Okay so lately I've noticed that going up driveways and hitting potholes seems to make my rear bounce a little harder by harder I mean instead of bouncing like the *** on our dakota's typically does, it goes something more like this... I hit a bump, pothole, or go up a driveway, I hear a loud thump as I go over said obstruction, then my rear goes up, then it comes right back down and gives another loud thump. I've also noticed that sitting on my tailgate makes the rear go all the way down and thumb, like its hitting something that prevents it from going down any further (not the tires). Now I don't ever remember the rear dropping so much from sitting on it... granted I've put on like 10 pounds, but I'm not that BIG, LOL.

Anyhow now you know the issue, what I want to know is has anyone had this before?? I suspect the rear shocks have gone or are going, but I don't know how to verify, is there a way to verify if the shocks are going without taking it somewhere (I don't want to pay to get it checked)?


Lastly I know a few people have gotten fed up with our "Jello" suspension that bounces and jiggles all to easily and have installed new shocks... My question for them is, did they replace all the shocks front and rear, or just rear? How much did it cost? What shocks do they recommend? And is it hard to do yourself?

Please help, I feel this is something that I should get fixed ASAP... :-(

 

Broken springs? Broken U-bolts? Sounds like something has failed in the leaf springs. If you can sit on the tailgate and squat the bed down to the bump stops, something is way wrong.

 

Shouldnt have been hauling them big girls around Curti

 

well I don't know what to take pictures of, with no weight on the backend the truck looks normal, when you sit on it it squats all the way down

 

Maybe a picture of the springs in the area of the U-bolts?

Shocks not likely part of the squatting problem, they don't hold the weight up. The springs do.

 

take a picture of the rear axle. A nice wide one, then a few shots of half of the axle on each side.

 

No way it's shocks if the truck can't bear any weight. Even if you blew out one spring pack completely, the other is strong enough to hold a few hundred pounds without squatting to the floor.

Also, curtiplas, when you say "all the way", do you really mean sitting on the bump stops?

Page 2-45 in the service manual PDF shows the U-bolts, mounting plate, springs and axle.

We need some pics! This sounds really weird either way...I've personally never seen a fractured leaf spring.

 

cramerica, I'm pretty sure its the bump stops, all I really know is that when I sit on it it drops quickly then makes a thump, sounds like its hitting something, which is not the tires. Also I do keep about 25-50 pounds of stuff in my bed at any given time, between my hockey equipment, ratchet straps, jumper cables, and any other **** I happen to have back there at the time.

 

Will try to get picks ASAP, but it may not be likely, I go to work as sunrise happens and I typically don't get home til its quite dark out