Rear height off by an inch - left to right

AbzDad · January 1

Has anyone measured their rear fender height and found it was off by a full inch left to right? I measured from the floor, directly through the center of the wheel to the lip of the fender. It was lower by a full inch on the passenger's side. Driver's side is 43 7/8" to the lip and passenger's side is 42 7/8" to the same lip. This is with a full tank of diesel and 1/2 full tank of DEF. Parked on a level garage floor.

Fronts are level from side to side, but the back is off.

Any way to get this leveled off?

PBNB · January 1

I just redid my suspension and found that the front corners were easy to adjust.

You should take your measurements from the center of the hub to the lip. This removes the tire from the equation. And then remeasure and see what that looks like. You can also confirm the surface by running a level across the floor where the tires are sitting.

AbzDad · January 1

Thanks. My front is level. No issues there. The rear is the problem. Measuring from the center of the hub, driver's side is 25 3/4" and the passenger is 24 5/8". Not sure if there is a way to raise the right side an inch?

The floor is level, rechecked with a 4' and 8' level.

PBNB · January 2

It sounds like something is potentially broken in the leafs or shackles? The rear suspensions are pretty straight forward on these trucks. If yours has something else going on like air bag helpers, then maybe something there to look at but the basic suspensions wouldn't be that far out from side to side.

Given that your truck is a 2024, I would think that the warranty would still be there for you.

MG386 · January 2

my rear was a little off too, i fixed it by adjusting the torsion keys on the front, now everything is level. Make sure to measure on many different surfaces to rule out uneven ground

Chuck FB · January 3

I would even say to measure all four tires for diameter, you could go across the side of the tire from the top of a tread knob to the other side, just in case for some dumb reason one of the tires came from some other processing plant and there was some stupid goof up with the sizing of the tire, just to rule that out as even measuring from the center of the hub would not completely eliminate a cockeyed axle from an off diameter tire. Odds are slim that you have a tire issue but no harm in measuring and also making sure you have the same pressures in both tires per axle when you do any of these fender to hub center measurements. And like Mike mentioned, try other flat spaces, like a flat parking lot etc and recheck the measurements.

I've gone through this twice now, years ago with a half ton Chev and now this 2025 HD Chev with a lean and both times it ended up being the front end just not leveled and to this day it still defies logic with the half ton as the front end was only off about 3/8 of an inch but that caused the rear end to be off far more and standing back one could just see the lean that truck had to the drivers side in its case. Once I readjusted the front end torsion bars it brought that rear end around to near perfect and I still can't explain how it was possible that it did that.

My 2025, it was leaning to the passenger side by a 1/2" on the front but somewhat less on the rear and I had no offsetting weight in the box, only the even weight side to side of mud flaps, a bak flip cover and a rubber box mat laid in place and yes I had my fuel tank full. I did the adjusting ( I lifted the front wheels off the ground to make sure I was not stressing the key bolts ) and adjusted some and then each time backed the truck out of the shop and back in to resettle the front suspension and measure and took maybe three tries to get exactly what I was after and then drove it for a bit since it was a brand new truck at that point and then remeasured on the shop floor as well as on a cement floor in one of our sheds and it was spot on pretty much, I mean within probably about 1/16th between sides on either axle and I was very happy with how that turned out. Not that it means everything but my initially low side on the front also had its key adjuster bolt sticking out much further and gave an indication that someone was in too much of a hurry at the factory and just didn't get it as close as it should have been.

Has this truck ever had a lot of weight in the box, lets say a weight that was biased to one side for example and that could even include a slide in camper that was heavier on one side causing a lean and stressing the springs more on one side. Also as was mentioned, check to make sure nothing seems out of place on either spring pack and how its sitting on the spring pad of the axle and that you don't happen to have a broken leaf spring in one of the packs.

Another JR · January 3

Given your truck is a 2024, I am assuming your truck hasn’t been abused or hit in a way that could have bent the frame or body.

It’s pretty common to have a garage slab that was sloped and contoured for drainage, and that is typically eyeballed by the concrete finisher. My guess is your slab is the issue not the truck. A water level (reservoir with long clear vinyl hose) or a laser system could be used to check if the slab heights at the wheel locations are all in the same plane.

