2004 Chevy Silverado 4wd Issues

jdaylong · October 28, 2009

Shifted My truck into 4WD HI today to check and make sure thing were working alright for the up-coming winter season and I heard clicking coming from what sounded to be the front axle, also the truck was very hesitant to get going at all once the 4WD engaged.

This was done on dry pavement. Reverse didn't seem to have any troubles until I had moved approx. 20 feet from where I was stopped, however, going forward there was a lot of hesitation and as i mentioned above a loud clicking.

Any notion on what the clicking might be?

gmtech4 · October 29, 2009

was this on pavement?

are the tires wearing evenly?

did you have an axle seal replaced in the right front recently or in the summer?

Nytemare · October 29, 2009

yeah dry pavement....not good.

jdaylong · October 29, 2009

yeah dry pavement....not good.

I know that dry pavement isn't the best place for 4WD to be activated, however from my understanding i thought that 4WD was used to more than simply slick environments. (towing, hauling things of that nature) Am I wrong?

If so then what is causing the clicking?

I had a 1997 Chevy silverado before this and I had never heard this noise before from it. So I'm curious as to if there is something wrong, or even if there is not anything wrong I would like to know what makes this noise.

Nytemare · October 29, 2009

yeah dry pavement....not good.

I know that dry pavement isn't the best place for 4WD to be activated, however from my understanding i thought that 4WD was used to more than simply slick environments. (towing, hauling things of that nature) Am I wrong?

If so then what is causing the clicking?

I had a 1997 Chevy silverado before this and I had never heard this noise before from it. So I'm curious as to if there is something wrong, or even if there is not anything wrong I would like to know what makes this noise.

No you cant haul things or drive on dry pavement with 4wd engaged. You can use it to get a heavy load moving if your rear wheels are spinning, but that's it...you cannot turn the front wheels when its in 4HI or 4LO unless you are on slick surfaces. There is no slippage in the drive train to allow the front wheels to spin at a different speed from the rear like in an AWD situation. As soon as you try to turn, the rear must now spin at a faster speed to complete the turn. Think of it like two circles, one small one in the center of a large one(2X as large). Both are 360*, in order for a point on each circle to travel the full 360* and finish at the same time, the outside point has to travel the circumference much faster because of the longer circumference.

Your truck is the same. the small circle is your front wheels and the large circle your rears. This also works for each axle, as your outside tire has to spin faster than the inside tire for the same reason, but there is a differential there to makeup this slippage. the T-case in a 4WD is a solid connection, and therefore there is no slippage.

The clicking I would say is caused by the auto hubs trying to make up for the slippage, engaging and disengaging. Or your auto hubs need to be removed, cleaned and regressed. Take it on some gravel or dirt roads and give the 4wd a 15-30 min run...not fast, just normal speeds to loosen everything up...if its still clicking, you may need to service something...CV axle, front U-joints, Auto-Hubs...something of that nature. Or if you have push button/knob (electric) t-case selection...it may be a relay thats burnt out.

Volucris · October 29, 2009

You got that backwards. The rear tires travel a shorter difference than the front tires when going around a curve. Not that it makes a difference. It still leads to binding in the transfer case, and that means something has to give.

jdaylong · October 29, 2009

yeah dry pavement....not good.

I know that dry pavement isn't the best place for 4WD to be activated, however from my understanding i thought that 4WD was used to more than simply slick environments. (towing, hauling things of that nature) Am I wrong?

If so then what is causing the clicking?

I had a 1997 Chevy silverado before this and I had never heard this noise before from it. So I'm curious as to if there is something wrong, or even if there is not anything wrong I would like to know what makes this noise.

No you cant haul things or drive on dry pavement with 4wd engaged. You can use it to get a heavy load moving if your rear wheels are spinning, but that's it...you cannot turn the front wheels when its in 4HI or 4LO unless you are on slick surfaces. There is no slippage in the drive train to allow the front wheels to spin at a different speed from the rear like in an AWD situation. As soon as you try to turn, the rear must now spin at a faster speed to complete the turn. Think of it like two circles, one small one in the center of a large one(2X as large). Both are 360*, in order for a point on each circle to travel the full 360* and finish at the same time, the outside point has to travel the circumference much faster because of the longer circumference.

Your truck is the same. the small circle is your front wheels and the large circle your rears. This also works for each axle, as your outside tire has to spin faster than the inside tire for the same reason, but there is a differential there to makeup this slippage. the T-case in a 4WD is a solid connection, and therefore there is no slippage.

The clicking I would say is caused by the auto hubs trying to make up for the slippage, engaging and disengaging. Or your auto hubs need to be removed, cleaned and regressed. Take it on some gravel or dirt roads and give the 4wd a 15-30 min run...not fast, just normal speeds to loosen everything up...if its still clicking, you may need to service something...CV axle, front U-joints, Auto-Hubs...something of that nature. Or if you have push button/knob (electric) t-case selection...it may be a relay thats burnt out.

OK that makes sense, I (as you might be able to tell) am not vehicularly inclined, but I lvoe to learn new things about everything I own. Thank you very much for the information!

jro909 · October 29, 2009

no offense but if you don't know alot about 4x4 then either learn or leave the buttons alone, driving in 4 hi or even lo on dry pavement will bend your truck right over and show it whos boss

Nytemare · October 30, 2009

You got that backwards. The rear tires travel a shorter difference than the front tires when going around a curve. Not that it makes a difference. It still leads to binding in the transfer case, and that means something has to give.

Shit I did have a couple beers....