Ladder bars are part of the suspension system on a vehicle equipped with coil springs. These components, which prevent the wheels from hopping, are connected to the rear end of the vehicle and at the spring perch. As the car accelerates and begins to get traction, the ladder bars prevent the rear end from jumping up and damaging the chassis and axles. Adjusting your own ladder bars is fairly straightforward, once you know the basic techniques.
When adjusting your car’s ladder bars, ensure that the bars and brackets are square with the rear axle. In addition, make sure that the ladder bars on each side of the rear end are parallel to each other. If the bars and brackets are not square and parallel to each other, the car will not drive straight or it will pull to one side during acceleration.
Before making any adjustments to your car’s ladder bars, make sure that both ladder bars are the same length. Do this by placing one bar on top of the other and inserting the bolts through the rod ends. Make sure the spherical rods are installed on the bottom of the bar. The solid rod ends must face the back of the ladder bars. If the components are installed facing opposite directions, you cannot adjust the ladder bars properly.
The bolts that insert into the rod end must screw freely in and out. If the bolts do not screw freely, twist them in and out until they begin to move easily. This will make it easier to adjust the ladder bars and limit the amount of pressure you have to place on the bolts to get them to turn. You can easily strip the bolt heads if they become difficult to turn.
Make sure the ladder bar tubes are no closer than one-half inch from the frame rails throughout the tube's entire travel area. Check the location of the ladder bar brackets carefully; if the brackets are in the wrong location, they can affect the travel of the ladder bar tubes. If the brackets are not perpendicular to the rear axle's centerline, the vehicle will either pull to one side, or one side of the vehicle will jump more than the other.
