Rear leaf springs noise

Silverado2016 · May 20, 2017

I had this same issue with my 2014 Silverado 4x4 double cab from day one, most noticeable backing up while turning left/right. Spare was tight, exhaust wasn't knocking anywhere, took it into our shop and had a couple of Techs ride with me without telling them what to listen for and they too heard the clunk/bang/thump. We packed the leaf springs with grease as per an older bulletin, noise was still there. TAC suggested replacing the rear shocks which we did, noise was still there. We went over all cab/bed/suspension bolts and nuts, the noise was still there. We put the "ears" on and drove about but got nothing helpful. I had another Tech look at the truck without filling him in on what had been done, he went over all mount/suspension bolts and found the rear leafs were 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch out of alignment laterally(the grease was disturbed), we put a few large hose clamps around the leaf packs and drove the truck, NO MORE NOISE. Got the ok from TAC and replaced both rear leaf springs. We have submitted a P.I report to GM and had a field engineer from Oshawa pick up the springs for inspection, he told me he had seen this on older trucks but this was a first for him on the 2014/2015s.

If you experience this type of noise from the rear of your truck have a close look at the leaf alignment.

I too am having sound issues of a clunk/bang/thump from the rear of the vehicle as many of you are describing. This is not the common noises that occur when shifting a transmission from park to reverse. The sound is most noticeable while backing up while turning left/right at low speed, but sometimes even backing up straight in a driveway or parking space the noise occurs. I also have a co-worker with a GMC Sierra 1500 with the same suspension options as I have on my Silverado with the identical issues. I also know that the rear leaf spring for both the Chevy and Sierra are identical-same part number as long as all the codes/powertrain features/package is the same. (i.e. Z71, 4x4 double cab, etc.). You can call your dealership parts dept with your vin#'s to confirm if you don't believe me here. Almost sounds like a spare tire wobble, but I know that this has been checked out and it is not the issue here.

The truck is a stock 2016 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 4x4 Double cab with about 30,000 miles now. No modifications whatsoever to the stock truck that was bought brand new from the GM dealership. The truck is well cared for, and is only used to get to and from work. Majority of miles on the vehicle are highway miles, and I ALWAYS take my truck to the dealership for regular scheduled service and maintenance at the recommended/required service maintenance intervals in the owners manual and oil change stickers. The truck sits in a paved parking lot at work 8-5 Monday through Friday, and is in my garage mostly on weekends, and at night. I don't use the truck while at work as I have a desk job. I don't tow or haul with the truck either. The noises sometimes don't seem to be as apparent if the truck was just washed.

Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 miles is when the noise became very pronounced and I took it in at that time to the well established GM service dept in St. Louis where it was originally purchased for a look. The GM dealership first checked over the vehicle and tightened the rear suspension components per the GM service bulletin. That did nothing, as the problem noise was still there. I took it back the next morning. They then took a closer look at the spare tire, U-joints, rear end, shocks, rear brakes, rear axle & wheel bearings, transfer case, transmission etc. After several days of diagnosis they determined it was the leaf springs making the noises. It took several more days to get the springs in inventory. I noticed the original factory GM springs were made in Canada. The replacement springs were made in Mexico. Apparently it doesn't matter at all as they are all junk. After the dealership replaced the factory leaf springs on an essentially brand new truck, the issue went away. However, the same exact noises are now re-appearing at about 30,000 miles. I am scheduled next week to get the truck back in to have the dealership to evaluate.

The first problem I have is that the noise shouldn't even appear on a truck that has low mileage, is only 1-2 years old, and cost $50,000+. It is completely unacceptable. Design/engineering/quality control flaw in my opinion at this point. I can accept that there might have been a bad batch of springs at the first replacement. However now after the noise returning, and the springs from two entirely different spring part plants, I am nearly certain its a design/engineering flaw. If it happens the springs need replacement for a third time I may be forced to enact the lemon law in the state I reside in so I don't end up with an very expensive vehicle to maintain and keep on the road.

I am very disappointed in the quality of this 2016 GM Silverado Truck, as I have had several much cheaper trucks over the years with fewer problems. Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger, Chevy S-10. It's fairly sad that some of these had fewer issues that something that costs twice as much. My employer's fleet vehicles might also consider switching from GM to another manufacturer as well depending upon how this all works out.

We will see what the dealership can do. Not to confident in the longevity aspect of GM anymore though with this whole ordeal.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Silverado2016

GMC-AT · May 21, 2017

been there done that with 2 of these trucks... you have to replace the springs with non GM springs to fix the issue - enjoy - http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/200112-leaf-spring-creaks-and-noise-fixed-new-leaf-springs/

Gofas · May 29, 2017

Squeaky squeaky in my leaf spring!

Passenger seat squeak!

Roof pop

Mystery dents

D.i.c 4 wdknob malfunctioning.

Guess it's time for warranty repairs!

HondaHawkGT · June 5, 2017

been there done that with 2 of these trucks... you have to replace the springs with non GM springs to fix the issue - enjoy - http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/200112-leaf-spring-creaks-and-noise-fixed-new-leaf-springs/

Maybe... Maybe not.

My original suggestion of pressure washing the ends of the spring under the main leaf and lubing the plastic bushings with a dry lube worked like a charm. Over 2 years later and my leaf springs are still comepletely silent.

It's stupidity to immediately throw the leafs out if they squeak.

ShamrockShooter · June 5, 2017

Mine just started squeaking on my 16 crew cab z71 at 12k miles. When parked if I push up and down on the bumper it squeakes like the old bed I used to sleep in at my grandmother's house as a kid. Is this likely just dirt between the leafs? Do you need to jack the truck up to make more of a gap before trying to pressure wash?