These trucks are quite stiff torsionally. If the frame or truck bed isn’t bent, moderate differences in front or rear wheel loading from suspension misassembly or adjustments should only cause lean, and not more than 1/2 inch of twist as measured at the fenders.

My guess is your slab being non-planar is contributing a lot to what you are measuring. If after considering everything everybody has said here you are convinced the truck is twisted, i would take it in for an inspection under warranty.

bruceb58 · January 3

Turn the truck 180 and measure at the same place just to confirm its not the surface you are sitting on doing this.

Chuck FB · January 4

19 hours ago, bruceb58 said:

Turn the truck 180 and measure at the same place just to confirm its not the surface you are sitting on doing this.

I know its a bit of a brain twister in a sense but turning a vehicle 180 degrees around so the four tires land on the same four locations but now the fronts are where the rear were and the rear is now where the front was, that actually doesn't swap the uneven floor situation to the "opposite" diagonal into the trucks frame. Now it may cause the vehicle to react differently because now the suspension systems and the weight of the vehicle differences end to end have been swapped end for end but it can't physically revert to the opposite diagonal in a frame twist sense.

To illustrate with words and using that to visualize, lets say its the left rear and right front one wants to swap over to the two other original tire positions ( right rear and left front ). So you turn the vehicle around but now realize all that has happened is that the right front is now where the left rear had been and vice versa for where the original right front sat is now where the left rear is sitting. Like I said, its a mind twister, it really is.

PBNB · January 4

Best way is to confirm the concrete has the same slope where each set of tires rests. I think OP has done that with the 4' and 8' levels.

Another way to check the dimensions is to pick a spot on the frame and measure to that. If the fender is off or the plastic trim is off, it can give false measurements of the actual situation.

Make sure tire tread depth and pressure are the same on each axle. ie: fronts 65 psi, rears 80 psi or the pressure you normally run. Check with a standard pressure gauge and compare to the trucks TPMS readings.

Measure from the top of the axle to the underside of the frame.

Start by confirming the fronts are equal and go from there. If you are adjusting the front keys to balance the front height, just take the load off the side you are adjusting by lifting the truck up with a jack and then turning the adjuster bolt. It will turn much easier if you take the load off the torsion bar setup even just lifting the truck a few inches with the jack. If you have adjusted the keys, you will need to lower the truck and roll it back and forth before rechecking as it could settle with the new setting .

Note that is not too much you can adjust in the rear suspension to even it out. You might not be able to get it exact but it should be close.

bruceb58 · January 5

15 hours ago, Chuck FB said:

I know its a bit of a brain twister in a sense but turning a vehicle 180 degrees around so the four tires land on the same four locations but now the fronts are where the rear were and the rear is now where the front was, that actually doesn't swap the uneven floor situation to the "opposite" diagonal into the trucks frame. Now it may cause the vehicle to react differently because now the suspension systems and the weight of the vehicle differences end to end have been swapped end for end but it can't physically revert to the opposite diagonal in a frame twist sense.

To illustrate with words and using that to visualize, lets say its the left rear and right front one wants to swap over to the two other original tire positions ( right rear and left front ). So you turn the vehicle around but now realize all that has happened is that the right front is now where the left rear had been and vice versa for where the original right front sat is now where the left rear is sitting. Like I said, its a mind twister, it really is.

LOL...you would be wrong. It would definitely swap all the levels.

Z45 · January 5

Really, 1-inch. Thats all you got to do?

Your demanding precision that is not intended. Metal is going to flex, twist etc. Go to the new truck lot and measure every vehicle and see if any are perfect.

I doubt any garage floor is level, when they did mine they slopped it toward the OH door so water would drain naturally. IF a floor drain then slopped towards drain. Did you use a laser level to check the floor grade?

Edited January 5 by Z45

Chuck FB · January 5

2 hours ago, bruceb58 said:

LOL...you would be wrong. It would definitely swap all the levels.

