MScruiser
obsessive-compulsive oppositional-defiant wise-ass
So, just like the title says, I have a feeling that some of you have been dealing with your cruiser lean the wrong way. Most people either say, "Whatever, I can just live with it" or they use spacers from Ironman or Old Man Emu to try and get things to level out. Well, I am here to let you in on a little secret: you don't have to live with it anymore, and you don't have to buy a spacer. That's right, you can fix it for free; all you need is a 5mm hex key, your jack, and a bit of patience. Here's how:
Just like every cruiser before it, the 200 suffers from the infamous cruiser-lean. Some lean more than others, but the lean can range from a few millimeters to multiple inches. Whenever a lift is installed, the problem is always exacerbated. The common fix is to open both KDSS valves
(Thou shalt use the 5mm key. Then shalt thou turn three rotations, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt rotate, and the number of the rotations shall be three. Four shalt thou not rotate, neither rotate thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.
You get the idea here. Any more than 3 and you run the risk of letting air into the system, and that is bad. Like real bad. Anyways, you open the valves, and allow the cruiser to sit for 20 minutes or so, and the lean is supposed to go away. Then you are supposed to close the valves and drive off into the sunset. Unfortunately, this almost never works.
Just recently, after working on my suspension, I did the above and noticed that my 200 appeared to lean just a "tad", so I whipped out the tape measurer. It was more than just a tad, it was actually over 2 INCES! Obviously, something had to be done, so I did a little trick:
With the valves open, I placed my jack underneath the rear axle on the high side of the cruiser. I then slowly jacked that side up and periodically took measurements on both sides to see when/where the sides both had the same clearance (measured from center cap to fender lip). Once they were both the same or about the same (I got mine within 1/8" of each other), I rocked the truck back a forth, I then allowed the KDSS to settle for another 20 minutes, crawled under the truck, closed the valves, and took out the jack. Drumroll........
No more lean.
(Now this was just the rear that I adjusted, and I have no idea if the same would work on the front, but you guys are welcomed to try.)
I have been driving around all day, and everything seems fine. I am happy. I will update this thread if I notice anything going on, but I don't expect to have any issues. I would also think that maybe even over adjusting the lean would be a good idea (i.e. instead of just trying to get them to even out before closing the valve, maybe even get the high side to be actually lower than the low side before closing the valve). That might work too. Someone try it.
**Update**
As to my theory; do what I said to do, but go even higher than it takes to even things out. I have found that if I evened them out before shutting the valve, it really did help, but wasn't exactly perfect. I then raised the high side with the jack, (which is actually compressing the spring and making it shorter). I raised the high side higher (compressing the spring) than level by about an inch and a half or so, and then closed the valve. Using this method, I got what was a 2" difference to go to a 1/4" difference. YMMV.
Just like every cruiser before it, the 200 suffers from the infamous cruiser-lean. Some lean more than others, but the lean can range from a few millimeters to multiple inches. Whenever a lift is installed, the problem is always exacerbated. The common fix is to open both KDSS valves
(Thou shalt use the 5mm key. Then shalt thou turn three rotations, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt rotate, and the number of the rotations shall be three. Four shalt thou not rotate, neither rotate thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.
You get the idea here. Any more than 3 and you run the risk of letting air into the system, and that is bad. Like real bad. Anyways, you open the valves, and allow the cruiser to sit for 20 minutes or so, and the lean is supposed to go away. Then you are supposed to close the valves and drive off into the sunset. Unfortunately, this almost never works.
Just recently, after working on my suspension, I did the above and noticed that my 200 appeared to lean just a "tad", so I whipped out the tape measurer. It was more than just a tad, it was actually over 2 INCES! Obviously, something had to be done, so I did a little trick:
With the valves open, I placed my jack underneath the rear axle on the high side of the cruiser. I then slowly jacked that side up and periodically took measurements on both sides to see when/where the sides both had the same clearance (measured from center cap to fender lip). Once they were both the same or about the same (I got mine within 1/8" of each other), I rocked the truck back a forth, I then allowed the KDSS to settle for another 20 minutes, crawled under the truck, closed the valves, and took out the jack. Drumroll........
No more lean.
(Now this was just the rear that I adjusted, and I have no idea if the same would work on the front, but you guys are welcomed to try.)
I have been driving around all day, and everything seems fine. I am happy. I will update this thread if I notice anything going on, but I don't expect to have any issues. I would also think that maybe even over adjusting the lean would be a good idea (i.e. instead of just trying to get them to even out before closing the valve, maybe even get the high side to be actually lower than the low side before closing the valve). That might work too. Someone try it.
**Update**
As to my theory; do what I said to do, but go even higher than it takes to even things out. I have found that if I evened them out before shutting the valve, it really did help, but wasn't exactly perfect. I then raised the high side with the jack, (which is actually compressing the spring and making it shorter). I raised the high side higher (compressing the spring) than level by about an inch and a half or so, and then closed the valve. Using this method, I got what was a 2" difference to go to a 1/4" difference. YMMV.
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