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Driver Side Leaning Silverado


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Hi guy's, I have a 1999 Chev Silverado 1500 4x4 with the 4.8l, Short box regular cab. Is their an 'official' fix to the notorious lean on the drivers side? It's currently sitting 1.5-2in lower on the drivers side than the passenger.

 

I first noticed this a year or so ago, brought it into a mechanic who fixed it by adjusting the torsion bar to the max on that side and realigning the pickup. That helped for a while but then the sag slowly reappeared. When I brought the pickup into a different mechanic to asses the sag, he enlightened me to the news that my ball joints were hosed due to driving it with the torsion bar nut maxed…

 

I had him replace the ball joints and put the torsion bar setting back to how it is on the other side and I'm back to square one.

 

 

 

 

Any ideas on things to check, semi-cheap fixes, or things to try before I start replacing the rear springs?

 

I saw a GM TSB that added a spacer to the drivers rear spring but it looked like that was only for the 2WD model.

 

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Thanks.

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Hi guy's, I have a 1999 Chev Silverado 1500 4x4 with the 4.8l, Short box regular cab. Is their an 'official' fix to the notorious lean on the drivers side? It's currently sitting 1.5-2in lower on the drivers side than the passenger.

 

I first noticed this a year or so ago, brought it into a mechanic who fixed it by adjusting the torsion bar to the max on that side and realigning the pickup. That helped for a while but then the sag slowly reappeared. When I brought the pickup into a different mechanic to asses the sag, he enlightened me to the news that my ball joints were hosed due to driving it with the torsion bar nut maxed…

 

I had him replace the ball joints and put the torsion bar setting back to how it is on the other side and I'm back to square one.

 

 

 

 

Any ideas on things to check, semi-cheap fixes, or things to try before I start replacing the rear springs?

 

I saw a GM TSB that added a spacer to the drivers rear spring but it looked like that was only for the 2WD model.

 

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

It's called the Chevy lean. That's what happens when the gas tank is off centered on the vehicle, and I have seen several brand new trucks that do it too. Instead of replacing the leaf springs, find a spring shop and have them reacrhed. Much cheaper. Oh, and welcome to the forum!

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as far as the rear goes, depending on how bad it's off, you could get a set of lift shackles for the lower side or a set of drop shackles for the higher side. always make sure you're measuring on level ground. also, how much fuel is in the tank will change those measurements as well.

 

as for the front, you could drop the high side down with the t-bars....better for your front end components (as you've already found out) than raising the lower side.

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Yes there is AN OFFICIAL FIX.....

 

Live with it!

 

Life is not perfect why should the stance be on the truck?

 

Just my 2 cents

Jbo

 

Didn't mean to flame ya but sorry anyways if it does.........

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Yes there is AN OFFICIAL FIX.....

 

Live with it!

 

Life is not perfect why should the stance be on the truck?

 

Just my 2 cents

Jbo

 

Didn't mean to flame ya but sorry anyways if it does.........

 

:( I couldnt help but just laugh when I read this reply.

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lol, Thanks for the replies guys. Living with it is what I've been doing, and will probably continue to do for a while.

 

I just don't want to do more harm or exert extra wear on other parts that may be compensating for the excessive lean. ½ inch or so I could live with, 2 inches, well that's a lot…

 

Keep in mind my measurements on a level concrete garage floor with a FULL tank of gas (I understand this does effect the lean to some degree).

 

My bigger concern is that when I go over bumps I hear a clank from the drives side rear leaf. It's apparent that spring is more compressed than the other, however will new springs correct this? I read online of people replaces their leaf's and that not fixing the issue. I'd hate to spend that money and find that nothing changed.

 

As someone mentioned above, would dropping the front passenger side shift the trucks stance and take some pressure off the drivers rear wheel?

 

Thanks again, Guys.

 

 

 

Also… I'm 6'1" and weigh 142lbs…. :rollin:

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lol, Thanks for the replies guys. Living with it is what I've been doing, and will probably continue to do for a while.

 

I just don't want to do more harm or exert extra wear on other parts that may be compensating for the excessive lean. ½ inch or so I could live with, 2 inches, well that's a lot…

 

Keep in mind my measurements on a level concrete garage floor with a FULL tank of gas (I understand this does effect the lean to some degree).

 

My bigger concern is that when I go over bumps I hear a clank from the drives side rear leaf. It's apparent that spring is more compressed than the other, however will new springs correct this? I read online of people replaces their leaf's and that not fixing the issue. I'd hate to spend that money and find that nothing changed.

 

As someone mentioned above, would dropping the front passenger side shift the trucks stance and take some pressure off the drivers rear wheel?

 

Thanks again, Guys.

 

 

 

Also… I'm 6'1" and weigh 142lbs…. :rollin:

 

Check the lower leaf on your springs.... Probably your rub pads are gone if your hearing a bumping.

 

Jbo

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My 01 Silverado had a lean. It was a reg cab, with a V-6 and a manual trans.

 

GM said it needed a special spring up front.

 

I had the front end torn apart 3 times and it still leaned.

 

I got rid of the truck and bought an 02. It did not lean as much.

 

I haven't noticed any lean on my 09 Ext Cab.

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You can have the coil spring on the front side shortened by a machine shop. Mark it while it is compressed or only take off half as much while it is extended. You can have the lower side rearched in the rear and add a set of helper leafs to stiffen the whole rear end up.

 

You could just buy a 4 inch lift kit that comes with all new front end components and rearch the rear springs too if they need it.

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You can have the coil spring on the front side shortened by a machine shop. Mark it while it is compressed or only take off half as much while it is extended. You can have the lower side rearched in the rear and add a set of helper leafs to stiffen the whole rear end up.

 

You could just buy a 4 inch lift kit that comes with all new front end components and rearch the rear springs too if they need it.

 

talking about a 1999, 4X4....no coil springs up front. I still say tweak with the shackles in the rear: lower the high side (so you don't end up with that kicked in the rear/nose down look). see what that does to the front end measurements and adjust accordingly with the torsion bars.

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Lmao @ the pic

 

 

 

I had a truck with a bad lean one time, and the frame was bent just a little bit, no major wrecks or anything, just looked lke they backed one side of the rear bumper into something enough to bend the bumper a few inches. Dunno, anyway, yeh that just makes a truck look funny, and talk to a frame straightener if that's the case.

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