Coil spring spacer

[wrcsixeight]

My Camper Van has more weight on the driver's side than the Passenger side. I have rebuilt my front suspension, with new heavier duty springs, but the DS still sits ~ 5/8 inch lower. I was considering adding a 1/4 inch CS spacer to just the DS to help level it out.

I do have rear air bags separately plumbed and keep about 12 psi more on the Drivers side. The frame is not stiff enough to have the rear PSI affect the front lean.

Opinions?

 

[pcoxe]

Get a heavier girlfriend to balance out the passenger side?

 

[eljefino]

Is there some camping gear that's throwing it off? Maybe you could move your battery, generator, or water tank to the other side?

Are the air bags on top of leaf springs? You could still have a lousy rear spring; years of its sagging could have affected the front spring.

 

[mechtech2]

Only use spacers that work as spring seats, if available.
Do not use the ones that go in the coils.
Springs break from this abuse.
They will work for a short term. It is brutal on the spring, however.

 

[wrcsixeight]

The rear air bags can raise or lower either side of the back 4 inches with 0 to 100 psi in them.

The extra weight on the drivers side cannot be easily moved, and will not be. I have measured it with the 2 68 lb batteries removed and the water tank empty and it only rose 1/16 of an inch, but so did the passenger side.

If I am going to have to put up with inevitable continuous complaining, she better be nice to look at, not just ballast.

I was planning on removing the coil spring to install the spacer between it and the frame if I decide to do this. Those spacers that fit into the coil just look like a bad idea.

 

[pcoxe]

Sounds more like a suspension problem rather than a weight distribution problem. Try to find a local business with a large drive-on type scale. Weigh each corner of the vehicle to see how much weight is on each tire. If the weight is fairly close side-to-side, then you probably have a sprung spring or something bent. Landfills and cotton gins around here have large vehicle type scales.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I'd be very interested in the weight on each wheel, but I know that I built the interior camper amenities with too much weight on the driver's side.

My old springs were 22 years old, and the 2 year old bump stop showed the regularity with which it bottomed out on the driver's side. The passenger side bump stop barely showed any use. The new MOOG springs are rated for ~ 400 more lbs each. I rebuilt the whole front suspension with quality parts. Moog Control arm bushings, coil spring isolators, XRF and MOOG tie rod ends, XRF ball joints. Moog Idler arms.

It is a weight distribution issue I am hoping a thin coil spring spacer could help mitigate, or eliminate. I know a lot of replacement coil springs for other vehicles are labelled left and right. Mine were not, but my engine is offset toward the passenger side. I've read that other Dodge Vans sit lower on the driver's side, perhaps I am overthinking a non issue.

I cannot notice the more weight on the driver's side when driving, I can only see it when parked on an absolutely level surface, and I only notice it because I rebuilt it and am looking for it.

 

[IndyIan]

Sounds like you don't really have a big problem, probably alot of cars sit 5/8" off one way or another... I'd be sure to rotate the tires fairly often and call it a day if it were my van.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

Are the air bags on top of leaf springs?


The Air bags are between the frame rails and the Axle.

I might consider at some point trying a CS spacer, but it has been moved down the list. My efforts will be better spent preventing the spread of rust along the roof gutters.

Thanks for the input.

 

[another Todd]

Air bag the front.

 

[wrcsixeight]

My shocks reside within the spring. Front Air bags not possible, and would certainly be more expensive than a coil spring spacer.

I could use Timbrens instead of the stock bump stops, but they do not engage until the suspension is compressed somewhat, so they would have no effect on the ride height unless I added another thousand pounds or more.