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Truck not sitting level #: 434

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 09:46 am

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Michael71009
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I've noticed that my truck is not sitting level when looking at it from the back. At first I though spring hangers or shackles like what happened on my old 94. After checking those that's not the problem. So I bought some new rear shocks. I looked at it some today and noticed my bed isn' sitting level with the rubber trim around the rear window. I'm planning on shimming that side of the bed up but before I do I was going to see if anybody else has had a problem with this. Maybe the factory spacers rusted out? If there even is spacers. My 94 did not have spacers. Any info or insight would be great thanks.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 10:13 am

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I've never had the bed off of my truck, but I would think there would be some sort of rubber body mount like the cab has. If that is the case, could be one of those has deteriorated or maybe crushed down farther than the others? I'm sure someone will stop by this thread with better information/experience with the bed mounting.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 01:42 pm

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The bed assembly bolts directly to the frame. No rubber mounts.

Even when new, it's fairly common for the box to be slightly misaligned with the rear window or for the top of the tailgate to be visibly skewed with respect to the top front of the box. Shimming the bed mounting points can improve the appearance but it may take a few tries to make it look its best from all angles.

At higher age/mileage, it is sometimes the cab mounts that are at fault. Rubber could be deteriorated or the cab's metal mounting points could be rusted away.

Also, the bed has some sheet metal cross channels welded to its underside to strengthen the bed floor. In effect, these are "spacers" where the bed bolts pass through them. Check to see if any of those have collapsed from rust.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 03:45 pm

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Michael71009
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I managed to take a look at, while I was under there the new shocks went on. Rear passenger was bad, it wouldn't rebound at all. But, couldn' get lucky enough for that to fix my problem. I layed a level across the bed rails and the bubble is as far left as It can go. So I measured both sides from the ground to the center of the wheel well. Driver side is 33 3/8 passenger side is 34 3/4. The front fenders measure out equal to the ground. I have not measured the back of the cab corners to the ground yet. I will try to do that either this evening or tomorrow sometime. But from looking at the cab bushings they look fairly decent along with the metal on the cab. The cross channels under the bed are also in good shape.
I did notice that on the drivers side the lines in the body don't quiet match up, the bed lines are a tad bit higher, on the passenger side their dead on. So im back at square 1. I could shim the passenger side up which would make my body lines uneven loke the driverside. Only downfall to that is I'll know about it, and it will just continue to eat at me. Could I possibly have a weak leafspring? They both look good from what I can tell, along with the shackles and hangers.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 03:50 pm

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Driver side cab corner 19 3/4" Passenger side cab corner 19"

Last edited on Sun Dec 31st, 2017 03:51 pm by Michael71009

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 04:45 pm

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Not sure what you have going on. If the driver cab corner is 19 3/4" and the bed body lines are higher, something is definitely wrong. I would inspect the frame very closely to see if something is bent.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:11 pm

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How or what would I check to see if the frame is bent? I do know that the truck had some front frame work done. It has a rebuilt title. Previous owner lost control and hit a guard rail with the front end. I was told that it only bent 1 of the frame horns where the bumper mounts. He replaced both frame horns. He cut the frame datacenter between the sway bar bushings. That was used as a refeence point to keep everything even. When I took it to have the wheels and tires put on i had them look it over. The truck was perfectly in alignment and was told everything checked out. It drove good so I took their word. Something could very well be bent somewhere.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:12 pm

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Last edited on Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:31 pm by Michael71009

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:12 pm

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Last edited on Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:31 pm by Michael71009

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:12 pm

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Driver side

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:13 pm

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Passenger side

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:26 pm

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I would look for a wrinkle in the frame. If the truck has been hit, frame damage can show up anywhere.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:35 pm

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I'l try to check it out better tomorrow, maybe get some frame to ground measurements in a few places. I'l post what I come up with.
If I can't find anything I might try to just shim it all evenly. Maybe start with the cab corner mounts, and then start messing with the bed.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 05:45 pm

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Sounds like a good plan. Main thing is if the alignment guy said it looked good, you won't have to worry about it being a tire eater.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 08:17 pm

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I have a similar issue. When I installed my older lift blocks (1.25" vs 2.5") and my pre-keys, I measured the highest portion of the fender well and one side was an inch higher than the other.

To the best of my knowledge it's never been in a wreck. The Carfax was clear when I bought the truck as well.

Everything looks square with the cab and all the suspension has been sorted. I've installed new shocks, lift blocks, U-bolts, washers etc.

Michael, try measuring from the frame to the center of the leafs where the U-bolt plate is. Maybe one of the leafs are broken or one side had more weight for a significant amount of time. Also, a body mount could be crushed on one side.

