Tahoe rear suspension sag?

[NacIK]

I replaced the rear springs on my Tahoe because they looked fatigued. They looked like they were bending in the opposite direction. I ordered new ones from RockAuto and installed them a few weeks ago. The truck rides better and a lot of the sway is gone, but the springs look completely flat. Also I have not cranked the torsion bars but the front looks higher than the back by about an inch. I thought these came with factory with a slight rake? I could have been cranked by the previous owner though.

Could someone with a Tahoe take a look at their rear springs and see if there is any bow in them? I looked at a Silverado the other day and they were bowed but they were 2500 springs and helpers installed.

Here is a pick I took the other day so that you can see what I mean about the height difference.

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I do have two different tire brands (on the broke side this year) but they are the same size according to the sidewall. Hopefully I will have a spare $600 this year for some AT3's! Can't really beat them for only $110 a tire.


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[GMC Burbalade]

Might want to turn the keys down a little bit. Rear does look lower than it should be with a body lift though. Have you considered an add a leaf or even just an extra leaf from a junk yard leaf pack? That should give the springs a little bit of arch.

First make sure you've got factory shackles though. Body lift and drop shackles are popular for the squatters over here on the east coast.

 

[Blaine Davies]

I replaced the rear springs on my Tahoe because they looked fatigued. They looked like they were bending in the opposite direction. I ordered new ones from RockAuto and installed them a few weeks ago. The truck rides better and a lot of the sway is gone, but the springs look completely flat. Also I have not cranked the torsion bars but the front looks higher than the back by about an inch. I thought these came with factory with a slight rake? I could have been cranked by the previous owner though.

Could someone with a Tahoe take a look at their rear springs and see if there is any bow in them? I looked at a Silverado the other day and they were bowed but they were 2500 springs and helpers installed.



Here is a pick I took the other day so that you can see what I mean about the height difference.

You must be registered for see images attach

I do have two different tire brands (on the broke side this year) but they are the same size according to the sidewall. Hopefully I will have a spare $600 this year for some AT3's! Can't really beat them for only $110 a tire.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine are a little sagged, but one of my shocks is on it's way out and the other one is blown, so it's kind of hard to tell. I'm replacing my shocks in a couple weeks, putting some rancho 1-3" lift shocks in the rear. I would recommend replacing your rear shocks if they havnt been replaced already. It will stiffen up the rear end and will probably take some load off of the rear leafs and lift it up a bit. Check out your torsion key bolts as well, if they are almost maxed out then the previous owner did crank them up a bit. doesn't hurt to bring them down a little, worst case scenario is extending the life of your front end steering and suspension components. By the looks of that pic, your truck has a body lift installed in it?? If you're happy with the ride height as is, just bring the torsion keys down to level it out.

BTW: If your keys are cranked, after bringing them down, go to a shop and have them check your wheel alignment. In my personal opinion, I would just have one done anyway. IDK how lenient shops are near you?? Here, if anything steering or suspension related is out of wack, then they wont even bother doing a wheel alignment, the shop will actually refuse to do it until whatever is busted is fixed. So before you go to get the wheel alignment checked, I would make sure that your tie-rods/ball-joints/pitman-arm etc. are all in good shape.

 

[1997chevydriver]

Mine are a little sagged, but one of my shocks is on it's way out and the other one is blown, so it's kind of hard to tell. I'm replacing my shocks in a couple weeks, putting some rancho 1-3" lift shocks in the rear. I would recommend replacing your rear shocks if they havnt been replaced already. It will stiffen up the rear end and will probably take some load off of the rear leafs and lift it up a bit. Check out your torsion key bolts as well, if they are almost maxed out then the previous owner did crank them up a bit. doesn't hurt to bring them down a little, worst case scenario is extending the life of your front end steering and suspension components. By the looks of that pic, your truck has a body lift installed in it?? If you're happy with the ride height as is, just bring the torsion keys down to level it out.

BTW: If your keys are cranked, after bringing them down, go to a shop and have them check your wheel alignment. In my personal opinion, I would just have one done anyway. IDK how lenient shops are near you?? Here, if anything steering or suspension related is out of wack, then they wont even bother doing a wheel alignment, the shop will actually refuse to do it until whatever is busted is fixed. So before you go to get the wheel alignment checked, I would make sure that your tie-rods/ball-joints/pitman-arm etc. are all in good shape.

Shocks have ZERO effect on ride height. Replacing them won't lift your truck

 

[Blaine Davies]

Shocks have ZERO effect on ride height. Replacing them won't lift your truck

If the shocks are not functioning correctly or if they are busted, then the leaf springs are doing all the work, isn't that what shocks do? Work with the springs to hold the suspension up? Not saying that they will lift your truck, I'm putting a 2" block in the rear to lift it, shocks won't lift your truck by themselves of course, but they do serve a purpose in keeping the suspension level.

 

[NacIK]

Shocks have ZERO effect on ride height. Replacing them won't lift your truck

Sorry guys, but I have to agree. The height is no different with the shocks installed or removed. I already checked that just to be sure.

As far as the shackles they are stock height. I know this because I ordered replacement ones because the bushings in the factory ones were rusted to the bolts. I tried to de-crank the keys but I am almost bottomed out. I have only 3 threads showing above the key and don't want to take any chances beyond that.

I was thinking about getting some longer centering pins and using the bottom spring/perch off of the old springs and using it as an add-a-leaf. I was not going to pay the $60 that the dealership wanted for the u-bolts so I bought some generic ones that fit but are about twice as long. All i have to do it install the extra spring then cut of the unused portion of the u-bolt when I am done with the install. I don't want to go too high because I want to keep 31's so the single leaf might be the ticket.

I also have a Suburban 3rd seat installed back there, but I don't think that is more than 50 pounds.

Another reason I was replacing them is because when I hook up to my 20' trailer the rear used to sag all the way down to the bump stop. I haven't tried it yet to see how the new ones hold up.

 

[NacIK]

As far as I understand the shocks are used to control bounce, not actually hold weight. That is how coil-overs work at least: the spring holds the weight and gives the flex while the shock controls the bounce.

 

[NacIK]

I have to wait on an alignment until I get new control arm bushings and tires. There is no point in doing it twice. Becides, around here if one bushing or tire looks worn no one will touch it without replacing it due to everyone being a lawyer around here.

 

[great white]

If the shocks are not functioning correctly or if they are busted, then the leaf springs are doing all the work, isn't that what shocks do? Work with the springs to hold the suspension up? Not saying that they will lift your truck, I'm putting a 2" block in the rear to lift it, shocks won't lift your truck by themselves of course, but they do serve a purpose in keeping the suspension level.

Ah, no.

All shocks do in this application is damp the spring motion so they don't continue to oscillate after the first deflection.

Other than that, they are essentially just along for the ride....

 

[Blaine Davies]

Ah, no.

All shocks do in this application is damp the spring motion so they don't continue to oscillate after the first deflection.

Other than that, they are essentially just along for the ride....

I stand corrected lol. Apparently everything I thought was common knowledge about vehicles is incorrect, guess i'll just stick to this forum to gain information from now on. Cheers.