series 3 new leaf springs, now sitting at different heights

Hi all, fitted new 11 leaf front springs today to my s3 ex military, the landy's now sitting about 1 inch higher passenger side, very obvious when looking a bumpstop gaps. Fitted a few in the past, don't know why it's high, will it settle when driven, Any ideas ?

Presume you didn't torque the bolts until you lowered it? Or are you on Poly bushes?

Are they sided ???

nope, not poly's, yep torqued when lowered, but will redo tomorrow just to make sure. thanks

Yep, checked part numbers & stamps a couple of times to ensure right side fitted, been caught out in the past, finished the job, then noticed wrong 1 was on.

the shackle bolts should be tightened with load on them according to workshop manual

Swop them round and see the result...

Thanks for the suggestions, will undo & retighten U & shackle bolts today & let you know what happens.
As a relative newbie to Landy's it's a steep learning curve ( Haynes / workshop manual, YouTube, & advice on here Helps )

Does everyone Torque the U & shackle bolts or just tighten ?

herby1 said:

Thanks for the suggestions, will undo & retighten U & shackle bolts today & let you know what happens.
As a relative newbie to Landy's it's a steep learning curve ( Haynes / workshop manual, YouTube, & advice on here Helps )

Does everyone Torque the U & shackle bolts or just tighten ?

Click to expand...

Just give them a good pull with a big spanner, or a socket with a 2 foot bar on it.

You need to get a genuine manual, reprints are available. All this stuff is covered. Putting the springs in the right places, lowering the vehicle before tightening the bolts, how to rebuild components.

When I was a new Series owner back in the 80s, I had a genuine manual, and I used to sit reading it every evening, until I had read it cover to cover several times. Then I went back and read sections of special interest again.

And that was even though I had been working on cars, motorbikes, and boats, for five years already.

Loosen the shackles a bit, plenty of oil in the leaves and go for a slow, careful bumpy drive about can help get them settled,
Good luck,

Edit.
Then re-tighten.

rynner said:

Loosen the shackles a bit, plenty if oil in the leaves and go for a slow, careful bumpy drive about can help get them settled,
Good luck.

Click to expand...

Greasing the leaves with graphite grease is also a good idea. Improves the ride with new or old springs.

herby1 said:

Thanks for the suggestions, will undo & retighten U & shackle bolts today & let you know what happens.
As a relative newbie to Landy's it's a steep learning curve ( Haynes / workshop manual, YouTube, & advice on here Helps )

Does everyone Torque the U & shackle bolts or just tighten ?

Click to expand...

The shackle torque is 60-70lbs ft and u bolts 58lbs ft so not that high, when I put my new axle on I just nipped them up and a month ago thought I would torque them in case they loosened. If you’re a bit heavy handed use a torque wrench or it is esp important (inside engine etc) but generally you may a develop a feel for what torque feels appropriate for size bolt working on.

undone & retightened U & ( shackle bolts with load on ), didn't make any difference, loosened all, jacked chassis up on lower side, & retightened so gap was both 2.5in, when lowered, returned to about 1 inch gap.
OH, & rung off the thread on the squared U bolt ( a lot of swearing ), had bottle jack under plate but popped the thread, so ordered a few spare U bolts from paddocks.

Forgot to say, when it was all loosened, I stood half in engine bay / bumper & worked the suspension a bit ( 21 stone ) to see if it settled ( it didn't ), can't drive it at the moment but should be road worthy soon, will try a bumpy road, see if that works.
Any other ideas appreciated

herby1 said:

Forgot to say, when it was all loosened, I stood half in engine bay / bumper & worked the suspension a bit ( 21 stone ) to see if it settled ( it didn't ), can't drive it at the moment but should be road worthy soon, will try a bumpy road, see if that works.
Any other ideas appreciated

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Sit in the passenger seat, and get someone lighter to drive. It should be level.

herby1 said:

undone & retightened U & ( shackle bolts with load on ), didn't make any difference, loosened all, jacked chassis up on lower side, & retightened so gap was both 2.5in, when lowered, returned to about 1 inch gap.
OH, & rung off the thread on the squared U bolt ( a lot of swearing ), had bottle jack under plate but popped the thread, so ordered a few spare U bolts from paddocks.

Click to expand...

good to have spares just in case
have you followed the spring setting procedure and getting measurements as in point 12 below, the manual also has the camber measurements for each spring which you can compare with also but best done when off the shackles

Wildefalcon said:

Presume you didn't torque the bolts until you lowered it? Or are you on Poly bushes?

Click to expand...

Out of interest, what difference does it make if you have poly bushes?
I've used poly bushes, fitted when the chassis was swapped, but with the assistance of a LR mechanic, so I may have missed why or how he went about it.

codfather79 said:

Out of interest, what difference does it make if you have poly bushes?
I've used poly bushes, fitted when the chassis was swapped, but with the assistance of a LR mechanic, so I may have missed why or how he went about it.

Click to expand...

Shouldn't make any difference at all.
Some people think if you have polys you can tighten the bolts before lowering the vehicle. I don't, so I don't.

Ah ok, was going to ask, thanks for clarifying.
spoke to a mate last night who say's he does shackle/chassis bolts just tight so shackle moves freely by hand, then cranks up lock nut really tight, is this b/s ? seems to be varying info online.