2001 Front End Vibration After Being Towed

Selfinflictedfunk · February 21, 2010

I have a 01 z-71 ext. cab. So this past Saturday my fuel pump finally let go at 182k miles of service. I called my insurance to have the truck towed. Of course it covers to the closest dealer and they did a fine job replacing the fuel lines and pump. I pick up the truck and notice a vibration that is very pronounced from 50 to 65 mph. Having just had the drivers hub and complete brake job completed 2 weeks earlier I knew the front end was tight and there has never been a vibration problem with my truck. I contacted the tow company and of course they deny liability or fault. So for hassles sake, and realizing the tie rods are original and had a little play in them now, I pay out of pocket to replace both inner tie rods and have an alignment and tire rotation/balance. The vibration is still there just a little less..maybe 50% of what it was.

My question is this....if my truck was in Auto or 4H and the tow company drug it up onto a flat bed could they have destroyed my front axles? The way the truck was parked was a little hairy and they would have had to drag it with the wheels turned all the way to the left. The tow drive said he hooked to the tranny cross member. I'm really at a loss here. Would you recommend filing an insurance claim throw my roadside provider against the tow company?

any help is appreciated.

jro909 · February 21, 2010

no front axle man, its an independant front end....your alignments probably off from being dragged...tow trucks can be cruel to pick ups, i've seen one rip the rear shocks out of a truck from the cable...just take it to a dealer to get looked over, when my camber was off the tires rumbled and vibrated but it drove straight

Selfinflictedfunk · February 21, 2010

no front axle man, its an independant front end....your alignments probably off from being dragged...tow trucks can be cruel to pick ups, i've seen one rip the rear shocks out of a truck from the cable...just take it to a dealer to get looked over, when my camber was off the tires rumbled and vibrated but it drove straight

I should have specified....I said axles but was referring to the C/V joints. I just had the dealer do the inner tie rods and alignment today. Still has the vibration. I think they did some damage to the C/V joints or somehow yanked my driveline out of line.

grose67 · February 21, 2010

How far did they drag it? May have a slight flat spot on the tires that could cause vibration?

Silverado4x4 · February 21, 2010

He drug your truck by hooking to the tranny cross member? What an idiot, I would almost bet that he bent the cross member and knocked the driveline out. It also could be a bent driveshaft, hell he might have hooked to that too. Dragging the truck while in park put the driveline under alot of stress. I would go after them with both feet.

desrtrat · February 21, 2010

the tow driver should have out the trans in neutral before he loaded it on the truck. hooking the tow hooks to the trans X member is a good spot to hook to.. i towed for a living for over 4 yrs. every thing from VWs to semi ..

back on topic...when they replaced your pump, do you know if they removed your rear drive shaft??

check and see. it is possible that it was installed 180* out. some times when you remove it and don't mark where the rear u joints mount, you can have a vibration from imbalance. if they removed it, just set your park break set trans in neutral, WITH THE ENGINE OFF remove the rear joint and rotate the shaft 180* and reinstall and see if it clears up..had this happen to mine when the dealer replaced mt rear.

good luck

Selfinflictedfunk · February 23, 2010

So I'm going to have to turn it into the insurance at this point. I had another GM service tech drive it yesterday and he suggested we start with the u-joints and move forward from there. In that case I can't afford exploratory surgery on my truck so I'm gonna hold the people liable that caused the damage...be it the tow truck drive or the dealer (who didn't drop the drive shaft to do the fuel pump).

Thanks for your help.

Dooner · February 24, 2010

You don't need to drop the driveshaft to install a fuel pump. If you're going to go after the tow company, it's going to be awefully difficult for you to prove that "they" caused the damage you're claiming. Hopefully you've got some video perhaps??

Selfinflictedfunk · February 24, 2010

You don't need to drop the driveshaft to install a fuel pump. If you're going to go after the tow company, it's going to be awefully difficult for you to prove that "they" caused the damage you're claiming. Hopefully you've got some video perhaps??

I agree...which is why I sucked it up and paid to have the inner tie rods replaced (when found to have some play) an alignment and rotate and balance. I realize the truck has 181k on it and that shit happens. My point is that it wasn't vibrating like that when it stopped running but was when I picked it up. SO somewhere someone f'ed up and messed up my truck. Being that my insurance company hires the tow companies they are liable and then they can argue with either the tow company or the dealer that repaired it. I'm not blaming the tow company 100%. This could have happened being towed into the garage for repair...who knows. But like I said I know it wasn't like that and I didn't cause it.

Selfinflictedfunk · February 26, 2010

OK....so after a little testing this morning this is what I got. At 55mph in 2wd there is a noticeable vibration...in 4wd at 55mph it is significantly less to the point of almost gone. In 4wd at low speeds on snow and water/ice/slush the front end binds up really bad up when turning. In 2wd it doesn't bind as bad but is still a little tight.

1. Could it be the rear differential not slipping?

2. Could it be the u-joints...both front and rear shaft?

3. Could it be a bad front hub?

4. Could it be a bad C/V joint?

5. Could it be the transfer case not fully disengaging on of the front axles?

Silverado4x4 · February 27, 2010

DO NOT put your truck in 4WD and drive on paved roads and make a turn like that the drivetrain will bind up. The reason is that when making a turn in 4WD the rear is pushing the front because the front wheels are not turning as fast as the rear cause your in a turn, in a straight line both rear and front wheels turn at somewhat the same speed.

As far as your viberation being gone in 4WD it could be that the rear is pushing the front just enough to take the play out of the cv joint, U joints. The front hubs can be checked by jacking the front wheels off the ground and seeing if there is any play in the front wheels do this by putting your hands at the 12 and 6 oclock positions on the tire and try to push with the top and pull with the bottom and see if it rocks up and down.

Selfinflictedfunk · February 28, 2010

DO NOT put your truck in 4WD and drive on paved roads and make a turn like that the drivetrain will bind up. The reason is that when making a turn in 4WD the rear is pushing the front because the front wheels are not turning as fast as the rear cause your in a turn, in a straight line both rear and front wheels turn at somewhat the same speed.

As far as your viberation being gone in 4WD it could be that the rear is pushing the front just enough to take the play out of the cv joint, U joints. The front hubs can be checked by jacking the front wheels off the ground and seeing if there is any play in the front wheels do this by putting your hands at the 12 and 6 oclock positions on the tire and try to push with the top and pull with the bottom and see if it rocks up and down.

I appreciate the advice but that is why I specified snow/wet/slush covered roads....I know dry pavement will kill a 4wd system.

I'm leaning towards the c/v joints....the drivers side hub was change less than a month ago.

Thanks for all the help!