Saggy Back End

[04z71steve]

hey everybody i have a quick question, i just recently turne the torsion bars up on my silverado and my truck sits nice and level... i knew when i turned the keys up that my back end was gonna sag but now it bothers me... looks cheap makes my chevy look cheap or something i have two boats and i recently picked one up from storage and when i put her on she sat... dead level almost sagging... this is minus the 4 people i'm gonna be dragging to the lake and minus the 300lbs. of gear i'll have in the bed so i know shes gonna sag... wat is the best way to gain back those 2"'s i lost when i leveled it???? i know most people will say drop your torsion bars... but i love the way it looks i have more ground clearance upfront now... gimme your thoughts and opinions what have you used etc.. thanks!!!!

[ThorsHD]

do the Jane Fonda arobic workout. that should tighten up that rear. and for your truck I would add air bags. that's what I did......

[2007GMCSierra]

Also could look into shock extenders and taller blocks (bump stops). Those are a bit less expensive than the airbags. If you get soft blocks, I don't think it'll impact ride too much. The shock extenders shouldn't impact on ride quality at all. Timbrens will also do the trick in terms of sagging - but won't add any height - just prevent it from being pushed down. The make the ride pretty choppy though in my experience.

[Drunken Sailor]

I'd put in a set of add-a-leafs if you're going to be hauling anything heavy. This will pick up the rear about 2 inches and it won't sag as much when you load it up. If you want the truck to sit the same way it does now unloaded and only want to keep it that way with the weight on, get some air bags or overloader (coil over) shocks.

 

If you do the bags, don't cheap out - run a seperate air line to each side. Most guys have both bags on the same line and when you're on unlevel ground and the truck is leaning to one side, all the air goes into the higher side and the truck really starts to lean! Not safe.

[ZZ327]

helper springs will fix it up. They just bolt on to the leafs you already have. check LMCtruck.com

[asilverblazer]

I second the helper leafs.

[Drunken Sailor]

That's actually a really good idea. I forgot about them. They're only supposed to act once loaded, so they shouldn't affect your ride at all, and there's no messing around with checking air pressure or anything.

[dietz4ibanez]

Helper leafs did nothing for me I would suggest putting in a 2 or three inch block or you could do airbags... I have 2 inch block in the picture but a recently switched it out with a 3 inch!

[svensk]

Or you could turn your keys back to stock.

[04z71steve]

thanks for all the replies the help is much appreciated!! i'm gonna run down to the dealer this week and see what he'll give me... he ows me one for some stuff in the past so i'll see what i can do,my dad really wants me to run airbags he already has a compressor and steel fittings and nice lines to run a really niec system i just wanted some info and firsthand experience!!! thanks allot to everyone i appreciate it i'll let you guys know what i go with, i'm hopin to have somethin bye tuesday cuz i'm takin the boys out to the lake so i'll defiantely be able to test em

[Crazebob]

I've got an 01 silverado and was thinking about bringing the front end up but didn't really think much about the sagging problem. How bad is it typically? Has anyone got pics of a leveled loaded down or towing truck? Also, is leveling the truck as easy as it looks from underneath and will it affect the camber and create a weird tire wear situation when I do it? Will it affect my alignment at all?

[04z71steve]

i have an 04 silverado, and when i turned my torsion bars up it was easy, everybody told me to have it alligned but it was riding straighter and smoother than the day i bought it... so i left it and my tires are fine i spent the last 3 weeks puttin 58 miles on it a day on the highway goin to school as well... still no problems but we'll see i know that it may wat peope like to refer to as "positive camber" which is when the top of ur wheels are slightly towed out... but other than that i'll try and get some pics of me pullin my boats, plus i know i'm goin to pick up like 800 lbs of dirt at my granpas next week so i'll try and get a shot of that as well!!

[2007GMCSierra]

You ought to get an alignment. You won't notice much until the tires start to chop - then you'll be looking a a new set of treads. You ought to be able to have it aligned for less than $50. Well worth it in my opinion.

 

As for adding a leaf spring - in most applications you have to take the existing spring assembly apart, fit the new one in to the existing assembly at the proper position, and reassemble. Not necessarily difficult to do, but it is time consuming and much tougher than the blocks or shock extenders. Plus you'll need lots more tools.