Rough ride

daviddsims · August 17, 2006

I have an 05 crewcab silverado that the ride is getting worse as I get more miles on it. It has 18000 miles on it now and the truck will bounce you every which way on the road. I checked pressure on the tires and they were at about 35 so I let it down to 32 hoping to see an improvement but didnt. Also the clunk in the intermediate steering shaft is back again after about 5000 miles of them greasing it last time. I am worried that if I take it back for warranty they might say something because I put new shackles on the back end when the truck had about 3000 miles on it. But it never rode like this after I put them on but you know how dealers are about warranty. It feels more like the front end that is the roughest. Any crack, indention, or hole in the road nomatter how small will jar the truck now. Anyone have any problems like this before?

daviddsims · August 17, 2006

By the way this is a 2 wheel drive crewcab.

ken1mod · August 18, 2006

I lowered my rear pressure to 25 (unloaded) and handling and ride improved significantly. 35 in rear is for full rated bed-load.

Ken

heavy4x4 · August 18, 2006

I have an 05 crewcab silverado that the ride is getting worse as I get more miles on it. It has 18000 miles on it now and the truck will bounce you every which way on the road. I checked pressure on the tires and they were at about 35 so I let it down to 32 hoping to see an improvement but didnt. Also the clunk in the intermediate steering shaft is back again after about 5000 miles of them greasing it last time. I am worried that if I take it back for warranty they might say something because I put new shackles on the back end when the truck had about 3000 miles on it. But it never rode like this after I put them on but you know how dealers are about warranty. It feels more like the front end that is the roughest. Any crack, indention, or hole in the road nomatter how small will jar the truck now. Anyone have any problems like this before?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We need more details. What is the "rough ride?" Suspension? Steering? From your last sentence, it sounds like it may be coming through the steering, sending the truck all over the road when you hit a bump.

Let's talk about your shackle issue...why did you change the back...did you install different shackles to give your truck some lift? If you did, what did you do to the front...crank the torsion bars and skip the alignment.

I hate to sound like a dick, but here are my two cents for two thoughts;

1) You didn't say whether it's a 1500, 2500HD, or 3500 crew cab. But, it's a truck...it will ride rough, this is no Caddy...live with "rough" suspension.

2) If you modified the front suspension to give your truck a different stance, you need to either undo your changes or change out other items. Too many people don't realize they mess up steering geometry completely when they do this. GM spent years developing the IFS to give zero to very little bump steer during cycling of the suspension...don't think companies that sell aftermarket lift kits or people that recommend cranking the torsion bars have put the same amount of effort into understanding how a supsension works.

-Steve

daviddsims · August 18, 2006

This is a 1500 2 wheel drive crewcab silverado. I put the shackles on the back to drop it 2 inches so it would level it out. The back end sit up way higher when I bought it. I did nothing to the front end and have never touched it. It is definately suspension and not steering. The only reason I mentioned steering is just to bring up the point that this is the second time in 6 months I have had to have the steering shaft lubed. I understand this is not a cadillac also. I have 2 guys at work that have the exact same truck one is slightly older than mine and one new and they ride much better than mine. This is something that is really starting to get worse. I am really not that picky on ride quality but this you cant help but notice how rough it is.

heavy4x4 · August 18, 2006

This is a 1500 2 wheel drive crewcab silverado. I put the shackles on the back to drop it 2 inches so it would level it out. The back end sit up way higher when I bought it. I did nothing to the front end and have never touched it. It is definately suspension and not steering. The only reason I mentioned steering is just to bring up the point that this is the second time in 6 months I have had to have the steering shaft lubed. I understand this is not a cadillac also. I have 2 guys at work that have the exact same truck one is slightly older than mine and one new and they ride much better than mine. This is something that is really starting to get worse. I am really not that picky on ride quality but this you cant help but notice how rough it is.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What is the load rating of the tires the truck came with from the factory? D? E? Do the guys you work with that have better ride quality have different tires on their trucks? You'd be surprised how much of a difference the tire will make.

-Steve

P.S. I DO NOT recommend dropping your tire pressure any lower than 30psig. Any lower and you're actually overstressing the tire and hurting your gas mileage.