front springs bow out

[ckomai]

I recently had a shop put a 4" cut and turn lift. The springs settled in but they bow out towards the bottom of the spring instead of going straight up and down. Just wanted some opinions about how this will affect performance and if this is common. I dont want to go to the shop and have them just say its normal.

 

[Anime]

Are the outer parts of the TTB still level with the ground after the cut and turn? If the part the spring sits on isn't level, of course it will bow out and curve in going back to the upper spring seat.

If the springs are too long, they can bend like that too, especially with weird geometry created when a cut-and-turn is done without taking into account the spring length and position of the bottom mount. This can happen if a jig isn't used to keep everything lined up correctly, and the beams are just cut and turned without adding the extra material needed to keep the track width and spring positions exactly the same.

The springs also need to sit a certain way in the upper seat, if they aren't turned to their correct position, they can be in a weird bendy position.

If it's just a slight bend, it might be normal until the suspension settles, especially if they are new springs. If it's a severe bend, you should check the spring position, and if that looks ok, check out some other cut and turn TTB's and see if yours was done correctly.

 

[ckomai]

good to know thanks. The cut and turn seemed to have kept all the stock geometry the same, but I havent checked the reasons you said the springs might be bowed out. Lets assume everything checks out ok and the springs have also settled. Then I guess the real question still remains for me. What effect does this have on my truck or will it be fine if it stays like this?

 

[Anime]

If the cut and turn is done perfectly, and the springs have settled, then it just means the springs are too long for the amount of lift the cut and turn gives.

You can drive it like that, sure, and it might be fine, but the spring action won't be as designed, since the inner part will be coiled closer together and the outer part will be coiled farther apart, so when the spring compresses it won't perform the same as a spring that is straight and compresses evenly.

It may also wear the upper spring seat since the spring might always want to "pop out" from the top.

 

[ckomai]

cool, so hopefully the only drawback will be a little less travel because the springs are compressed more than they should be. I'll see what the shop has to say about the same question and see if they try to bullshit me. thanks

 

[Anime]

No, the suspension won't compress the springs more than they should be, that's not possible.

The bowing would be from the longer/stronger springs being forced into a space made for a smaller spring, and so it both forces the suspension down and the truck up, and whatever force doesn't make the truck go up and the suspension go down, causes the spring to bow outwards.

You can also get a curved/bow effect if the cut and turn put the lower spring mounts too far outwards.

 

[4x4junkie]

It's most likely the mounts being at an angle causing it (I've dealt with spring bow on mine after putting in a set of 6" lift Jeep XJ coils. They bowed badly until I corrected the upper mounts to support them flatter.

Shim your lower coil mounts at an angle somehow so that they will sit closer to perpendicular with the spring at ride height. This should reduce, if not eliminate the coil bow.