2005 Silverado 1500 crew cab Chevy lean?? Bend frame??

ProvokedSavage · January 18, 2018

I bought the truck a few weeks ago and saw that it was leaning towards the driver side more than the passenger. I quickly started to do some research and found out about the “Chevy lean” i couldn’t help to see the truck like that so I took the wheel off and checked the lower control arm where the springs sits was broken I guess maybe a hole in the streets or something making the spring brake a hole in the control arm. That said I got a new lower control arm and put Anne’s ball joint and all that good stuff nothing!! Still with the lean. I bought the springs new a bit more heavy than the OEM(ACDelco branded) and I think it when up a little. The truck was hit in the front by the driver side. And it doesn’t pull nor left or right he steering wheel is a little crooked tho but nothing major. And to top it of the driver side wheel is closer to the frame/fender of the truck the the passenger one. I heard that could be a bend frame??? Also I feel like the leaf spring in the rear might have something to do with it but I don’t think it will cause the 2 inch drop it has in the rear by the driver side.

Really need help and if it’s a bend frame than goodbye truck lol

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ProvokedSavage · January 18, 2018

I bought the truck a few weeks ago and saw that it was leaning towards the driver side more than the passenger. I quickly started to do some research and found out about the “Chevy lean” i couldn’t help to see the truck like that so I took the wheel off and checked the lower control arm where the springs sits was broken I guess maybe a hole in the streets or something making the spring brake a hole in the control arm. That said I got a new lower control arm and put Anne’s ball joint and all that good stuff nothing!! Still with the lean. I bought the springs new a bit more heavy than the OEM(ACDelco branded) and I think it when up a little. The truck was hit in the front by the driver side. And it doesn’t pull nor left or right he steering wheel is a little crooked tho but nothing major. And to top it of the driver side wheel is closer to the frame/fender of the truck the the passenger one. I heard that could be a bend frame??? Also I feel like the leaf spring in the rear might have something to do with it but I don’t think it will cause the 2 inch drop it has in the rear by the driver side.  Really need help and if it’s a bend frame than goodbye truck lol

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Tammy · January 18, 2018

Could very well be a bent frame

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Doug_Scott · January 18, 2018

Don't really understand most of your post. Are you saying that the lower control arm had a hole in it? And that it appears that the spring put the hole in it?

Please post a picture of the control arm you replaced.

If the truck has been in an accident and now the front wheels are not located in the same relative place in the wheel opening, you need to get that confirmed. A good wheel alignment shop that can perform a 4 wheel alignment will be able to tell if the chassis is tweaked. A 4 wheel alignment machine will measure things like thrust angle that can indicate frame misalignment.

Most vehicles will eventually sit lower on the drivers side, mostly due to there is always a load on that side of the vehicle. 2 inch difference is not normal though.

ProvokedSavage · January 22, 2018

Don't really understand most of your post. Are you saying that the lower control arm had a hole in it? And that it appears that the spring put the hole in it?
Please post a picture of the control arm you replaced.
If the truck has been in an accident and now the front wheels are not located in the same relative place in the wheel opening, you need to get that confirmed. A good wheel alignment shop that can perform a 4 wheel alignment will be able to tell if the chassis is tweaked. A 4 wheel alignment machine will measure things like thrust angle that can indicate frame misalignment.
Most vehicles will eventually sit lower on the drivers side, mostly due to there is always a load on that side of the vehicle. 2 inch difference is not normal though.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. And yes the spring put a hole on the lower control arm. I switch the control arm got it from a junkyard being said the truck still didn’t go up. I bought the springs and only switch the driver side and here a little heavy duty nothing. I when to get the truck alignment and the guy said the frame of the truck was the good and it wasn’t bend or anything like that. The only problem was the rear differential was not straight with the front tires kinda like twisted or out of place. The guy mention it could’ve been that the truck was loaded and they hit a pot hole or something and it made the differential move.... I really want to get the truck fix and running good. Also I notice when i step hard on the brakes the driver side kinda feels bumpy it goes up and down only that side. Like if the whole truck moves. CHEVY LIFE!!

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ProvokedSavage · January 22, 2018

Could very well be a bent frame

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Took it to and alignment place an they said the frame is good and not bend.

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Doug_Scott · January 22, 2018

1 hour ago, ProvokedSavage said:

Thanks for taking the time to respond. And yes the spring put a hole on the lower control arm. I switch the control arm got it from a junkyard being said the truck still didn’t go up. I bought the springs and only switch the driver side and here a little heavy duty nothing. I when to get the truck alignment and the guy said the frame of the truck was the good and it wasn’t bend or anything like that. The only problem was the rear differential was not straight with the front tires kinda like twisted or out of place. The guy mention it could’ve been that the truck was loaded and they hit a pot hole or something and it made the differential move.... I really want to get the truck fix and running good. Also I notice when i step hard on the brakes the driver side kinda feels bumpy it goes up and down only that side. Like if the whole truck moves. CHEVY LIFE!!

