Shake or Vibration Issues

[johnsmith221]

I am very close to purchasing a 2014 sierra rcsb. i love the look of the truck inside and out, my secondary option is the ram with the 8speed but frankly i like the gm design better.

 

I stumbled across this thread in my research and 550 pages have me worried. knowing how many of these trucks are sold overall is the consensus that the shakers are the exception and there are fine examples quietly out on the road?

 

Do you think a thorough test drive would show these problems and this headache could be avoided by choosing a good driver? I intend to keep the truck i buy as long as possible so would hate to run into this issue down the road.

 

Basically i thought i was all set to purchase my new/used truck but now i'm second guessing myself, please help.

Edited March 4, 2016 by johnsmith221

[Newell33]

I am very close to purchasing a 2014 sierra rcsb. i love the look of the truck inside and out, my secondary option is the ram with the 8speed but frankly i like the gm design better.

 

I stumbled across this thread in my research and 550 pages have me worried. knowing how many of these trucks are sold overall is the consensus that the shakers are the exception and there are fine examples quietly out on the road?

 

Do you think a thorough test drive would show these problems and this headache could be avoided by choosing a good driver? I intend to keep the truck i buy as long as possible so would hate to run into this issue down the road.

 

Basically i thought i was all set to purchase my new/used truck but now i'm second guessing myself, please help.

Not all trucks vibrate. Be sure you test drive at past 70mph as it seems that the trucks that do vibrate will vibrate at 70+. A thorough test drive in varying conditions is what I'd recommend. I couldn't wait to get rid of my 2014 for a number of reasons. There are a number of systems on these trucks that were poorly designed and not well thought out. I recently traded back to a 2013 2500HD, and it drives so much better it isn't even close. A thorough test drive is your friend!

[johnrunner89]

 

Yes Denali's have the same. I have a 2015 with magneride. I have been following the forums a bit but have not posted updates since around page 455.

 

Mine was previously plagued with vibration issues at all speeds and road conditions (different from what most people complain of AFM shimmy change or 35-45 70-80mph).

 

Had to drive to Houston (Beck & Masten North) to get service on this as the local Corpus dealer I took this too was evasive, did not want to acknowledge the issue, and was zero help (will not be bringing business there in the future). (Autonation).

 

In Summary my back and front shocks were replaced, front struts, went through multiple tire set balances, magneride computer reprogramming and this has resolved vibrations about 80% from before. They think that the Magneride was engaging too often when traditional shocks should of been taking care of the bumps in the road causing a bad shake (in console, seats, front and back).

 

Now that the above issue is resolved I am in the same boat as many other 1500 models which is harmonic resonance brought about by the frame at specific speeds (75mph 45ishmph) or the shimmy that takes place when AFM engages.

 

There were a few posts prior to yours (tnchevy and dave07 to just name a few who have keyed in on this) discussing general thoughts on this and GM likely knowing what the fixes for the harmonic resonance but someone at GM has done cost analysis that indicates band-aiding the issue is more profitable than actually correcting it.

 

At this point I am convinced this is a design flaw in the frame/mounting of the vehicle and issues with tolerance levels for moving parts being very slim now (explains why some fixes work for some but not others). Any 1500 model will have this (including some of the SUV's built on the same frame)

 

Magneride does a good job of handling vertical bounces/shake (speed bumps, etc) It is quite smooth compared to the loaners I have driven in this respect and is a good addition to the truck however it does not address or greatly diminish some of the horizontal shake or resonance that is brought about by the frame and the way this is mounted.

Thanks for the comprehensive post!

[Bowtie619]

Drive shaft came in today. I'll be putting it on tomorrow or this weekend and will post back results. I don't expect this will be a fix after finding this thread but I will give it a go anyways and report back if anything changes.

 

Background: Bought a salvage truck. During Chevy inspection they noted vibration and mechanic showed me a dent in the drive shaft and he said he was pretty certain it was the cause of the vibration. He guaranteed me the vibration was not from the tires or alignment because he tested it and alignment was very good. Anyways, I came into the forum after I had ordered the part. Hoping for the best. I'll report back after installation.

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by Bowtie619

[pm26]

Drive shaft came in today. I'll be putting it on tomorrow or this weekend and will post back results. I don't expect this will be a fix after finding this thread but I will give it a go anyways and report back if anything changes.

 

Background: Bought a salvage truck. During Chevy inspection they noted vibration and mechanic showed me a dent in the drive shaft and he said he was pretty certain it was the cause of the vibration. He guaranteed me the vibration was not from the tires or alignment because he tested it and alignment was very good. Anyways, I came into the forum after I had ordered the part. Hoping for the best. I'll report back after installation.

 

 

A dent in the driveshaft would not necessarily cause the driveshaft to go out of balance unless the driveshaft tube itself was bent as the result of being dented. This could be checked easily by taking driveshaft radial runout reading on the vehicle. I wish you best of luck, but remember that replacing parts that are not the root cause of vibration will not cure anything.

