Just got back from Ontario deer hunting and noticed that the rear of the truck is not level side to side. I measured it and it appears as if the drivers side is half an inch lower than the passenger side.

I crawled underneath and the shock on the drivers side has less piston showing than the shock than the passenger side shock. These are custom 2.25 inch FabTech shocks and fairly new.

Could the leaf spring be weakened by towing and now putting a little mopre pressure on the shock? Just wanted to get y'alls thoughts before I start taking things apart.

I was towing my 33' camper and had 100 gallons of fuel in the transfer tank.

What are the best air bags for the money?


Thanks!!

 

The springs support the weight the shock just controls it. Measuring the rod length coming out of the shock seems to support something is wrong with what carries the load. Not sure if you have a 2500 or 3500 since you did not put that in your signature. Check your overloads and the leaves, along with the spring mounts. I assume you are unhooked and see these issues as well as the issue is in the rear, not front of your truck...

 

Unless the shock balled up for some reason you have a sacked spring

 

OK guys thanks for the info however I'm not sure what you mean about a sacked spring. Do you mean it has weakened and is no longer doing what it should?

I have the 2500 and I see no issues with the front but I will look this evening.

I have looked at the springs and they appear to be the same distance apart on both sides. The big difference was with the shock.

Should this be covered under warranty?

 

I looked at the front and it appears level.

What is the fix for this?

Do I need to replace the whole leaf pack?

I have brand new tires and was wondering if this throws off the alignment?

Thanks again.

 

For your question concerning air bags, I have Timbren air "springs" front and rear on my truck. Front for carrying the weight of my snow plow and rear for handling hauling/towing loads better. I like them because there's no air lines to contend with...no filling them with air when I want to haul something. The fronts are in contact with the axle at all times, which i believe improved the truck's ride. I bought them from truckspring.com

 

Jack up your truck, put the frame on stands, remove wheels (for extra clearance) and let the axle droop with everything connected and then check if the axle is level.

Could be a bad shock that will not let the spring support that side of the weight (as in limiting axle droop). unbolt one end and see.

Otherwise, it could certainly be a damage spring. I've seen where the suspension and frame are fine and it is a body issue, but you did say the shock is showing uneven compression from side to side.

 

not sure, maybe the fuel is heavier up there i would jack it up support the frame remove the wheels and measure at full droop, like the post above... as for airbags, i did the firestones, happy so far. havent done the onboard air sys yet. i just ran the schrader valves up into the wheel well... good luck. how was the hunt?

 

Guys thanks for the info. I have spoken with a local garage that works with such things and they think one leaf may have cracked??

Anyway they said they can just replace one if that is all is broken.

I got a nice 8 pointer but did not see as many as in the past. Winter kill was real bad last year and they lost 60-70% of the herd. They also have a really big wolf population so that may have some affect as well.

I am going to install air bags at the same time.

 

The Pacbrake airbags provide a double u-bolt mounting platform at the axle vs. the Firestone's single u-bolt. I've got Carli's LT airbags,but I think that's overkill for you.