Vibration from exhaust

greyghost03 · August 5, 2003

Took my truck to another dealer today to have them look at this prob since the dealer I was going to said they wouldn't even look at it since I have aftermarket exhaust.

The new dealer, which I will be using from now on b/c I found out they are mod friendly, told me this. The 03's are having vibration problems. It has something to do with the way the motor is mounted (motor mounts) and the whole setup of the truck and he is looking for GM to hopefully come out with a fix for it.

He said they have installed counter-weights on the exhaust on some of the other 03's that have come in for this prob and that seemed to help. He could not do this on my truck since I have aftermarket exhaust, which I understand.

What he recommended I do is go back to the shop that installed my exhaust and have them install some stainless flex connectors just in front of the cats. This sounds like it would work, or at least help.

Your opinions please!

AZ-Z71 · August 5, 2003

Oh the things we uncover when we begin to do mods.....

greyghost03 · August 5, 2003

Oh the things we uncover when we begin to do mods.....

Oh I forgot to mention. The truck started doing this before I had my exhaust installed. I prob should have taken it in before my exhaust was installed but I guess I just couldn't wait for the Flowmaster!

Britney17 · August 6, 2003

I have a similar problem with my 2002 Tahoe. At idle, especially with the AC on, the end of the exhaust pipe really vibrates. Berglund Chevrolet in Roanoke VA has been totally useless. They claim they don't see the problem, what they mean is they pretend to not see it - it is plain as day.

I've installed a weight on the pipe and it solves the problem - but it looks dumb. Too bad you can't get decent service from GM.

k1500chevy97 · August 6, 2003

I've had no exhaust problems at all with my 03

bigtruck21 · August 6, 2003

greyghost, is this a vibration you hear or feel? At another forum we were talking about the idle in a 5.3 03. Seems to have a miss like once every 20 or so seconds while at a stop. Kind of like when a subwoofer bumps. One person thought it was from aggressive timing trying to squeeze out all the power they could, and another person mentioned a possible tsb.

greyghost03 · August 6, 2003

It's like a vibrating noise I can hear under the drivers side of the cab. It almost sounds like a heat shield vibrating on the frame or body somewhere. I can't feel it just hear it. It almost sounds like a growl, not real loud but enough to know it's there and annoy me. It only does it at about 1000 RPM.

PSWired · August 7, 2003

My dad's 02 Denali does this too around 1000 RPM, a low buzzing-growling noise coming from the exhaust system. I haven't bothered to take a look at it yet.

bigtruck21 · August 8, 2003

maybe you can get someone to rev it at 1k while you are under it to pinpoint the noise while the truck is cool. Maybe there is something you can tighten up or lube.

greyghost03 · August 8, 2003

maybe you can get someone to rev it at 1k while you are under it to pinpoint the noise while the truck is cool. Maybe there is something you can tighten up or lube.

I have done this several times and can not isolate it! I vibrates throughout the whole exhaust pretty good even when idling.

I think I just might have the muff shop put on the flex connectors and see if this helps.

bigtruck21 · August 12, 2003

are those flex connections as durable as the rest of the system? If it helps the vibrations it would be good, but it would suck to replace them every few years. If you do, let me know how it goes. Either way it sucks that the dealer won't take care of it. I mean...if it weren't for the engine vibrating, the pipes wouldn't be making the noise in the first place. I looked at my engine and it seems to have a pulley vibrating a little and the fan shroud at the bottom half that is plastic riveted together vibrates when the fan is running. I wonder if the 04's vibrate any more since they have 10 more ponies if that came from a more aggressive cam.

greyghost03 · August 12, 2003

are those flex connections as durable as the rest of the system? If it helps the vibrations it would be good, but it would suck to replace them every few years. If you do, let me know how it goes. Either way it sucks that the dealer won't take care of it. I mean...if it weren't for the engine vibrating, the pipes wouldn't be making the noise in the first place. I looked at my engine and it seems to have a pulley vibrating a little and the fan shroud at the bottom half that is plastic riveted together vibrates when the fan is running. I wonder if the 04's vibrate any more since they have 10 more ponies if that came from a more aggressive cam.

I would hope that they are as durable as the rest of the system, being as they are stainless and all. This is not something I want to do every couple of years!

I can, however, kind of understand the dealers point. All of the fixes they have tried won't work on my truck since I have aftermarket exhaust.

I am going to try and get by the muff shop soon and let you know how it goes!

Chris97K1500 · August 13, 2003

When I did my exhaust I had to use a flex hose in order to get the pipes to line up. I bought it from JCWhitney. It is 304 Stainless Steel. I have used it on my old Toyota truck when i put duals on it. It was on there for 7 years and never rusted or leaked. Welds very nice too. Just an idea. Chris

bansell · February 1, 2004

My 03 1500 4x4 is doing the same thing..

Goint to the dealer monday...

lrymal · February 1, 2004

Gosh, so weird. Didn't know these vibration issues were occuring. Wonder if it is a particular manufacturing batch of trucks for a particular date range? I am blessed with a very vibration-free, miss-free, and quiet motor.

Admittedly, I have had terrible luck with aftermarket exhausts with this truck. I loath even a hint of 2k resonation, but with the factory exhaust, this is a very clean truck, and I'm a picky on this stuff. I mean, I like my truck to "speak softly, but carry a big stick". I put the factory exhaust back on, with the exception of the 3" exit pipe with Corsa dual tips.