driver side rear sag: does fixing create more problems?

[tbomb]

today, it looked to me (while my truck was sitting in one of the sh*ttiest parking lots in all of NJ) that my driver side rear of the truck might be sagging. i know this is a common problem, and ive actually spent the last 2 hours reading 16 pages of threads on it, though i didnt find the answer to one of my questions.

(note, for reference: a few months ago, i fixed my "rear end sag issue" by lowering the front of the truck via torsion bar adjustment. from what i can remember, the rears were fine, but the focus of that day was on the front-to-rear measurement to make it level, so i dont remember exactly the difference from driver side rear to passenger side rear.)

it seems that the easiest, cheapest, and most popular method to fix this issue is to adjust the passenger side torsion bar - to lower the front passenger side of the truck to relieve pressure from the rear driver side of the truck, hence lifting the rear driver side of the truck, though, you would be lowering the front passenger side of the truck in the process.

now, my question that i couldnt find a definitive answer to it this: by lowering the pass. side front of the truck, and lowering the rear driver side of the truck, wont the front of the truck be out of whack now? by this point, the rear of the truck might sit level, but the pass. side front of the truck should be sitting lower than the driver side, right? so whats the deal?

what i really need to do is to take some accurate measurements, but i wont have access to a garage, which has a level floor, for a week (and theres only a 50% chance that ill be able to get to the garage in a week - if not, who knows when ill be able to do it.)

to everyone who has done this to fix this issue, doesnt the front of your truck sit crooked now?

thanks.

 

[Bill Kemp]

It does not seem to be as noticeable when the front is at different heights as it is when the rear is different.
Or maby its just me and my poor vision but I sure notice the rear.

 

[X-1]

Raising or lowering your torsion bars will affect the camber on your explorer, it really doesn't fix anything, it is an optical illusion, you still have a spring sagging, and now your front is out of whack. Two choices, one is new springs, or an add a leaf will help a little. You can also swap the rear springs side to side. And lastly, install an add a leaf, and also swap side to side, the swapped spring will settle in a little on the drivers side.

 

[Alec]

The only way to properly fix it is all new leaf springs. All the other methods will just fix it for a while, and yes, the TT compensation method isn't the best, but it's the easiest.

 

[tbomb]

alright, well, at this point, im probably gonna hunt down some 4 door leafs and throw them on, but i was curious if anyone has actually replaced the monoleaf springs with a leaf pack from a 4 door with positive results, with the original intent being to fix the "driver side rear sag?" ive read about 12-13 pages of threads on this topic after doing a search, and i see that this is the commonly advised solution, though, im hard pressed to find a currently active member who did this successfully. there were a handful of guys who did it just to fix the "general rear end sag", and there was one guy who bought new springs from jc whitney and still had the problem.

thanks.

 

[Robb]

tbomb,
Think of it this way.........of the maybe 20 or so members that have had a problem with sagging driver side 4-door leaf packs.................there are literally thousands of members that haven't had a problem. Odds are, the 4-door leaf packs will last a long time, especially if you know what side they came off, and installed them the opposite way. I would tend to think that putting 4-door leafs on has a very high percentage chance of fixing your problem.

Robb

 

[Alec]

My 4door packs probably crapped out cause of all the abuse my springs get. They looked new when I got them (only had 13k miles on them) but started to sag after only a few months.

A good custom leaf pack from Deaver or National spring would probably work very well though. My current lift springs should never sag unevenly.

 

[tbomb]

Originally posted by Alec
My 4door packs probably crapped out cause of all the abuse my springs get.

i kinda figured that, so i didnt really take you into consideration, alec, since my springs wont get nearly as abused as yours do.

robb, im completely ready to throw some 4 door leaf packs on, but i just wanna be sure that the springs are the problem; or at least, theyll fix the driver side sag.

after all the reading ive done, it seems that no one really knows what causes the sag, though a lot of people (with vast knowledge of explorers, and vehicles in general, whose opinions i respect) seem to speculate that replacing the monoleafs with leaf packs will fix the situation. im just trying to take this whole issue to another level and trying to consider that maybe its something else besides the leafs.....i just dont wanna spend time hunting down springs from a junkyard, paying a decent chunk for them, spending a good portion of a saturday installing them, and then, still having the driver side sag in the end. im not trying to find a cheaper solution or anything like that, i just want the "effective" solution. i dont really care what causes the problem, i just wanna make sure that the "speculated solution" (leaf packs) is going to do what i hope it will do.

im sure i sounded a little redundant in there, but thats what happens when the firm you work for is subbed out by a gov.'t agency; they turn your department into the "department of redundancy department" temporarily.

 

[Rob_B]

I did the 4 door leaf swap after having my Ex for a couple of months. I think it was starting to sag more on the drivers side, but the whole back end of my explorer was sagging, and I couldn't haul my trailor with it being so low. The 4 dr leaf's picked the back end up and have worked great, my Ex is completely level. Don't know if this helps u much, but I recommend it.

 

[tbomb]

Originally posted by Rob_B
I did the 4 door leaf swap after having my Ex for a couple of months. I think it was starting to sag more on the drivers side, but the whole back end of my explorer was sagging, and I couldn't haul my trailor with it being so low. The 4 dr leaf's picked the back end up and have worked great, my Ex is completely level. Don't know if this helps u much, but I recommend it.

yes! this is exactly what i was looking for. so you had driver side rear sag, then you installed 4 door leaf packs, and now your truck doesnt have driver side rear sag anymore?

thanks for clarifying, and thanks for the reply

 

[Rob_B]

You'll prolly want to raise the front of your Ex since you lowered it earlier. When I did it, it raised the back an inch or 2 up to normal height.

 

[Alec]

To clarify:

Swapping to 4 door leaves fixed my driver sag. They both sagged later, not just driver sag. I haven't had driver sag since getting rid of my monoleaves.

 

[tbomb]

Originally posted by Alec
To clarify:

Swapping to 4 door leaves fixed my driver sag. They both sagged later, not just driver sag. I haven't had driver sag since getting rid of my monoleaves.

oooooohhhhhhhh. i see. thanks for clarifying alec; that helps a lot.

rob, ill keep that in mind, though if the rear of my truck lifts up that high then ill probably just lower the rear with blocks. im very happy with the overall ride height of my truck, its just the damn drivers side rear sag. maybe if i get the softest springs it wont lift it that much.

thanks a lot guys.

 

[FordSploderXLT]

My advice would be to go to www.truckperformancecenter.com and order some rear add-a-leafs. They cost $40, and they certainly fixed my rear end sag.

 

[Bill Kemp]

I just had a thought rereading this thread.
What if I just switch the leafs from one side to the other? Will they even themselves out?
Sounds too simple doesnt it?
Gotta give this some more thought....

 

[Alec]

It does even it out, but then you have 2 sagged leaves and eventually you may need to swap them again.

 

[wbandyjr]

I am going to have these installed in a week or so..I will let you all know how they work..A couple other people were happy with them.
www.supersprings.com