I do drive dirt roads a couple times a month.

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Edited June 5, 2017 by ShamrockShooter

royalkangaroo · June 7, 2017

My dealer put heavy duty grease on the spring pads about a year ago. Took care of the snapping/popping/creaking. Noticed they were getting noisy again recently. Jacked the truck up by the frame, wedged apart each leaf corner, cleaned and regreased the pads. No more noise. Took about 15min per side.

Silverado2016 · June 7, 2017

All-

Update to my earlier post. The GM factory leaf springs have indeed failed for a second time. Certified Chevrolet/Cadillac Service dept at the dealer confirmed this a day ago. This will be the third set of leaf springs on a truck that isn't used to haul or tow anything, and that is driven on paved roads about 99.9% of the time. 30,000 miles and three sets of leaf springs. I'm not a mechanical engineer by trade or background, but am in an engineering/design field and have several certified mechanic friends (each ranging in 5 to 40 years mechanical experience) who have taken a hard look at this ongoing issue. No one has ever heard of a vehicle needing leaf springs replaced before unless the vehicle has over 200,000 miles, or is 25+ years old and the bushings dry rotted. Others and my experience are leading me to believe me these trucks have a serious engineering/design flaw in the leaf spring assemblies if they are only lasting 10,000 or so miles. Called GM customer service line to pass along just dealers findings/investigation (and not my opinion) and the customer service rep could not confirm or deny that the late model Chevy/GMC 1500 series trucks have leaf spring issues or recall notices, or TSB's. All they could say is sorry for my bad experience and hope things work out. Seems like a canned and lame kick-the-can down the road, go-away and stick-your-head-in-the sand response to protect GM assets/shareholders and hide the real truth.

Buyer beware- Replace rear leaf springs every 10,000 miles or every 2-3 oil changes is what the owner's manual should state.

I only weigh 190 lbs too, so it's not like the drivers weight is a contributing factor either.

Pressure washing the springs and or any lube does not resolve or permanently resolve the issue as some of the other posts have mentioned trying. The dealer tried cleaning and lubing with different lubes and it didn't work. I'm assuming it's a definitive failure as the dealer is replacing the springs. They don't typically go to that extent if it can be easily resolved by just pressure washing and re-lubing. Possibly zerk fittings would resolve some of the issues at the bushings, but no car manufacturers use these on vehicles anymore, and most did not have them at the bushings unless they were aftermarket parts. Tearing apart the leaf assembly, cleaning and re-lubing every year seems a bit excessive of a routine maintenance program on a vehicle, and even a good way for suspension hardware- axle shackle bolts/nuts etc to begin working loose or failing from all the torqueing & re-torqueing

Requesting GM customer service attention to the matter as I'm loosing work hours dealing with this lemon of a truck. It's costing me time and $ even though I'm just under warranty for a few more miles. It's been my worst experience owning a vehicle to date and I've been driving light duty trucks for 20+ years . From what I'm told, the GM factory warranty is typically null and void on leaf springs parts at 36,000 miles. Looking for GM to provide a free of charge honorary warranty to extend the repairs in the future. Also considering trading in, which I normally don't even consider until a vehicle passes the 100,000 miles or more mark. These trucks are not made like they were, or should be. I've had tougher, longer lasting, more dependable and reliable small sedans.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Silverado2016

daniel044 · June 7, 2017

I had this same issue. My solution on this was to jack the rear of the truck up, take a crow bar and separate the leafs as much as I could and put white lithium grease between the leafs. Would last about 8 months of no creaking then would come back and have to repeat the process.

Gofas · June 10, 2017

Maybe... Maybe not.

My original suggestion of pressure washing the ends of the spring under the main leaf and lubing the plastic bushings with a dry lube worked like a charm. Over 2 years later and my leaf springs are still comepletely silent.

It's stupidity to immediately throw the leafs out if they squeak.

do you remove the springs to access the bushings for the lib job? Edited June 10, 2017 by Gofas

GMC-AT · June 10, 2017

Pressure wash / greese..etc... Works ok for a little while if you only drive the street.

This doesnt work if you drive your truck on sandy dirt roads....actually greese makes it worse

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HondaHawkGT · June 11, 2017

Pressure wash / greese..etc... Works ok for a little while if you only drive the street.

This doesnt work if you drive your truck on sandy dirt roads....actually greese makes it worse

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Grease is the worst idea. Graphite or teflon based dry lube is best. I used teflon based Superlube spray on mine.

AgDoctor · June 11, 2017

Mine are doing this. GM can kiss my ass and I would be happy to sell them back this pos.

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HondaHawkGT · June 11, 2017

do you remove the springs to access the bushings for the lib job?

Nope. Make sure all the dirt is cleaned off, then spray a dry graphite lube or teflon-based spray lube like Superlube and spray the area. Either drive the truck or stand in the bed and get the leaf springs to compress so the plastic pads slide and the lubricant works in there. Wipe up the escess afterwards so it doesn't attract more dust.

Take a close look at the pads to make sure they're still there and that the retainer clips aren't rubbing on the leafs too. Sometimes the leafs will splay aparts and the clip will rub.

Edited June 11, 2017 by HondaHawkGT

mikepol2 · August 8, 2017

I'm at 31K miles now and soaking them with WD-40 solves it for a few weeks...tried dry lithium but that didn't work. The penetrating ability of WD-40 must have something to do with it.

triplexbullies · January 16, 2018

Still an issue. I am currently in a BBB case with GM over it. They offered to replace the springs. I laughed at her. About to tell my lawyer to get involved. He is already aware of the issue but have been a little reluctant to get him involved. I shouldn't have to do this with GM and a brand new truck. I wish Toyota made a full sized Tacoma...... I see a Ram in my future......