Shake or Vibration Issues

[USMC devil dog]

I know this is going to look suspicious being only my third post but I wasn't sure what forum to join at first. I have noticed a shake or vibration in my new 4x4 crew 5.5 box 5.3 truck it seems to come and go and has been a pain to pin point what makes it happen. I can feel it in the steering wheel, seat and sometimes the gas petal but mostly in the steering wheel. It seems to be most noticeable going up or down hill with very light acceleration but can do it on level ground at cruise speed too. And the fun part is it doesn't always do it to make it more of a challenge to diagnose it.

Brought it to the dealer last week and I thought the mechanic was going to think I was crazy but he did feel it too which was a relief also the service writer test drove it after they balanced and rotated the tires and he said its slight, but he felt it too. We scheduled it to come in tomorrow and are opening a warranty claim. I have very little faith that its going to get fixed because of the nature of the vibration and it being so new that there probably isn't any info out there on what it could be. I really don't know what they can do tomorrow other then make phone calls. If I had to venture a guess I'm going to say its in the transmission or possibly the engine.

We also have a 2012 equinox and on the same roads there's no vibration at all.

Also I have the z71 and man does that thing ride STIFF! Every repair strip in the tar is felt hard! Anyone know if it just takes some miles to get the shocks broke in (2600 on it now)? My 04 was a z71 too and rode much, much softer then this.

I would really like to get this figured out because it, along with a few other

smaller things is preventing me from loving this truck.

I do t want to make this painful for you but this is EXACTLY what my truck started doing and then over the weeks and months progressed the dealer just kept saying if it's an issue it will throw a code, because we could never get it to do it when they drove the truck to diagnose the problem.. Read my post from today for all the details. But long story short my girl is at the dealership now getting a brand new tranny and torque converter courtesy of GM.. I hope you don't have the same thing going on but it sounds identical I first noticed it looking at a bottle of soda I had while driving then it started in the pedal and steering wheel, in the end you'll be driving and it will feel and sound like your running over the safety bumps on the side of the road periodically,, good luck

[LongrangeLauber]

 

Seems like your taking a big risk at voiding your warranty by altering the specs of your trucks. Always have the dealer perform these task!

Lol that's what it seems like

[Gambit66]

 

This made me chuckle. Does this mean that the dealer is the only one who can torque the lug nuts down? How about change the oil and tighten the filter and drain plug? Just giving you a hard time all in good fun.

Anything that is done by a third party and/or yourself is not covered under the GM warranty. So if a third party and/or yourself tightens, changes oil, etc... other than specs specific to that vehicle. Then Yes, you risk your GM warranty. And giving them any ammunition to blame it on you or a third party, you go right ahead. You need to read the fine print. Chuckle on that! lol :-D

[Jesse Davidson]

Anything that is done by a third party and/or yourself is not covered under the GM warranty. So if a third party and/or yourself tightens, changes oil, etc... other than specs specific to that vehicle. Then Yes, you risk your GM warranty. And giving them any ammunition to blame it on you or a third party, you go right ahead. You need to read the fine print. Chuckle on that! lol :-D

Actually, there is law that prohibits manufacturers from voiding the warranty for modification unless they can prove that said modification is the direct cause of the problem.

 

here is some info on it, its the Magnuson-Moss Act from 1975

[C6Bill]

The thought that you actually think you have a warranty is what makes me chuckle LOL

Edited April 7, 2016 by C6Bill

[tbarn]

I torqued the u bolts about a month ago.

At the time, the only I could find for torque specs was...

 

first pass 59 ft.lbs, second pass 130 degrees

 

...to my surprise, they were not even torqued to 59 lbs.

 

I don't know what they are at now with the 59 plus 130 degrees, but what the consensus on the torque spec?

 

I've seen some guys say 78, others say 90, and one guy said something like 100.

 

 

 

Again, the really peculiar thing is that it's never consistent. The peak harshness of the vibration changes to different speeds each time you drive. It's always over 72 mph, and then there the rare 1 in 20 time that it doesn't vibrate at all.

 

Something else has to be going on?

 

But I'll retourques.

 

What's been the best torque spec everyone's found?

The best torque would be the correct torque.

 

 

Tighten

 1. Tighten nuts in sequence 1-4.

 2. First Pass (59 lb ft)

 3. Final Pass (130 degrees)

[Jesse Davidson]

The thought that you actually think you have a warranty is what makes me chuckle LOL

good point Bill, just thought I'd throw that info out though

[KingstonMom1976]

I am heading back to the dealership for the 5th time this week. Truck has 30,000 kms on it. They replaced two front tires....I PAID for all new weights and an alignment...still have the vibration. Also I get a bad body roll when I hit a bump (The rear end kicks out)

 

Pretty crappy when my 2001 base mustang drives nicer on the highway than this 50,000 dollar truck and by the looks of this thread I am not going to have any luck fixing it.

