Shake or Vibration Issues

abominable z71 · October 24, 2016

All that makes sense. And I totally agree that GM needs to figure out why they vibrate, if for no other reason so the problem doesn't carry on to new platforms. I'm and old fart, retired, and no way I can afford to get screwed at this point in my life. All I can do is hope the fk they figure the vibe out and fix it.

Unfortunately I think the only way to truly find the issue with each truck is to hang new parts on it til it goes away but this an expensive and time consuming way of finding the issue, and the fix for the few guys that have fixed their issue is very hit and miss for everyone else that tries it. i was going down this avenue when I finally got fed up wasting my time and money but I keep an eye on this thread for a fix or other things to try that won't break the bank but I have to come to terms with dealing with it until it comes time to replace the truck and then look at another manufacture.

SilvgMc2017 · October 24, 2016

The classic gm shake or vibration. Well everyone was hoping they had it figured out for the 15 model year, then the 16 model year, 17's are now out, maybe they figured it out for the 17's LOL. Maybe your dealer will find something that fixes your issue but results haven't been encouraging through out the years. Good Luck.

I have a 2017 and it shakes, so unfortunately no.

Colossus · October 24, 2016

Shake seems to be the new norm now a days in trucks, folks. Get used to it or don't by, it seems.

Willyone · October 24, 2016

Sux...I sold my perfectly good/smooth running '07 SLE due to bad rust issues, and bought me a 2016 LT Z71. Paid allot of $$ for a vibrator. It's pretty though, I love the red paint and those heated seats.... just don't like driving the damn thing.

Hard to believe GM has allowed the vibe shit to carry over to the '17s. How stupid can ya get?

Jesse Davidson · October 24, 2016

I have a 2017 and it shakes, so unfortunately no.

What do you have? I've tested a bunch and none were anywhere near as bad as my 2015

rhino68 · October 24, 2016

I have read through most of this thread over the last few days. I have a 16 2wd crew cab 6.5' bed 5.3 with 3.42 gearing also have a 2 piece driveshaft because of my extended wheel base. When my truck was stock i had 0 vibration issues. I have since then added 3.5" lift spindles with a 1" coil spacer. 4.5" total lift. I should not that to fit the lift spindle i had to replace the lower A arms with an aftermarket a arm that had the same size ball joint as the 14s and 15s. The 16s have whats called a stamped steel A arm setup with larger ball joints then the 14 and 15. Replaced the factory 1" block with a 2" block with a 4 degree angle. Running 285/75/17 tires approx. 34". After the install immediately i had vibration issues. Took it to my installer and they acknowledged it had vibrations at hard acceleration and highway speeds. They flipped the blocks around changing the pinion angle and shimmed the center bearing. At this point the hard acceleration vibration went away but now i had a deceleration vibration and the same highway speed vibration. I decided not to go back to that shop because they haven't called me back in 3 weeks with a solution. I measured pinion angles and purchased a 2" lift block with a 2 degree angle and removed the center bearing shims. That fixed acceleration and deceleration vibration but the highway speed 65+ mph still existed. Pinion and output shaft angles were matched at this point so you got me....

Finally i decided to return the rear suspension back to its stock geometry. Removed the 2" block and replaced it with the factory 1" block. I still remain with a slight vibration at 65mph and up.

I dont have a fix and I'm just going to keep adjusting components myself until i fix it. My next options are to replace the aftermarket spindles and a arms with the stock ones and do a coilover setup with an upper a arm.

Reason i post this information is because i didn't have a problem before i changed the pinion angle and now i do. I'm just trying to help narrow down a problem with what could be multiple issues.

It is worthy to note that the '16s do come with larger lower ball joints than the 14s and 15s. Maybe there is something there contributing to the way the truck goes down the highway.

SilvgMc2017 · October 24, 2016

What do you have? I've tested a bunch and none were anywhere near as bad as my 2015

2017 GMC Sierra SLT Z71. I'll be completely honest, not sure how bad mine is only having it for a short time. I do know it is not near as bad in comparison to some of the videos out there, also believe I'm making a bigger deal than necessary,just in the same boat of paying +45,000 for vibes. I'll give it a chance, I love everything else about the truck.

Edited October 24, 2016 by SilvgMc2017

abominable z71 · October 24, 2016

I have read through most of this thread over the last few days. I have a 16 2wd crew cab 6.5' bed 5.3 with 3.42 gearing also have a 2 piece driveshaft because of my extended wheel base. When my truck was stock i had 0 vibration issues. I have since then added 3.5" lift spindles with a 1" coil spacer. 4.5" total lift. I should not that to fit the lift spindle i had to replace the lower A arms with an aftermarket a arm that had the same size ball joint as the 14s and 15s. The 16s have whats called a stamped steel A arm setup with larger ball joints then the 14 and 15. Replaced the factory 1" block with a 2" block with a 4 degree angle. Running 285/75/17 tires approx. 34". After the install immediately i had vibration issues. Took it to my installer and they acknowledged it had vibrations at hard acceleration and highway speeds. They flipped the blocks around changing the pinion angle and shimmed the center bearing. At this point the hard acceleration vibration went away but now i had a deceleration vibration and the same highway speed vibration. I decided not to go back to that shop because they haven't called me back in 3 weeks with a solution. I measured pinion angles and purchased a 2" lift block with a 2 degree angle and removed the center bearing shims. That fixed acceleration and deceleration vibration but the highway speed 65+ mph still existed. Pinion and output shaft angles were matched at this point so you got me....

