pics. Your car looks great lowered. Fantastic profile!

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

good point....I didn't think bout that....the car does settle down a lot after moving it a little bit....

mShock43

Here's my car. I have the same problem with my front suspension. How long does it take for the suspension to settle because I have put a couple hundred miles since I replaced the springs and nothing has changed? Thanks

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Just a short drive, forward & backwards. It won't settle sitting still.

mShock43

Ok thanks. I might have the springs in the wrong way then.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

I said nothing about them being in wrong. Just drive it a bit. The fluid in the strut needs to compress. The tires need to go back to their correct alignment positions.

Think about it.....When the car get jacked up, the struts cause the tires to swing inwards. When you set the car back down, the tires contact the pavement at a position that puts them further inwards from where they should be.

Tires can't simply slide sideways & return to their correct position. If you roll the car forward & backwards, they allows the suspension to move & settle correctly.

Go move the car. It'll settle.

If it still is higher than it should be, then yes....The springs could be indexed incorrectly.

mShock43

Well I have put on probably close to 200 miles since I replaced the springs and nothing has changed...Hmmm....so which way is the top of the spring again? Thanks

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Ugh.....2 miles would be enough, let alone 200 miles!

Yes, check the spring index.

mShock43

Yeah it's frustrating, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I read a couple different ways on here onto which way is the top of the spring. Could you help clarify that for me?

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Here is a pic of my front springs, in the correct position.


Flattened end goes on top & the bottom is not "level/equal". There is a definite "step" when looking at the spring (far right spring).

mShock43

Ok that helps a lot! Thank you for the pictures and taking the time to reply.

White92RSVert

Often, when folks have a problem and get some advice, they never follow-up if there was a resolution. In this case I wanted to let everyone know who looked or posted here that, indeed, the suspension settled back down to a normal height once I drove the car for a few miles. I have other issues now but at least this one is solved; for me anyway. Good luck all!

1988-305-tbi

i wish there were more follow up post aswell, just so thoose that have similiar issues later on can figure out the solution withought going throught the whole process again.

aurum_duck

iTrader: (2)

same happened to me--ended up being preload on the sway bar... tighten them to spec when the car is level. that solved the front... the back was way off due to improper spring index on the front. sucks tearing suspensions completely apart and then putting everything new back in. another lil' something funny, my inner tie rods were on backwards, causing tire rub on the inner fender during full lock turning. too many beers and too much grime in the eyes

91FBIRDLS1

iTrader: (1)

yeah, sorry bout that ive been really busy & havent got anywhere on tha bird yet, but it sounds like I need to losen up all the susp. bolts & let it back down to the correct ride hight, get everything resituated & retighten, also I was wondering about wich strut tower caps i should get?
thanx again for all the info & I'll post pix as soon as I can

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

There are no bolts that can be overtightened and cause the suspension to bind like that, possibly just the swaybar endlinks.

THADURTYBIRD

ok, so just a little follow up here, I finally loosened up all the a-arm & sway bar bolts and set the car back down & turned the wheel while rolling it around a bit in the shop (havent had it out on the street yet) & even jumping up on the strut towers(i weigh 250) but it really didnt move much(only about 1.5- 2" at the most), still sittin about 4- 4.5" from top of tire to the front fender, better but still needs to go down more! the rear was always good @ about 1.5 -2" fender gap wich is ok because my tires stick out a tad in back & i dont want them to rub on the fenders like ive seen in other fbodies, pix coming asap.

SDIF

You need to set the weight jacks lower.

gregsz-28

iTrader: (1)

I don't think he has weight jacks...

91FBIRDLS1

iTrader: (1)

no jacks, stock front end should i go with 4th gen v6 springs?