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A couple of weeks ago I visited a local Sears Auto Service Shop here in Houston to look at their tires and tools and pick the brains of their mechanics: I have been told by mechanics from Virginia (2015), Florida (2016) and now Texas (2017) that I need new tires. Yes, I am a wondering soul trying to get my life and career back on a fair level playing ground, so to help me get through the days of years of unemployment, learning is a good distraction from the frustration of being called a "deplorable American". I inquired of the Sears mechanics to get their assessment of my shock absorbers because my driving/ride experience in Texas is off the charts - I am bouncing all over inside my cab. I don't think I will offend any residents of Houston by claiming that the roads, freeways, highways and interstates are atrocious on any vehicle and most likely rank as the worst in the country. The enjoyment of driving my truck rapidly disintegrated in Houston; thus, I became concerned about my shock absorbers. If my shock absorbers were bad then I would be very upset because they are Bilstein shocks and have less than 18,000 miles from date of purchase in 2013 [the last year I earned a income and denied financial assistance from the bureaucrats of the FED to SLED]. The Sears mechanics upon walking up to my truck instantly claimed the rear end of my truck is sitting lower than the front end of my truck. WTF? I had a very good conversation with the mechanics, so I thanked them and told them I might return after I do more homework.
Easiest place to measure right height to me is just stick the tape measure at the top of the wheel well and measure to the ground. Like most factory trucks are 36-37ish in the front and 38-39 in the rear.
I swear I've seen factory SS trucks that are AWD that have a slight opposite rake like yours. Being a torrision bar setup, you could crank down the bars slightly and get the fronts to even out with the rear. Only doing a little bit should not hurt the ride quality. Heck someone way before could have cranked the fronts up to give it that look and that could be causing the ride to be more bouncy.
My homework included searching the internet and visiting auto shops, so I returned to Ron's Automotive Services Shop in Midtown Houston on Wednesday, May 31st because on Saturday, May 27th, they (Michael) offered to check my brakes for free; however, when I informed Michael about my visit to Sears on Sunday, May 29th and mentioned my concerns regarding the brakes, shocks and stance of my truck's front end and rear end. Michael referred me to Southwest Alignment in Houston besides he was short mechanics. On Thursday, June 1, 2017 I visited Southwest Alignment and I met Lee (Supervisor and Chief Mechanic). I addressed all my concerns about the brakes, shock absorbers and tires; I also proclaimed my confusion about the front end and rear end height. When I arrived at the shop I was comforted at the sight of another customer's truck in line for service. Wow what a truck!
Thursday, June 1, 2017 customer's truck at Southwest Alignment in Houston, Texas
I wish I could remember my fellow customer's name because he was very friendly and shared his knowledge and experience regarding his self-taught mechanical abilities. He showed his welding spots on his truck to me because he did the work himself. I did have a good conversation even after I stated that I just don't understand lifting a truck to extreme heights i.e. a lot higher than the axles because in my humble opinion your ground clearance is determined by your axle height [is that the Z-axis height?]. Anyway he cut the wheel wells to fit those tires and did his own welding. I enjoyed conversing and learning from a fellow customer.
Thursday, June 1, 2017 at Southwest Alignment in Houston, Texas; a fellow customer showing his mechanical achievements to me. I thought he did a very good welding job on his truck.
I had a great day during my visit to Southwest Alignment and learning from Lee, Supervisor and Chief Mechanic: I essentially received a mechanics class on my my truck. I went to this shop for clarification on my truck's brakes, shocks absorbers and stance. I was "SHOCKED" to learn that I needed a Front Left Hub Bearing Assembly! I guess the tone of my voice and facial expressions was flushed with anger, disbelief and WTF! Lee invited me into the shop and showed me the faulty part. I felt the failure in my hands and play felt like a 1/4 inch movement. Wow! Lee said I was very fortunate that my wheel didn't shear off while I was on the roadways. I had a very informed conversation with Lee. However, I forgot what Lee said about my truck's Z-axis stance.
Thursday, June 1, 2017 left front bearing assembly replacement at Southwest Alignment, Houston, Texas
This is the replacement Front Left Bearing Hub Assembly. If you need alignment services on your vehicle whether you reside in Houston or just passing through Houston, I recommend Southwest Alignment.
Thursday, June 1, 2017, Front Left Bearing Hub Assembly replacement at Southwest Alignment, Houston, Texas.
I just may visit the Cadillac Dealership in Midtown Houston because these guys were very nice when I last visited them about my driver side power seat problems. I am experiencing a problem that is a recall item on GMC Sierra's, but I was told my trim is not on the recall list. How do I get my seats fixed when they are experiencing a recall due to a factory defect? It will be interesting to learn what they say about my truck's Z-axis height on my front end and rear end.
My driver's seat is experiencing this problem, but my truck was never reported as a recall. Why didn't I receive a recall notice?
Just taking a guess, it looks like someone removed the factory 2" lift blocks from the rear and didn't re-adjust the front to compensate for it. As far as the ride with the Bilstein shocks, I would venture to guess that you are using the regular HD shocks spec'd for your truck, whereas I feel the Bilstein shocks spec'd for the SS Silverado is valved better for day to day driving and performance use in a light duty truck with torsion bars such as yours. At the very least your slower spine will appreciate the difference between the two.
Just taking a guess, it looks like someone removed the factory 2" lift blocks from the rear and didn't re-adjust the front to compensate for it. As far as the ride with the Bilstein shocks, I would venture to guess that you are using the regular HD shocks spec'd for your truck, whereas I feel the Bilstein shocks spec'd for the SS Silverado is valved better for day to day driving and performance use in a light duty truck with torsion bars such as yours. At the very least your slower spine will appreciate the difference between the two.
Thank you for your response. I have to check my records, but I am confident to say that these Bilstein shocks are the second set of shock absorbers for my truck. The OEM Shocks were replaced at approximately 71,500 miles by Curry's Auto in northern Virginia. I honestly feel I have been scammed several occasions on automobile repairs from both dealerships and auto repair shops. I cannot account for the removal or the existence of the factory 2 inch lift blocks: I have photos of the undercarriage, so I will post them when I get to login from my laptop. I remember the dealership (Koons GMC) removed the bed because of a phantom banging noise: the noise was caused by a dangling vent on the back of my truck's cab. I purchased my truck on the 4th of July weekend in 2005 and it had just under or just over 1000 miles.
06-09-2017, 10:35 AM
