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Leaf Spring Creaks and Noise, Fixed - new leaf springs

willyr1er

By willyr1er
in Troubleshooting & Recalls

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willyr1er Enthusiast

willyr1er

Posted
Posted

I got my 14 cc 2wd used 2 years ago, nice and quiet. About 6 months ago after overloading the bed with dirt I started getting creaks at low speed forward and reverse, a lot louder with any articulation. I think I have read most every post for leaf spring noise and tried everything.

 

Things tried that didn't work:

Pressure washing and air drying them

re-torque the U-bolts

TSB -#? for re-torque of the leaf spring bolts

white lithium grease between the leaves

marine silicon spray on the leafs, bushings and shackles

cut off the rubber edge of the bushing on the back above the shackle, added Delrin shims to prevent the rubber from rubbing the shackle

pinned the exhaust flapper open, in case I was getting noise there

removed the rear shocks to rule them out

having a friend jump on the back and push the bed all over, no sound could be heard

mounted a Go pro under the bed while driving to look for issues, at least you could hear the noise

greased front sway bar mounts and connectors, UCA and ball joint, just in case I was being fooled

 

Overloading the springs with the dirt didn't bend the leafs, but relaxed them a lot, the bed sat 1.5" lower after. So I figured after nothing working and getting so fed up with the sound, I ordered so new leafs from anywhere but GM, (ended up ordering from general spring KC, good price, bad shipping and bad customer service)

 

Got them installed!! Not a Peep!! It was like getting a new truck again!!! So excited that there was no more moan and groan. I felt embarrassed driving the truck around because it sounded sooo bad.

 

So new leafs fixed the issue for me.

 

One thing that stood out between the 2 sets was GM's bushings have the rubber over the whole side where the new ones from general spring KC did not have any rubber in the outside edges. (I really thing my bushing were slipping in the spring eyelet) Also the new springs are 5 leafs instead of 3.

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joshc64311 Enthusiast

joshc64311

Posted
Posted

I got my 14 cc 2wd used 2 years ago, nice and quiet. About 6 months ago after overloading the bed with dirt I started getting creaks at low speed forward and reverse, a lot louder with any articulation. I think I have read most every post for leaf spring noise and tried everything.

 

Things tried that didn't work:

Pressure washing and air drying them

re-torque the U-bolts

TSB -#? for re-torque of the leaf spring bolts

white lithium grease between the leaves

marine silicon spray on the leafs, bushings and shackles

cut off the rubber edge of the bushing on the back above the shackle, added Delrin shims to prevent the rubber from rubbing the shackle

pinned the exhaust flapper open, in case I was getting noise there

removed the rear shocks to rule them out

having a friend jump on the back and push the bed all over, no sound could be heard

mounted a Go pro under the bed while driving to look for issues, at least you could hear the noise

greased front sway bar mounts and connectors, UCA and ball joint, just in case I was being fooled

 

Overloading the springs with the dirt didn't bend the leafs, but relaxed them a lot, the bed sat 1.5" lower after. So I figured after nothing working and getting so fed up with the sound, I ordered so new leafs from anywhere but GM, (ended up ordering from general spring KC, good price, bad shipping and bad customer service)

 

Got them installed!! Not a Peep!! It was like getting a new truck again!!! So excited that there was no more moan and groan. I felt embarrassed driving the truck around because it sounded sooo bad.

 

So new leafs fixed the issue for me.

 

One thing that stood out between the 2 sets was GM's bushings have the rubber over the whole side where the new ones from general spring KC did not have any rubber in the outside edges. (I really thing my bushing were slipping in the spring eyelet) Also the new springs are 5 leafs instead of 3.

Cost? Rides the same? Did they increase payload? Iv been looking for a new set

willyr1er Enthusiast

willyr1er

Posted
  • Author
Posted

$129 each, kicker was the $130 shipping. I think the ride is close to OE ones, maybe a touch stiffer. They are capacity rated @ 2025lbs, I don't know what OE is rated for, so I don't know the difference.

AgDoctor Senior Enthusiast

AgDoctor

Posted
Posted

I noticed mine has a squeak or similar noise. I figured it was the shock so I unbolted it, but nope. Must be spring like yours. Mine hasn't had anything heavy in the back or on the hitch.

 

Mine is a 2016 with 7,000 miles. Really not excited about the noise from the springs, some really annoying rattle, and the clunk from Reverse to forward on the 8 speed. Great job GM...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mjoekingz28 Enthusiast

mjoekingz28

Posted
Posted

AgDoctor,

 

Try greasing them. Just about anything 'should' help in my opinion. It can be a tuff and dirty job, but you get to be a grease monkey for a few hours!

 

Take fresh motor oil or regular chassis grease and some towels and coat every inch of the leafs and try wiping down, cleaning, and coating the mounting structures and hardware as well. These are great trucks they have made- but just understand you don't just change the oil and drive until something breaks.

willyr1er Enthusiast

willyr1er

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I've got 40k miles on my 14'.

 

Last night I clamped the eye bolt from the OE springs in the vice and made some up and down movements, it made the same sound as on the truck, just not as loud on the bench. It was the bushing slipping inside the spring eyelet. A lot more noise coming from the front bushing than the rear. I would think just swapping to some aftermarket bushings would have fixed the noise too.

Donstar Senior Enthusiast

Donstar

Posted
Posted

I noticed mine has a squeak or similar noise. I figured it was the shock so I unbolted it, but nope. Must be spring like yours. Mine hasn't had anything heavy in the back or on the hitch.

 

Mine is a 2016 with 7,000 miles. Really not excited about the noise from the springs, some really annoying rattle, and the clunk from Reverse to forward on the 8 speed. Great job GM...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would take this type of concern to my dealer while my truck is still under warranty. I can't imagine them not resolving a noise or a squeak issue. I am fortunate to be surrounded by conscientious gm service departments!

GMC-AT Senior Enthusiast

GMC-AT

Posted
Posted

they can't fix it.. waste of time. I have had the same issue on both my 2014 and 2016 ... they replaced the springs and and tons of other things over 6 visits... noise just comes back. The OEM springs .. bushings in particular are flawed once they get dirty.

CounterMeasure Enthusiast

CounterMeasure

Posted
Posted

they can't fix it.. waste of time. I have had the same issue on both my 2014 and 2016 ... they replaced the springs and and tons of other things over 6 visits... noise just comes back. The OEM springs .. bushings in particular are flawed once they get dirty.

 

And it doesn't help that there's a GM TSB that says to just power wash the springs and then lube the rub pads. So that's all they are likely to want to do to get you out the door.

GMC-AT Senior Enthusiast

GMC-AT

Posted
Posted

been there, done that as well. Just makes it worse in the long term when dirt gets in there again.

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