Jeep Leans

Hello,
Before I dig in what do you think the cause and remedy would be for a 53 Cj that has a driver side lean or sags a bit towards the drivers side. Drives fine just a bit sad to look at haha.
Thanks in advance.

 

There are other threads here that talk about this, most discussions state the frame is tweaked at the factory. put the frame on a frame rack and usually the driver rear corner is higher than the other three corners.
of course others may differ and there can be many reasons a 70 yr old in leaning, especially if the springs have never been touched.

 

I consider it normal if the vehicle does not have a sway bar.

 

Driver side springs can have some cracked leaves or worn bushings or the springs are just flat worn out. "Jeep Lean" is a well known look. I would pull the leaf springs and examine them closely. Scrape the grease off so you can see the metal surfaces, look for cracks. Lots of different replacement options are available.

 

Jeep Lean top 4 causes...

Broken spring/springs worn (flat arch)
Shackle binding
Frame twisted
Body mounts

 

They were designed that way to make it easier to get in and out of in a wartime situation. It was a carry over from the war.
Now they make them lean for people with short legs.

 

My lean was almost 100% due to crumbly old suspension bushings. When replacing the bushings, I also swapped the driver and passenger side springs. Sits much closer to level now.

 

Tried everything but the blocks. Swapped springs, warrantied out springs and have the lean with the new BDS rear springs now. All Jeeps and all different years including a '75
with a straight 6, so that leaves the offset V6 and drivers side gas tank out of the picture. Just learn to live with it and be happy that it drives.

 

Even the Jeep Stompers had the Lean!

 

The dauntless is offset to the drivers side which contributes.. Its not centered in the frame.

 

The L and F heads are also offset to the drivers side. I suspect if you put any pre 72 CJ on individual wheel scales, you will find more weight on the driver's side. Couple that with a lot more time with driver only and you should expect a lean in that direction. I don't think frame warpage has much of anything to do with it. This isn't anything new and you could probably find enough content to write a book on it. It was common enough the WO/Kaiser had a lowering block available for the right side to level things out. That is sort of a Micky Mouse solution because it lowers your clearance on that side. A stout sway bar solves the problem but you need disconnects for that off road.

 

It is certainly not exclusive to Jeeps, Series Land Rovers and FJ40 Landcruisers also have the leaning issue, even my Triumph TR6 had a slight lean. I’m sure many other vehicles do as well. There is also lots of debate in those communities as to the exact reasons.
Tim

 

I've seen Ford pickups with visibly twisted beds.

Try putting more air in the left side tires...

 

It is probably something as simple as having a narrow frame and spring location along with a combination of the torque applied to the rear on acceleration.
The spring takes a set and remains.

 

Nope not exclusive to Jeeps. Back in 81 I bought an old Maverick to use while I rebuilt the engine in my Chevy. I bought it from my sister-in-law who is a very large woman, maybe more than 400 lbs at that time. It had been her daily driver for many years. That car had a very noticeable lean, more like a list, toward the driver side, but it ran good and was reliable for the time I needed it.

 

So what you are saying is you found the cure? AMC widened the rear in 1976. Maybe they knew something and it wasn't Oldpappy's SIL.

 

She widened her rear too over the years.

 

Mines a bit crooked if you look at it straight on as well. Bothered me for .5 seconds and then I realized I could just lean too and it evened out

 

My 2a has a spring over that i took some leafs out to lower it. Well I put one or two more leafs on the driver side to level it out. On my fc the driver side had some broken leafs so i put a thick overload spring from a chevy or something. Its a spring over from the factory and the springs are wide so it worked out good. My cj5 was never unlevel even with the old cracked and flat springs. I got new ones like 5 years ago and its still sitting level.