Hey everyone -- I've got a long list and am going to post it here. Any and all advice is very appreciated.

I'm driving a 2004 Silverado which I've had since October. Love the truck itself, but I feel as if it's got a lot of issues. Here's what's up:

• Upon starting to drive the truck, I felt as if the left side took bumps and cracks in the road far better than the right side. What I mean by that is that I feel the right side was about as soft as a pillow and sluggish to recover from any bumps in the road, and the left side was tight and took bumps like a champ.
  • To try to accommodate this, I installed new shocks in the front and adjusted the torsion bar to compensate for what I felt.
    • This has had no effect on how bumps/cracks in the road feel in the cab. The right side still feels soft; the left, still tight. I'm at a loss.
      • I would consider putting in a new torsion bar if anyone thinks that could be the cause of this. However, that's $600 minimum, and not really money I can spend all -that- freely -- though if it fixed this problem, it'd be totally worth it to me.
• I also noticed shortly after starting to drive the truck that the bed was either twisted or the frame of the truck itself twisted.
  • I know this because if I look at the body lines along the side of the truck (horiztonal; just underneath the gas tank), I see that the LEFT side's line don't match up between the cab and the bed, but the right side's body lines do. Therefore, the entire bed is crooked in some way or another.
    • This would be worth fixing to me simply because I'm ****-retentive and I care about this kind of thing. It's what pickup drivers do best!

There are other issues, but those issues can be resolved relatively simply. I am planning on ditching this truck (auction or otherwise) if I can't find a way to fix these things...but if anyone thinks there's any hope, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

 

The front end problem is probably causing the rear allignment problem. Has this truck ever been lifted? Has it had an allignment recently? Have you rotated and checked your tires recently? These are all things that could effect the ride. I would also go to an load E tire if you are planning on keeping the truck and need new tires. New tires may fix your problem, so if you need them anyways, it may be a good idea to start. Sence you have already done the shocks. I would also take a really good look at the torsion bars and the rear leafs, look for cracks mainly. IF you cannot see the cracks go and get it alligned, they should tell you if the front end is really messed up and also if you have any problems with your tie rod ends and pitman arm.

After all of this check the truck on a level surface and see what is leaning the front or the rear, the one that is leaning the most is probably the starting point.

Good luck getting past the OCD stuff. I am like that with some things just not with my truck. You may want to try and get past it with your truck as well, you will find something wrong and it will **** you off until it is fixed and eventually you will have a brand new truck or you will go crazy and blow it up and/or bury it. (Don't ask!)

 

Check the cab mount bushings. Maybe you have a similar thing going on as the girl who is trying to fix her boyfriends truck (another recent thread on this site). This would not explain the soft ride on one side, but maybe the cab to bed alignment.