I guess I need to look more into mine as well.

Does yours drive straight?

I had an alignment after the pre-keys and everything aligned perfect, in fact the front was only off by like .21 degrees.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 08:48 pm

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Thanks bud, I'll be sure to measure there down to the spring plates. I wouldn' have thought to measure there so thanks again! My front fenders measured out the same but I'm gonna measure 6 or 7 different points down each side of the frame on both sides. I'l be sure to write everything down so I can post my results. Hopefully the frame measures out the same from side to side.
Mine drives straight as an arrow since I put new tires on it. Mine aligned out good too, and before the alignment it was still within specs. As far as the cab mounts, my passenger side cab corner was lower than the driver side. It could be bad, looked fine with a flashlight. I'll probably just end up swapping them out, their only 20 bucks or so.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 09:36 pm

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DO you know where your truck was before you bought it? Mine was first sold in Canada. 2nd owner was in Virginia and now me in South Georgia.

So it's been in the cold for a long time. I wonder if that can mess up our body mounts. Do you know if they're rubber or some type of plastic or poly?

I haven't really put much thought into mine as everything checked out with the alignment and all. Now I'm kind of worried. I haven't measured mine from the frame to the leaf plates, hopefully I have a bad leaf or something.

DO you have any vibration at certain speeds or when braking? I have a slight rear end "bounce" when braking, but all of my brakes are good and I've replaced the axle bearings and seals.

I hope its just a leaf and not a frame issue!

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 09:52 pm

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The cab mounts are rubber, so those COULD deteriorate over time. Neither of your trucks are that old yet (mine is 2003 and appears to sit level), but nothing is ever that cut and dried. I would inspect the cab mounts and replace if they look squashed or cracked.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 09:56 pm

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I bought the truck from a guy I work with. Before him I have no clue. I'm to tight to pay for a carfax.

I'm Not sure what the factory mounts are, but the ones I was looking at was poly I'm pretty sure.

My truck has a vibration between 60 and 70. I have noticed a "bounce" around 50 mph. Hadn' put much thought into it. New tires, fresh paved blacktop, kinda hard to figure which would be the cause. My gmc doesn't bounce but it's over double the size & probably weight as well. I do have to say I didnt notice it on my way home this evening. I wasn' really paying attention, and the fact I was running upper 80s low 90s. At that speed everything was shaking and vibrating which is to be expected. Other than that no bounce when braking.

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Posted: Sun Dec 31st, 2017 10:48 pm

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Guess I need to check out my mounts and leafs. I don't think anything is tweaked, but you never know!

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Posted: Mon Jan 1st, 2018 01:56 pm

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When I pulled my bed off to replace the fuel hoses and gaskets I put a washer between the frame and the bed at the front drivers side. It made the gap between the front of the bed and window seal almost even. Before I did this it was very obvious that they did not line up. It had always been that way since we got it in 2009.

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Posted: Mon Jan 1st, 2018 02:19 pm

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I would venture to say that most bed fronts don't line up perfectly. I have a fiberglass tonneau on mine, so that probably makes it less noticeable?

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Posted: Mon Jan 1st, 2018 08:27 pm

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My '88/5.0 STX Ranger didn't set right too, I thought it was the rear springs, the Bed Mounting, but all was wrong. It turns out, I took it to a Spring Company, they took one look at it and said one of the front springs were weak.
It was a front coil spring on the opposite side of the truck from the dip in the rear, they reworked it and the truck was level.

So again I say the same thing as I did about the Ranger I now own... take it to a Spring Specialist, they just know the right (correct) thing to do and it isnt always what you think is correct !

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Posted: Mon Jan 1st, 2018 08:35 pm

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When I installed my pre-keys last month I cranked them up equally and made sure each side was the same from the center of the highest part of the fender well to the ground.

With that being said, no springs up front for me.

So, front is even. Rear is off.

I'm going to measure the frame to ground in a few places. And I'll inspect the rear leafs by measuring from the axle mount to the frame to see if one side is lower than the other.

Who knows, I may have to replace my leafs all together. That's still better than a tweaked frame.

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Alright so here' my measurements. When I measured from the cab mounts I measured on the outside framerail lowest point where the bracket is welded to the frame.
Driver side
1; front cab mount 19 1/2"
2; center cab mount 14 1/4"
3; rear cab mount 18 3/8
4; center top of t bar cross member to the ground 16 1/2"
5; very end of the frame rail 22 1/4"
6; bottom of frame to leaf plate 4 1/8"

Passenger side
1; 19 1/2"
2; 14 1/8"
3; 18 1/4"
4; 16 1/4"
5; 21 3/4"
6; 3 3/4 "

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