 

I also think I have a bad u joint. When a put it in reverse it makes a loud clunk...service department said it was normal. But if it WAS bad could that make the truck vibrate? And maybe the shocks are causing the body roll and odd thump I hear on occasion in the rear end?

 

When a woman goes into a dealership they tend to not listen it seems...

[LongrangeLauber]

I am heading back to the dealership for the 5th time this week. Truck has 30,000 kms on it. They replaced two front tires....I PAID for all new weights and an alignment...still have the vibration. Also I get a bad body roll when I hit a bump (The rear end kicks out)

 

Pretty crappy when my 2001 base mustang drives nicer on the highway than this 50,000 dollar truck and by the looks of this thread I am not going to have any luck fixing it.

 

I also think I have a bad u joint. When a put it in reverse it makes a loud clunk...service department said it was normal. But if it WAS bad could that make the truck vibrate? And maybe the shocks are causing the body roll and odd thump I hear on occasion in the rear end?

 

When a woman goes into a dealership they tend to not listen it seems...

A lot of members have fixed the clunk by installing some leaf spring clamps

 

Check this thread out:

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?/topic/183075-Spring-Clamps-Reduce-Rear-Vibration

Edited April 7, 2016 by rdnckhntr94

[14silverado4.3]

I do t want to make this painful for you but this is EXACTLY what my truck started doing and then over the weeks and months progressed the dealer just kept saying if it's an issue it will throw a code, because we could never get it to do it when they drove the truck to diagnose the problem.. Read my post from today for all the details. But long story short my girl is at the dealership now getting a brand new tranny and torque converter courtesy of GM.. I hope you don't have the same thing going on but it sounds identical I first noticed it looking at a bottle of soda I had while driving then it started in the pedal and steering wheel, in the end you'll be driving and it will feel and sound like your running over the safety bumps on the side of the road periodically,, good luck

I have a 2014 dbl cab with 4.3, you and I have the same symptoms also. Uphill, down hill all in the steering wheel. RF balance never takes it fully away. How was your AFM? Did it vibrate in V4?

[KingstonMom1976]

Wonder if the dealership would install those clamps or is that a DIY thing ;)

[LongrangeLauber]

Wonder if the dealership would install those clamps or is that a DIY thing ;)

Diy, bc they aren't factory

[KingstonMom1976]

My 14 was flawless, zero issues, traded it last may for a 15 Sil. vib in it was bad, put tires on it in Sept, balances, rotated driveshaft, no change. In Dec they buy backed me into a 15 Sierra, same vib but not as bad as the Sil. In Jan I ordered a 16 Sierra which I'm waiting for. People are still getting the vib with 16's and after a year of this I'm about at the point of washing my hands of GM and moving on. I've known my dealer my whole life and he has really stepped up for me, that's the problem for me.

Love my dealership too. My 2011 Silverado worked awesome. I regret trading into this one quite frankly.

[polarys425]

 

Seems like your taking a big risk at voiding your warranty by altering the specs of your trucks. Always have the dealer perform these task!

 

There are no words for just how stupid that statement is. I feel really sorry for you if you're so worried about voiding your warranty that you're afraid to torque a few nuts or bolts. Maybe you can't handle such a simple task. Either way, I for one am not worried one bit. Nor am I going to waste 2-3 hrs going to the dealer to have them do it, when it took me less than 5 minutes in my driveway.

[KLRV6]

 

 

I also think I have a bad u joint. When a put it in reverse it makes a loud clunk...service department said it was normal. But if it WAS bad could that make the truck vibrate? And maybe the shocks are causing the body roll and odd thump I hear on occasion in the rear end?

 

 

 

My dealer said the same thing "Normal" "They All Do It" until they took readings on the pinion gear. Every tooth was out of spec. After gear and bearing replacement, the clunk noise is almost completely gone. On the rare occasion that it does happen, it is a soft sounding clunk. They also filled it with GM PN#88900401 Canada #89021678 Which is the rear gear oil used in the 2500/3500 series, not the GM PN#19300457 Canada #19300458 that the 1500 manual calls for. They also put two new shocks at the rear. One had failed completely.

 

The lowest vibration ride they could achieve was by balancing my snow tires. All the sample sets from other trucks still had the vibration. So I get my truck back and it does ride smoother, but there is no way I can use snow tires all year. I bought a set of Michelin LTX M/S2 tires and it now has a slight vibration. Not so bad that I'm driving it to the Ford dealer as a trade +14K, but it is still there.

 

I am now putting a set of Bilstein 4600 series shocks on to see if that helps and have not ruled out a custom $600 drive shaft as the factory one seems pretty beat up and hallow sounding. I will measure runout on the shaft this weekend and see what numbers it has. The problem with rounout measurements is that when it's not spinning and under higher rpm load. It may be deflecting at some point and vibrating. The sound is a concern as it could resonate at higher speeds and cause a vibration. They had my truck two and half weeks to do four hours worth of work to it, so I am better off looking outside of GM for resolution to most of the problems.

 

I wonder what all the Ford, Dodge and Toyota owners are doing to their trucks today...