59 speedster on a 69 vw chassi. front left is lower by 2 inches then the right side. i took it to a shop today they said i need to put another font end on it. they said that there are some kind of leaf springs which are the torsion something that are inside the tube that maybe are broken on the left side so its leaning . when i pull the car up from the fender it stays up then goes down in 1 min. PLEAE HELP PLEASE HELP . I DONT WANT TO SPEND 800 ON A USED / OR REBUILT FRONT END.
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It's a dirty job BUT jack front up just so car weight is off wheels and take off the grub screws hold the 2 control arms on either side. They are under pressure as they push against each other. If one is not then whoo-hoo you found the problem. Either way heep going. After the control arms are off. Pull on the leaf springs - they should not come out. Next remove the center locking/adjusting grub screw, Once removed you can pull out the leaves - that's the greasy dirty part. Wipe them down and see if they are indeed broken. I threw away several sets of the leaves as I've never seen them go bad. Used ones should be cheap - individual ones can be replaced or left out for softer springing. If they are all good, clean and reinstall, then grease and drive and check again. Often if one rear side is lower than other - it causes the other side of front to be higher so check that too.
p.s. with control arms off its good time to check the ball joints. Consider replacing if the rubber boots are cracked and the grease is gritty. If they aren't installed properly (there is a notch to indicate positioning) they will bind and not travel properly.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/for...ght=ball+joint+notch
As Wofgang said, I've never seen them break (or get "weak") either.
Superman would know - but unless you have X-ray vision, you have to get dirty and take it apart to inspect/adjust. You'll need to look at tie rods, rubber bushings and bearings - all cheap parts. Above items plus those in my first reply are the easy, low cost ones to check. Beyond that it could be a tweaked frame or a bent front beam, rusted out frame pieces, bent control arm, poorly shortened/twisted frame - all costly repairs.
Make sure the grub screws (they go through the beam in the middle and the trailing arms) are tight; not that that much would happen if they were loose, as the leaf stacks fit into pretty tight pieces. Is the back still level? A broken torsion bar (in the back) will affect the front. Then again, never heard of that in a street car. Doesn't mean it can't happen though. Do you have gas shocks on the front? A blown shock would let one side sag...
Just rambling here, Armond; let us know what you find out. Yoda out.
Could it be as simple as the rear torsion bars being set differently?
It could Lane, it could. Lots don't realize that the rear affects the front but diagonally. A really high RR could cause a very low LF.
Could be as simple as one or two notches on the torsion bar. Gordon Nichols posted some instructions here on how to set rear ride height by adjusting the torsion bars (assumes no adjusters). Do a search for that.
Just recall that I have rusted out H beam with greasy leaves still in it - if you discover the torsion bar springs are toast. I'm in FL so you might find some closer.
