Bent Frame from the factory on new Silverado?

[alrockaz]

I read this last night and thought about it, and I agree that the first place you need to look is the suspension. The springs may not have been mounted properly or have otherwise failed. I'd start with frame and suspension measurements, like the arch of the spring from the ends to the middle, the length of the shock vs. the other side, etc.

 

You can't let this issue go unaddressed.

[TxTruckMan]

are you sure the bumper isn't bent?

[Donstar]

Masking the problem by using washers as shims is totally unacceptable. I would be pushing hard for a proper repair or replacement. A lawyer at this point may end up saving you a lot of stress. The fact that they even tried such a goofy repair on a brand new vehicle would really challenge my willingness for this dealership to do future repairs on my vehicle.

[trucatfan]

Yesterday I found a new slab of concrete and used my 4' bubble level and laser level to check it before parking on it. Got some weird looks. Started taking measurements around the truck to ground and frame to body. Found the center of front fenders to ground are spot on level, right rear center to ground is about 5/8" higher than the left. Checked the frame to body at the rear cab mount- 15" bottom of cab to bottom of frame on both sides. Checked the rear bumper corners to ground and it was 1/8" higher on the right side. There is no adjustment in the rear bumper.

 

Dealership delivered the loaner truck last night which is a 2017 2wd, LS, ext cab long bed. Took it to the same pad of concrete and found the front fender measurements are the same side to side (different value as it's 2wd), right rear center to ground was about 5/8" higher than the left, cab to frame was spot on at 15", but the rear bumper was about 5/8" higher on the right rear than the left. The measurement i took of the bumper brackets between the 2 trucks were identical. nothing appears to be bent.

 

Best part of the conversation though was when the service manager was telling me he has a super smart tech that installed the washers that he trusts more than anyone, and this guy told him the washers are actually better than a full face shim because it's tighter. I said... umm.. i'm an engineer, also spent 9 years turning wrenches- 5 of that was while i was getting my undergrad degree..... when you reduce the surface area you increase the stress at the load point yada yada, He shut up. He also tried to tell me before they shimmed the bed all the body lines matched up between the bed and the cab- um... no they didn't they were a half inch low and i have pictures. ... He jumped off that subject as well.

 

He told me he's not even taking it to the body shop today- he's going to have some of his mechanics look at it and see if there is anything obvious.

 

I think we're past finding obvious faults. Not getting a warm fuzzy that we're going to fix this thing.

[alrockaz]

Good luck and I'm glad to hear that you are pushing this issue with the dealer.

[BlueTopaz14]

How funny. My truck is complete opposite of yours. Left side of the bumper had a bigger gap than the right. I got tired of fighting with it and just left the washers. The bumper is hardly noticeable unless you actually stop and take time to look at it. 50,000 miles and still going strong. I have a Sportsman 1000 I've hauled in the back several times, no issues. However I do agree it's unacceptable. I believe the frames on these trucks arn't nearly as strong as they should be but I still love my truck to pieces. I've thrown thousands into it, figured I'd just make the best of a bad situation!

 

 

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[Paintor]

So what did the frame shop say?

 

......or are you just going to live with a twisted truck?

[trucatfan]

So what did the frame shop say?

 

......or are you just going to live with a twisted truck?

Still in the shop- and will be until next week. They are bringing in GM- allegedly. I did contact a couple of local frame repair shops and found one that could give me a print out of the measurements- if i have to go that route to prove it's bent or not. All of them said that straightening these box frames is a real challenge. One of the shops said they saw something like this a couple of years ago on a new sierra and they didn't have a whole lot of luck bringing it back in line.

[Paintor]

Is the first digit of your VIN "3"?

 

Made in Mexico?

[trucatfan]

Yep. Made in mx.

[ALSLT]

Thats bad, good luck I hope GM fixes or replaces you truck. That is way too big of a gap.

[Donstar]

Is the first digit of your VIN "3"?

 

Made in Mexico?

I can speculate as to why you are asking this question. The fit and finish.of my '15 cc is excellent There are no uneven gaps, binding or air whistling through openings. I have owned GM trucks assembled in US, Canada, and Mexico and my current truck is by far the best. The op's truck is an anomaly and should have been culled before it left the factory, no matter where it was assembled.

[L86 All Terrain]

Paintor nailed it, go to a 3rd party Structural repair shop and have them measure the frame specs, they can issue a report and you can use that as ammo against the dealer. GM doesnt make money off warranty claims, so it is obvious they will go to extreme lengths to avoid high cost repairs like a frame swap and slap a Band-Aid on the customers vehicle if that will satisfy them enough to quit complaining. It may cost you 4-5 hours labour in the shop, but at least you will have some hard evidence to leverage against them.

[Paintor]

Dont put miles on the truck....keep it at the Dealership and refuse to take it back.

 

https://ag.ks.gov/in-your-corner-kansas/your-home-car/what-is-the-lemon-law

 

They want to replace it...hehehe....demand the replacement have a VIN starting with #1 !

[racetrk]

Dont put miles on the truck....keep it at the Dealership and refuse to take it back.

 

https://ag.ks.gov/in-your-corner-kansas/your-home-car/what-is-the-lemon-law

 

They want to replace it...hehehe....demand the replacement have a VIN starting with #1 !

how is he going to get a crew cab 1500 if he demands that?