Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Guys maybe we can help GM a little bit here. WE bought a brand new $36,000.00 GM 2500 doublecab WT the other day and the driveshaft carrier assembly fell off at 143 miles. Come on GM what is up with you guys?............. If anyone is having a clunk noise from the trans area you may want to shimmy underneath and check those bolts before the driveshaft drops completely out while driving/jams into the road/lifts the back of the truck up/rips out the rear end and flips the truck over and kills a lot of people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that over dramatic, "well maybe" but you get the point. My good friend was driving this truck when this happened and he stopped when it started wobbling but he was only doing 10 mph on a side road. Could have easily been a disaster. Hopefully this is a fluke but what if it is not? maybe there was a problem that went on for a week or even a month on the assembly line and we have many thousands out there like this? Keep in mind only 143 miles on this truck..............post-127028-0-17149400-1422531045.jpg

post-127028-0-17149400-1422531045.jpg

post-127028-0-17149400-1422531045.jpg

post-127028-0-17149400-1422531045.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

how do you know someone didn't crawl under there and intentionally loosen the bolts? While it is more than likely a manufacturing/assembly one time deal, we may never know exactly who's fault it is. Please let us know how things turn out. Glad no one was hurt!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did the bolt snap?

No the bolts are intact. They are stud bolts that go up through the crossmember. Apparently the lock nuts were never tightened. As far as we know no one tampered with the truck it came from the dealership directly to us and it had 6 miles on the odometer when we picked it up. Most likely a factory mistake just wanted anyone that buys a 3/4 ton Chevy or GMC to be aware that this can happen. 1 in a million? I do not know just know what happened with this one. They towed it to the dealership and they FIXED it but now it has a vibration around 40 to 45 so it may have damaged something? That speed vibration sounds really familiar on the 1500 truck threads but it is a one piece driveshaft on the 1/2 tons so not sure what their problem is?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All fasteners are torqued to exact specifications using tools specific to each part of the assembly line. Those tools are tested and calibrated every day by a team of people who do nothing but ride around the plant working on tools. In many instances, key fasteners are double checked for torque at various points on the line. Some fasteners, like those that "marry" the cab to the chassis are checked by computer and if they aren't torqued properly, the line literally doesn't continue and manual intervention is required. Is it possible this was factory defect? Sure. Is it likely? Not really.

 

A more likely scenario? The dealer you bought it from had a like-model in the bay that was complaining of vibration. It's not unheard of for dealers to "borrow" and swap parts from other vehicles on the lot -- GM has cracked down on dealers throwing new parts at vehicles to solve issues, so there's always a risk of a warranty chargeback (dealer replaces part, sends old one and/or claim to GM and GM determines they didn't need to replace the part and the dealer doesn't get paid.) Dealers are also supposed to do their own PDI when a vehicle rolls off the transport truck and carry out a GM checklist -- there's just enough fluids and grease to get it from the factory to the dealer, so the dealer is responsible for that. It's possible the dealer noticed a vibration issue during the PDI and worked on the vehicle before you even saw it. If there was an issue with a PDI, it would be in the vehicle information history - any GM dealer can pull that up.

 

As for the vibration - did they thoroughly inspect or replace the u-joints or just bolt the carrier back in place? I'd have insisted on the former given the circumstances. Is the vibration worse under acceleration?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All fasteners are torqued to exact specifications using tools specific to each part of the assembly line. Those tools are tested and calibrated every day by a team of people who do nothing but ride around the plant working on tools. In many instances, key fasteners are double checked for torque at various points on the line. Some fasteners, like those that "marry" the cab to the chassis are checked by computer and if they aren't torqued properly, the line literally doesn't continue and manual intervention is required. Is it possible this was factory defect? Sure. Is it likely? Not really.

 

A more likely scenario? The dealer you bought it from had a like-model in the bay that was complaining of vibration. It's not unheard of for dealers to "borrow" and swap parts from other vehicles on the lot -- GM has cracked down on dealers throwing new parts at vehicles to solve issues, so there's always a risk of a warranty chargeback (dealer replaces part, sends old one and/or claim to GM and GM determines they didn't need to replace the part and the dealer doesn't get paid.) Dealers are also supposed to do their own PDI when a vehicle rolls off the transport truck and carry out a GM checklist -- there's just enough fluids and grease to get it from the factory to the dealer, so the dealer is responsible for that. It's possible the dealer noticed a vibration issue during the PDI and worked on the vehicle before you even saw it. If there was an issue with a PDI, it would be in the vehicle information history - any GM dealer can pull that up.

 

As for the vibration - did they thoroughly inspect or replace the u-joints or just bolt the carrier back in place? I'd have insisted on the former given the circumstances. Is the vibration worse under acceleration?

No feedback from dealer so we may never know why this happened. We typically put 50 to 100k on a work truck annually so if there is a problem it will show up pretty quickly. I have heard of dealers swapping parts to diagnose a problem but I thought that was pretty much limited to wheels and tires. I am sure that GM would not approve (I sure as heck do not approve) of driveshafts being swapped out on brand new vehicles. If you look at the pic closely it does appear to be a blue X marked on the carrier bracket which may indicate that it was torqued at the factory so maybe this could be the work of the local dealership?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.