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I have never seen a spring put a hole into the control arm. Mind you my experience only goes back to 1977.

You cannot just change one spring like you did. The height of the truck is not dependant on if the spring is heavy duty or not. It depends on all the specifications of the spring, like wire diameter, coil diameter, free length, number of coils and spring rate. Change the other side as well.

I don't recall how the lower control attaches on the 05 trucks, but if it attaches by U bolts around a shaft to the frame, you can ignore this part:

Make sure you loosen the lower control arm bolts and re-torque them with the truck on its wheels, not jacked up or on a hoist that lifts by the frame. If the bolts are torqued with suspension hanging it will cause the bushings to twist and bind once the weight is put back on the wheels.

When the alignment was done, did they mount sensors(sorry, forget the proper name for the things they mount on each wheel) on all 4 wheels or just on the front wheels? If they did not attach sensors to the rear wheels, they won't get enough information to say the frame is straight. You may also want to check out other trucks that are the same generation as yours on some local used car lots to see how their front wheels sit in the fender opening compared to yours. You could also take a good look at the frame on your truck looking for any bends, discolouration, etc.

The rear axle will not move as you describe. If it did it would be a huge problem for the manufacturer. Rear axles are normally indexed into the spring perch to avoid what you have described.

Can you post a pic of the lower control arm that shows the damage the spring did?

ProvokedSavage · January 22, 2018

I have never seen a spring put a hole into the control arm. Mind you my experience only goes back to 1977.

You cannot just change one spring like you did. The height of the truck is not dependant on if the spring is heavy duty or not. It depends on all the specifications of the spring, like wire diameter, coil diameter, free length, number of coils and spring rate. Change the other side as well.

I don't recall how the lower control attaches on the 05 trucks, but if it attaches by U bolts around a shaft to the frame, you can ignore this part:

Make sure you loosen the lower control arm bolts and re-torque them with the truck on its wheels, not jacked up or on a hoist that lifts by the frame. If the bolts are torqued with suspension hanging it will cause the bushings to twist and bind once the weight is put back on the wheels.

When the alignment was done, did they mount sensors(sorry, forget the proper name for the things they mount on each wheel) on all 4 wheels or just on the front wheels? If they did not attach sensors to the rear wheels, they won't get enough information to say the frame is straight. You may also want to check out other trucks that are the same generation as yours on some local used car lots to see how their front wheels sit in the fender opening compared to yours. You could also take a good look at the frame on your truck looking for any bends, discolouration, etc.

The rear axle will not move as you describe. If it did it would be a huge problem for the manufacturer. Rear axles are normally indexed into the spring perch to avoid what you have described.

Can you post a pic of the lower control arm that shows the damage the spring did?

I did torque the bolts while the car was jacked up. Maybe that can make a difference and yes the guy did put the 4 sensor on all four wheels and he showed me the computer and the rear wheels where off they were highlighted in red and he mention they weren’t straight with the front ones. Even tho he did the alignment the steering wheel is a little twisted and pulls to left side a little not so much and I was looking at my dad he has a 2005 same thing but extended cab and the fender do have a little gap from the wheels you can see it in the pictures I posted of each side but maybe it could be the fender that’s a little messed up and sits more out then the other not has flush.

Doug_Scott · January 23, 2018

Did the spring that you took out have the complete bottom coil still? By that I mean did the bottom coil have a squared off end? GMs have had a penchant for breaking the bottom coil in the past. That hole appears to be right at the end of the pocket that the lower coil sits in. It also appears to have been "poked" through. It would take a lot of force to get the spring to do that as part of normal operation. Springs do not move in that style of suspension, they get indexed into the lower control arm by butting the end of the lower coil up against the end of the spring seat. The top of the spring is usually either made flat by tapering the top coil or by using a formed rubber seat that essentially converts the top coil from a natural coil to a flat coil. Either way does not promote spinning or radial movement of the coil spring.

Having the control arm tightened while hanging will affect the height, ride, and even handling of the truck. Having it done on one side only will make the effect more evident. Most alignment shops will offset the alignment slightly to account for road crown. This was important decades ago, but, with single lane roads being rare these days, it is not as much an issue now. The last time I did an alignment on a computerized 4 wheel alignment machine it was programmed to account for road crown, and if you adjusted the vehicle to the preferred numbers the machine was suggesting, the steering would be centered, and the alignment would be offset for road crown. If the mechanic did what the machine told him, the steering wheel would be centered every time. Something you may want to try is to swap the front tires side to side. Its not unusual for a tire to cause a pull to one side. If the left side tire is causing the pull, generally the steering wheel will be off to the right a bit, but once you let go of the steering wheel it will straighten itself out, and the truck will pull/drift to the left. After swapping the tires side to side, if the pull goes the other way, then you have found the problem. Put the "bad" tire on the rear of the truck. Also verify that all tires have the same pressures.