How do I know if leaf springs are bad, 97 Tahoe 4 dr 4x4?

[Tahoe97]

$2400 replacement cost...I can understand your frustration there. If you do find that they need to be replaced (and don’t want to do the work yourself) I’d shop that around. At a glance, leaf spring sets are around $300 each on RockAuto (so $600-ish total).

The dealer parts markup and labor rate really adds up.

Dealer said if I buy aftermarket leaf springs myself they will install them for around $400 total. I will explore that if this pull on hard braking becomes annoying. Normal stopping is no issue, don't notice the pull. Guess my driving style needs some adjustment.

 

[Doubeleive]

I don't buy this scenario, swing by a harbor freight and invest $25 in a infrared thermometer, then go do some hard stops several in a row on a side road with no traffic, then hop out and check the temp of each rotor/drum, if one is hotter than the other then that's your suspect, rotors will be different temps than the drums but left and right should be approx the same temp

also did they show you visually while truck was on a rack how the leaf spring is a problem?

 

[Squirrelsmith]

dont get rid of it. you will just get a newer suv that will need all the same shit done to it eventually. They are really made poorly these days

 

[Squirrelsmith]

and stop going to a dealership for god sakes

 

[OR VietVet]

I agree about not going to dealerships. I used to work at a shop that made their own leaf spring packs and we did suspension, steering, brakes and alignment as well. In my whole time there I never heard of any "worn" leaf spring causing this problem. Severe wear, severe sag, loose leaf gathering straps, broken/sheared centering pins and loose u-bolts or broken u-bolts can cause some weird feelings but this case does not sound severe.