Finally i decided to return the rear suspension back to its stock geometry. Removed the 2" block and replaced it with the factory 1" block. I still remain with a slight vibration at 65mph and up.

I dont have a fix and I'm just going to keep adjusting components myself until i fix it. My next options are to replace the aftermarket spindles and a arms with the stock ones and do a coilover setup with an upper a arm.

Reason i post this information is because i didn't have a problem before i changed the pinion angle and now i do. I'm just trying to help narrow down a problem with what could be multiple issues.

It is worthy to note that the '16s do come with larger lower ball joints than the 14s and 15s. Maybe there is something there contributing to the way the truck goes down the highway.

The 14's and 15's used 2 different ball joints depending on which front end they have. The all aluminum front end with aluminum knuckles used larger ball joints than the steel front ends. Could be the 16's with the stamped arms are using the same ball joints as the aluminum front ends. When I bought my UCA's from Cognito they said the aluminum front end used the same ball joint as the 8 lug HD. I can't verify this but they do make UCA's for both models and my arms fit properly on the truck, I have the aluminum front suspension. Another thing to note if you look at the lift kits for the 14-17 GM trucks they now have them split into lifts for either the forged steel arms or the aluminum and stamped steel arms which leads me to believe the stamped arms have the same ball joint as the aluminum otherwise they wouldn't fit the same spindle. So if you go back to stock lowers and spindles with a coil over you just need a new UCA designed for the forged aluminum arm. The Cognito's are great arms if you go that route.

rhino68 · October 24, 2016

The 14's and 15's used 2 different ball joints depending on which front end they have. The all aluminum front end with aluminum knuckles used larger ball joints than the steel front ends. Could be the 16's with the stamped arms are using the same ball joints as the aluminum front ends. When I bought my UCA's from Cognito they said the aluminum front end used the same ball joint as the 8 lug HD. I can't verify this but they do make UCA's for both models and my arms fit properly on the truck, I have the aluminum front suspension. Another thing to note if you look at the lift kits for the 14-17 GM trucks they now have them split into lifts for either the forged steel arms or the aluminum and stamped steel arms which leads me to believe the stamped arms have the same ball joint as the aluminum otherwise they wouldn't fit the same spindle. So if you go back to stock lowers and spindles with a coil over you just need a new UCA designed for the forged aluminum arm. The Cognito's are great arms if you go that route.

Yes you are correct. Thats the same information I have gathered as well. My reason for changing back to the stock LCA and spindles is because these aftermarket LCA do not sit right in the frame mounts. I need to get under and re measure but i believe the length of the 2 frame mounted points are also wider than the 14 and 15 LCA's. Not positive though. Also i thought the aluminum front suspension was dedicated to the 4wd platforms?

Sorry to get off topic but just stating the changes that GM has made to the 16s suspension which might contribute to the shake

I'll probably be going with mazzulla UCA's.

Edited October 24, 2016 by rhino68

07Softail · October 25, 2016

Control arms have nothing to do with the driveshaft being bent causing the shake!

RT

Jesse Davidson · October 25, 2016

2017 GMC Sierra SLT Z71. I'll be completely honest, not sure how bad mine is only having it for a short time. I do know it is not near as bad in comparison to some of the videos out there, also believe I'm making a bigger deal than necessary,just in the same boat of paying +45,000 for vibes. I'll give it a chance, I love everything else about the truck.

is a video I took last year of the shake I'm dealing with (It was literally the day after they had paved route 3 N in Massachusetts). GM and I have been working toward a trade assist. I'll be getting a 2017 Sierra Denali with a 6.2 for the replacement. I tested a bunch of 2017 trucks and none that I drove were as bad as my current 2015 Silverado.

SilvgMc2017 · October 25, 2016

is a video I took last year of the shake I'm dealing with (It was literally the day after they had paved route 3 N in Massachusetts). GM and I have been working toward a trade assist. I'll be getting a 2017 Sierra Denali with a 6.2 for the replacement. I tested a bunch of 2017 trucks and none that I drove were as bad as my current 2015 Silverado.

Mine is not near that bad, think I just need to give it some time and see what happens. Maybe you could answer a question for me since you've had a gm truck for a bit. Do you feel a vibration under moderate - heavy acceleration? I've watched a few videos where the tranfer case has quite a bit of movement.

Thanks for posting the video.

07Softail · October 25, 2016

Mine shook worse than that!

RT

Jesse Davidson · October 25, 2016

Mine is not near that bad, think I just need to give it some time and see what happens. Maybe you could answer a question for me since you've had a gm truck for a bit. Do you feel a vibration under moderate - heavy acceleration? I've watched a few videos where the tranfer case has quite a bit of movement.

Thanks for posting the video.

I have, but its different than the highway one. I had it checked, and expected it to be the Torque Converter but the dealer couldn't find the cause so I left it alone and focused on the highway one.

Mine shook worse than that!

RT

Don't worry, thats only one of my videos. I have others that were taken on roads that weren't paved the night before and are worse. I just post that one because you won't get a better road surface than that was just paved the prior night.

rhino68 · October 25, 2016

Control arms have nothing to do with the driveshaft being bent causing the shake!

RT

I understand, I didn't say it did! I am simply telling the forum what i changed on MY truck and now i have the shake. I do not have a shake anything like what most people are stating its more of a vibration and sound. When my truck was stock i had no shake or vibration. After the lift I do. So i know i didn't bend the driveshaft in the process. Also i have the 2 piece drive shaft which is a completely different setup and its steel not aluminum like yours.