Friggin truck - I'm on down time now two days

noticed my truck was sucking down gas like crazy - 1/4 tank for 20 mile trip total and know thats not right and its bogging down so made appt for repair shop tomorrow hoping its not my fuel pump. Trying to get caught up on some pickups before losing truck for a day and I'm driving up through town just moseying along and all of a sudden I hear ''KAPOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'' sounded like a giant bowling ball fell out of the sky into the back of my truck. I'm like WTH??? hanging out the window looking to see if parts were out on the road or something. Get it home and look underneath but couldn't tell anything. Get up to the school to watch my son practice maneuverability and get under there again and noticed the shackle for my leaf spring had broken. Are ya freaking kidding me??? I just spent over a grand rebuilding the back end early this year and other repairs it seems every month something goes wrong and I have to put it in the shop - lots of sensors and stuff like that. I'm really starting to hate this truck. I drove it right to the garage and said to the mechanic that knows me by name now, ''Do you just want to keep my truck? I'll sign the title over right now'' and he's like (after chuckling), whats wrong now Cindy? Lol. Told him I was on the books for tomorrow how much time will this add and he said let me keep it until Weds. *Sighs* I swear my name should be over one of their garage bays at this point. I suggested it to him last visit and he just laughed.

sorry about that attitude....if it ain't one thing....it's ten !!

I hear ya newattitude. I'm glad I'm in good company in the bad luck department. After just paying off over a grand in medical bills from my newest daughter's birth, my septic tank decided to crap out on us last night (literally). More money down the toilet (again...literally). I hope you get back on the road soon. Think of it this way, pretty soon you'll have a completely rebuilt truck from the sounds of it!

Id also check the plugs to see how the engine is running (rich, lean, etc) and a grand seems a bit excessive for a rear end rebuild (unless your talking springs, shocks, axle, and gears... but ive always done the work myself and just bought parts, so im not sure what labor runs.

so im not sure what labor runs.

Most garages are now 50 to 75 an hour, and of course they use the hourly rate book which tells them how long to charge for. The experienced mechanics can do a job and find shortcuts and time savers but the book tells them how long they should charge for(if it only takes 1 hour and the book says 3 hours, 3 hours is what you'll be charged for.

2000 GMC Sierra. Rebuild didnt include springs but everything else from wheel to wheel except tires which just put 4 on last week. Also done at that time were new plugs and battery.

Have replaced two coil packs already but I smelled gas when those went so I don't believe its that again. Other sensors replaced that I cant recall without checking paperwork which is in the truck. About a month ago the Idle Air control *Motor??* was replaced - it was stalling at stops. Only thing left it might be is O2 sensor and fuel pump I think.

I just can't believe the luck with this thing, every time I think nothing else can break on it...........surprise!!!!


Forwardlookguy, glad I could help someone feel better!!

I could be wrong, but hangers don't just break. Was truck overloaded at some point? Did it break away from the frame?

Tried doing a search for any GM recalls on this, didn't find anything, but this sounds strange to me.

Scrap truck overloaded say it aint so Sometime hangers to break at the welds. Well i havnt seen it on a truck but my camper lost a hanger weld last year and I drove it for 120 miles over the mountians just banging in the breeze. thank the baby jesus it was the rear hanger and when it broke the spring hit the frame just right and it got home.

haha ^. I would think it would have to be severely overloaded before it caused problems. We've all seen that 1/2 ton pickup loaded with scrap, rock, gravel, whatever, barely dragging the bumper on the ground.


I haven't seen a welded hanger on a truck. Not to say it doesn't happen.

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

I could be wrong, but hangers don't just break. Was truck overloaded at some point? Did it break away from the frame?

Tried doing a search for any GM recalls on this, didn't find anything, but this sounds strange to me.

I'm very careful about how much I put in the truck and I'm quite sure the most I've ever had in it was 600 lbs and my dad made sure I had the weight distributed correctly that time. The shackle broke clean across right below where the head of the springs sit. Called my dad and he freaked me out telling me to get it fixed right away because the springs could come through the bed of the truck (holy cowza!!) but there is no rust where its sitting so I wasn't sure about that but its getting fixed so I won't have to worry about him worrying about it lol.

KZBell, hubby drives a Ford and I'm about to take the cap off so I can use it if this keeps up!!

I have an older truck (88 isuzu) and the best advice i think anybody here can tell you is to find a forum specialized to your truck. Each vehicle has different problems that are common with it.
http://www.gmtruckclub.com/forum/forum.php?

(or just google gmc truck forum)

The first thing I thought of was that the hanger was probably rusted out and it finally rotted away. But on a 2000 model it would seem unlikely (unless Ohio uses a LOT of salt on their roads???) and then you said that it wasn't rusty so I'm not sure what to think. It could have just been one of those freak things that only happens to people like us attitude! We're always the examples other people use (gotta wear it with pride though!)

Originally Posted by dryvr12

...best advice i think anybody here can tell you is to find a forum specialized to your truck. Each vehicle has different problems that are common with it.

Couldn't agree more. There's a forum dedicated to Ford Escorts (my daily driver) and I am amazed at the wealth of knowledge that place has. Any problem I've ever had, there's bound to be at least one person on there that's had something similar happen. And there's usually someone on there that points me in the right direction to fixing it. Who knows, maybe someone on that GMC truck forum had a rear leaf spring hanger break going down the road!