[GMCSierra4x4]

Bowtie619, on 03 Mar 2016 - 8:58 PM, said:

Drive shaft came in today. I'll be putting it on tomorrow or this weekend and will post back results. I don't expect this will be a fix after finding this thread but I will give it a go anyways and report back if anything changes.

 

Background: Bought a salvage truck. During Chevy inspection they noted vibration and mechanic showed me a dent in the drive shaft and he said he was pretty certain it was the cause of the vibration. He guaranteed me the vibration was not from the tires or alignment because he tested it and alignment was very good. Anyways, I came into the forum after I had ordered the part. Hoping for the best. I'll report back after installation.

 

20160303_205037.jpg

If you have time, can you post the length and width of the driveshaft. I am interested in calculating the critical speed. I was surprised to see a single driveshaft on my truck without a split and carrier bearing.

[LongrangeLauber]

If you have time, can you post the length and width of the driveshaft. I am interested in calculating the critical speed. I was surprised to see a single driveshaft on my truck without a split and carrier bearing.

Most GM trucks have been that way for a while now. I know my 02 was a one piece aluminum

[Bowtie619]

A dent in the driveshaft would not necessarily cause the driveshaft to go out of balance unless the driveshaft tube itself was bent as the result of being dented. This could be checked easily by taking driveshaft radial runout reading on the vehicle. I wish you best of luck, but remember that replacing parts that are not the root cause of vibration will not cure anything.

I don't know what qualifies as bent to the naked eye but it is a considerable dent and obvious just by looking at it. I agree that there is no certainty. At the time I was basing it off of the Chevrolet mechanic recommendation and looking at the dent with my own eyes as he went over it with me. The part was about 300$ so if it doesn't work then oh well it was worth a shot. After reading this thread though I'm almost certain this won't fix anything but I just wanted to share my story in the event someone comes along and thinks "oh hey I'll swap out the driveshaft". I didn't see anywhere in the thread where someone swapped the drive shaft themselves so I figured it would be relevant to the group. Anyways, thanks for the tips. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

If you have time, can you post the length and width of the driveshaft. I am interested in calculating the critical speed. I was surprised to see a single driveshaft on my truck without a split and carrier bearing.

No problem, I will get that to you later tonight when I get off work.

[14silverado4.3]

Stiffness of suspension is usually dictated by stiff springs. But very stiff shock absorbers will cause a rough and stiff ride over uneven surfaces even with softer springs, which is probably the case here.

Stiff shocks simply rebound too fast and they do not allow for full movement of the springs to absorb the road shock. Shock absorbers actually do not absorb shock at all - springs do. "Shock absorbers" simply dampen the spring oscillations.

PM26, I raise this question again... you may be the all wise and knowing.

I have steering wheel shimmy, 36,000 miles on the truck. Truck has always rode stiff. I believe the shocks and springs may be the issue. Will a bad / underperforming shock not dampen the coil spring resonance / harmonics?

 

I see the front shocks as putting an upward force on the vehicle, but if they are starting to lose their ability to dampen and losing their upward force, then the spring starts to compress more - am I off the charts?

 

I have RF balance numbers that are excellent on the fronts running BF Goodrich tires. The truck may run vibration free for a day to a week after any time it is road forced.

 

My thought is that the vehicle is on a jack and lets the suspension and front shocks relax. When it is let down, the shock is slowly losing "pressure" and then basically sack out over that day or several days making the coils work more. The shocks are not leaking that I can see.

 

I am no suspension expert and I am looking for some help.

[CCDenali]

Concerning the question above; does the 2015,Denali have same vibrations and question about 2016. I've copied the link to the latest Truck Trend review of the 2016 Denali. At first I thought about just pasting some excerpts but found the article so interesting I decided to just paste the URL so those interested can read the complete article. While these noise and vibration mitigation features are currently only in the Denali (don't know about the High Country) if they work well expect them to be broadened out to include the less expensive models in the future. So, maybe help is on the way !

 

http://www.trucktrend.com/features/1602-2016-gmc-sierra-1500-denali/

 

It is my understanding that much of that is already present in the '15 model and that mostly cosmetic changes were made for the '16 model. From the article it sounds like perhaps the one change I am picking up on is they may of reprogrammed or worked out the kinks in the new 8 speed transmission. (I regret having my wife talk me out of the 6.2 / 8 speed when we go ours). I think 8 speed will be working its way into all of the trim levels if it hasn't already.

 

As far as the mounting frame "shear body mounts & hydraulic engine body mounts" as well as the noise canceling and other features It seems like this is just a continuation from the 15 model.

 

http://www.gmc.com/2015-sierra-denali-pickup-truck.html

 

I am a bit skeptical that a true 100% fix will never be available due to the fact GM would need to adjust the frame resonance issues which would require tons of money for redesign, resubmitting crash test ratings, as well as recall on every truck/suv with this frame.

