08 Chev Silerado Leaf Springs

This is the third leaf spring I've had to change out on my Chev in 2 years. GM sent out a notice about the problem but only guaranteed them for a certain amount of time. Of course, I missed out by 2 weeks on the first spring being replaced for free.
The worst of it is, like most people I seldom have any weight in the back of the thing. Sometimes just my ATV which weighs under 400 lbs.
I've been driving 4x4's on the job since late '60's and have never replaced a single leaf spring.
Any of you folks having the same issues with your trucks?

My old beater is a 2001 F-150 (no comments from the peanut gallery please) and although none of the leafs are broken, they're pretty well un-sprung? (is that a term?) Very weak and the truck will squat with little weight in the box. I should get them re-arched I suppose.
I`m guessing the steel used these days is of a lessor quality.

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Originally Posted by Bushmoose

My old beater is a 2001 F-150 (no comments from the peanut gallery please) and although none of the leafs are broken, they're pretty well un-sprung? (is that a term?) Very weak and the truck will squat with little weight in the box. I should get them re-arched I suppose.
I`m guessing the steel used these days is of a lessor quality.

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Re-arching does very little, I have a Jeep, the thing used to have almost a reverse arch.

Swapping leaves is not that hard of a job, if your truck does not have helper leaves you can add them on a new stack to take the extra weight when you really load it down.

Leaf springs should never break, they can sag over time but breaking one takes a lot of work, that is why they are still used on the rear end of trucks, they are solid.

Just goes to show how poorly things are made, we have a Dodge truck, a Dakota, it seems like we get recall notices weekly on the thing and we barely drive it, everything breaks, good thing it was almost free.

My brother took his 2010 in last month for that. He also got his GM notice a few weeks late. Sounds like a sleezy way for GM to deal with an ongoing historical problem. Like REDESIGN the darn thing so it stops happening.. He went to a GM dealer in Hamilton and they wanted $1800 to replace a couple springs. He ended up going to a spring repair shop (the ones the dealers use) and had it done for $175. When he drove away he couldn't believe how quite his truck was. Springs must have been broken for years.

I've replaced 3 on my 2009 Sierra.
One actually broke and a 1 foot piece fell out. Luckily it was on a back road.
The guy who owns the spring shop says he has steady business from leaf springs on pick ups.
He said half the problem is manufactured in and the other half is the roads are so crappy these days.


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I had a spring break in my 98 ranger from over loading. I took it into a spring shop in Peterborough and got the broken one fixed and got them to add an extra one on both sides. Worth every penny. It lifted my bumper up close to a foot so I adjusted the front end to even it out a little.
My '12 f150 I had them put heavier springs in it from the factory and it handles a load awesome. It is a little rougher without a load in it , but smooth as butter with 1000 pounds in it .

I have an older Jeep Cherokee - the leaf springs were fairly worn out when I got it, and I wanted to lift it anyway, so I bought some aftermarket leaf springs. They have held-up pretty well in the 7 years I have had the vehicle. Maybe look for some better quality aftermarket springs?

I have had a broken spring twice, once on a 2000 and once on a 2007 , both Silverados . The time on the 2007 the broken part swung around and wedged against the tire, cutting it and spinning me crossways on an iced packed road. I have also received a recall on my 2013 for the same problem.

A 2013 and they still haven't fixed the problem in all those years? I guess GM is trying to save a few pounds of weight and a few dollars at the expense of their reputation.
I'm paying around $200 plus tax each time I have to have that middle spring replaced. The guy says Chev springs are 2 1/2 inches wide while Fords are 3 inches so he sees a lot fewer Fords in his shop.
I remember when I was younger we all bought Dodges because there was a dealership in town. The first thing we'd do is add one leaf to the rear suspension because their springs were so soft and it wasn't long before the main leaf would flatten right out.

MY neighbour had 2 go on his 2000 chev truck.........low mileage vehicle

Try this website recalls.gm.ca and input your VIN. If you guys are all original owners,it should be covered under the recall. For second owners (used trucks) you'll likely be SOL.

I had one break on my 2009 Chevy , paid for the repair and then 3 months later the recall notice came in the mail. Our small town dealer that did the work told me I needed the original receipt or GM wouldn't pay. I had misplaced the original and was told nothing they could do. They printed off copies of the work order and sent them in to GM and 3 months later called me to say they had been notified by GM to pay me.

I heard something slamming against the underside of the truck one day when I was driving on a rough road. I pulled over and found both sides of the leafs broke. One side the pack came right apart and one leaf was hitting underside of the box (sound I was hearing).

Leafs were pretty much flat too before they broke as the truck had the stance of a Baja truck.

I don't carry anything heavy besides my atv but I take it offloading a lot with bike in the back and figured that did it.

Put any extra leaf in it this time. Truck doesn't even squat with bike in the back and boat behind.

Good old Chinese steel is what it is. See it everywhere

Lucky the other side didn't come apart of my truck....likely would have screwed the entire rear end....nothing to hold it square to the truck.

I'm seldom carrying any weight in my truck other than the odd time I toss the quad in the back for a quick hunting trip or work around camp. I think its worse going empty and then travelling over washboard. Either way, its frustrating for sure and makes me consider buying something different next time around.
What is frustrating is GM is quite aware of this problem and yet won't fix it? That says a lot for their concern for quality.

I see broken leafs on most makes/models. Just had one today on a ferd f250.

I wonder if any of this has to do w/ idgits buying trucks that shouldn't & then complain about ride quality? I'm pretty sure my '82 GMC half ton had 5 leaves. It more recent years they've had 3 for a "softer" ride. My last half ton was a '94 which needed 2 leaves added on each side to keep it from bottoming out w/ a load of DRY firewood in it. I've bought 3/4 tons since.

While I had my '94 up for sale, a co-worker asked me what I was replacing it w/. I told him I was going up to a 3/4 ton. He said he had 1, but was getting rid of it because it rode so rough (facepalm).

I haven't broken any springs, but I have broken 2 spring shackles. I sometimes carry heavy loads. Fertilizer, potatoes, and squash are the culprits and my springs are flattened. I was going to get an extra leaf put in, but the mechanic suggested a Timbren kit.