You might not get how I mean this but that diagonal direction of torsional twist that lets say one of the four corners of the tires contact patch is either high or low, that will still put the same direction of force into the vehicle although swapped those two tires within that same diagonal. To actually demonstrate one can take a piece of paper and set a toy car on it and mark out the spots and where the tires sit and then turn the car around 180 degrees and realize its only swapped the same two tires around on that same uneven plain. Like I said, it can be a brain twister, yes you can do the same thing with your vehicle parked in the driveway and mark the four spots and the tires as well and turn it around and will have that same light bulb moment.

This reminds me of years ago with a grain dryer we had delivered from the factory and set up on this farm and dad realized as soon as he started up the drier or I believe he never caught it until that point, one of the two cross augers was pushing the grain the opposite way and certainly not out the discharge end ( picture a pile of grain and smoking drive belts ). A dryer tech came out and thought well we will just pull that auger out and turn it end for end ... that will fix your problem and he was completely confident of that !. My dad said no, its still going to be moving the grain the wrong direction as its not the right flighting on that auger ( picture left hand vs right hand thread bolt threads ). The tech thought he was full if crap until my dad had him look at the flighting that had been removed as it lay on the ground and visualize which way the grain would flow with the only direction the dryer was set up to turn the augers, then they lifted and carried it around to swap ends of that loose section of flighting and had the tech stand there again and see that turning it the same direction resulted in the gain flow going the wrong way once again. The remedy was a whole new part because somehow they screwed up at the factory and put the wrong flighting on that auger shaft, it would be like having thrown a left hand thread bolt into a bag of typical right hand thread bolts. Yup I know, a grain dryer flighting has little to do with a vehicle being turned 180 degrees but it was the mental block that took a bit of work to realize swapping ends won't change what one may think it should change ( to change opposite diagonal forces in this case to change the twist direction into the frame ).

Chuck FB · January 5

2 hours ago, Z45 said:

Really, 1-inch. Thats all you got to do?

Your demanding precision that is not intended. Metal is going to flex, twist etc. Go to the new truck lot and measure every vehicle and see if any are perfect.

I doubt any garage floor is level, when they did mine they slopped it toward the OH door so water would drain naturally. IF a floor drain then slopped towards drain. Did you use a laser level to check the floor grade?

That is a good question about the newer design that most pickup truck companies have implemented into their frame building themes these days. For many years the C channel frame was the standard north american big three's go to design but companies like Toyota and I assume Nissan as well were building fully boxed frames and Jeep at whatever point that was went to a boxed frame. When one looks at what they have done on a GM pickup with the front of the box and the rear of the cab so close and angles of the back of the cab that meet up with the front of the box, there is no way that would have not hit back when they were using C channel frames as they had to make sure they had enough space and that both surfaces were flat so they could twist independently without clashing, as well as flex weight in front of or behind the rear axle causing frame flex that way as well. But getting to the point of my comment, they have to have more accuracy now then they used to with the frames so that the end product comes out of the factory flat vs with a permanent twist in it that would hold itself in that position since the boxed frame is not meant to flex very much. Mike, were driving extremely precision pieces of equipment don't you know, isn't that why they charge so much .

Your right that it was somewhat common from what I gathered anyway that garages built before there was any thought to having a floor drain or floor trap that captured fluids, that they may have gone through the work to slope the floor from the front of the garage sloping down a bit towards the overhead doors. If that is all that is done and the floor is not cracked up/heaved, it still could be on a flat plain but just that fore/aft tilt plain. Not really a big deal if it isn't very much for measuring a vehicle, however once they start contouring and sloping towards one or more drains, all bets are off then as some garages can have insanely over aggressive slopes while others will have less contour and doesn't stand out but yet more than one realizes.

Pryme · January 5

4 hours ago, Z45 said:

Really, 1-inch. Thats all you got to do?

Your demanding precision that is not intended. Metal is going to flex, twist etc. Go to the new truck lot and measure every vehicle and see if any are perfect.

I doubt any garage floor is level, when they did mine they slopped it toward the OH door so water would drain naturally. IF a floor drain then slopped towards drain. Did you use a laser level to check the floor grade?

Correct. My home is fairly new with perfect concrete no cracks etc and my floor is sloped towards the drain. Having a perfectly flat floor would not be ideal. Water would just sit there until it dries.