 

Perhaps I will be proven wrong and they will change the mount materials or find some type of dampener to limit the resonance but likely we wont see a true fix until a redesign for the next generation models and GM will continue to patch and band-aid to protect their bottom line instead of their customers interests.

[pm26]

PM26, I raise this question again... you may be the all wise and knowing.

I have steering wheel shimmy, 36,000 miles on the truck. Truck has always rode stiff. I believe the shocks and springs may be the issue. Will a bad / underperforming shock not dampen the coil spring resonance / harmonics?

 

I see the front shocks as putting an upward force on the vehicle, but if they are starting to lose their ability to dampen and losing their upward force, then the spring starts to compress more - am I off the charts?

 

I have RF balance numbers that are excellent on the fronts running BF Goodrich tires. The truck may run vibration free for a day to a week after any time it is road forced.

 

My thought is that the vehicle is on a jack and lets the suspension and front shocks relax. When it is let down, the shock is slowly losing "pressure" and then basically sack out over that day or several days making the coils work more. The shocks are not leaking that I can see.

 

I am no suspension expert and I am looking for some help.

No, I am not all wise or knowing, just speaking from experience. if your shocks are completely worn, you will get a wheel hop effect, which often feels just like a wheel out of balance. This will be caused by uncontrolled oscillation of the springs. You know the old shock absorber bumper test - if you push down hard on the corner of front or rear bumper, the truck should only bounce once, at most twice if the shocks are doing their job.

 

It is not that expensive to get a new set of decent shock absorbers and try if they improve the ride. And even if your tires have low road force variation numbers, are you sure they are mass balanced properly? Remember that correcting the imbalance is the second step on a Hunter 9700 machine after RF numbers are checked. Perhaps having the tires checked for balance by some other outfit would not be a bad idea. And forget about the RF measurements for a while and worry only about the wheel balance. I have seen so many wheels balanced completely wrong by new car dealerships that I am always skeptical.

Edited March 4, 2016 by pm26

[Jed Blanks]

I just want to say that my 2015 Denali vibrated stock. The vibration always felt like it was coming from the passenger front tire.

 

It vibrated after balancing tires. After rotating the tires to put max RFV max on back tires and min at front passenger.

 

It vibrated after a 2 in lift / level kit in the front (with sensor adjustments to compensate for added distance between sensor and angled upper a-arm)

 

It got a little better after I added leaf spring clamps in front of the axle. But in order for them to work without interfering with sensors, it had to be too far forward and lowered the rear of the truck a little.

 

It still vibrated after and alignment done by independent shop.

 

It still vibrated after I added a 2.5 inch add-a leaf (with sensor adjustment to compensate for added distance between frame and bracket on axle)

 

It vibrated after I reinstalled the leaf spring clamps to the rear of the axle but closer than before when I put them in the front. The rear of the truck lowered about .5 inch (lift was now 2inches) and vibration was maybe a little better.

 

It vibrated after I got a second alignment.

 

It got a lot better when I started tweaking the toe-in to spec myself using the front tie rods and a tape measure.

 

It has almost completely stopped vibrating when I got a third alignment where they adjusted the caster and camber on the passenger's side.

 

Sometimes it comes back though. So we shall see. Today the temp was above 50 degrees. The truck seems much tighter/rougher below 40 degrees.

 

Also I'd like to say that I can't believe this thread is 552 pages with over 8000 posts. That is an incredible problem that GM has with these trucks.

Edited March 4, 2016 by jblanks

[Bayou_Vista]

I am very close to purchasing a 2014 sierra rcsb. i love the look of the truck inside and out, my secondary option is the ram with the 8speed but frankly i like the gm design better.

 

I stumbled across this thread in my research and 550 pages have me worried. knowing how many of these trucks are sold overall is the consensus that the shakers are the exception and there are fine examples quietly out on the road?

 

Do you think a thorough test drive would show these problems and this headache could be avoided by choosing a good driver? I intend to keep the truck i buy as long as possible so would hate to run into this issue down the road.

 

Basically i thought i was all set to purchase my new/used truck but now i'm second guessing myself, please help.

My advice would be to make sure that your test drive includes driving the truck on smooth payment and sustain 76 mph for several minutes. My 2015 vibrates and both 2016 loaner vehicles I have driven did the same when you sustain 76 mph.

[oneandzero]

I am very close to purchasing a 2014 sierra rcsb.

Like others have said be very careful. Drive over 70mph and drive a long distance making sure the vehicle is thoroughly warmed up. I have test drove a bunch of 16s when my dealer was trying to talk me into a buy back and they all vibrated. Also keep in mind the dealer buy backs just get resold so somebody elses vibrators ends up on the road again.

[Binobanbino]

Does he vibrate along with everything else in the truck?

 

con·sul/ˈkänsəl/

noun

 

• an official appointed by a government to live in a foreign city and protect and promote the government's citizens and interests there.
• (in ancient Rome) one of the two annually elected chief magistrates who jointly ruled the republic.

You are funny. You can thank apple for the spelling since the reply was spoken into the phone.