Shake or Vibration Issues

Schmidt152 · October 4, 2016

Dropped off my truck this morning at the dealership. Very good experience so far with them. Had the tech go for a ride with me and he noticed some vibration as well. The loaner driver 10x better than my truck. It does have some AFM vibes but I can live with that. Now it's just a waiting game for me. Hopefully I'll have good news to report soon. This is my third visit to the dealership. Last two have been balancing. This time they will be measuring the vibrations and look for other issues.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Schmidt152

14silverado4.3 · October 4, 2016

Alright, I will say it and risk getting the ban hammer!

GM must be dumb as ****.

Vibrations in 13, 14, 15, 16, and did I hear 17.

GM Quality: Hey GM engineer, seeing some vibration in our K2 platform

GM Engineer: OK, we know the problem. Let's blame the tires

GM Quality: Great, tires blamed. How are we going to fix the new trucks?

GM Engineer: Why, it is a small problem, that we can strap on dealer service to fix who will just point at the tires, and we can all have a good circle jerk and laugh as we shoot out reputation right in the shitter!

Willyone · October 4, 2016

Alright, I will say it and risk getting the ban hammer!

GM must be dumb as ****.

Vibrations in 13, 14, 15, 16, and did I hear 17.

GM Quality: Hey GM engineer, seeing some vibration in our K2 platform

GM Engineer: OK, we know the problem. Let's blame the tires

GM Quality: Great, tires blamed. How are we going to fix the new trucks?

GM Engineer: Why, it is a small problem, that we can strap on dealer service to fix who will just point at the tires, and we can all have a good circle jerk and laugh as we shoot out reputation right in the shitter!

I don't see why what may well be the truth, would get you the hammer.

I was supposed to deliver my '16 vibrator to the dealer tomorrow AM (visit no. 2). Spoke with the service dept. a few minutes ago and they don't have a loner available for tomorrow. I told the guy I'd be willing/glad to take any POS they have as long as it will get me thru the day. Again...nothing available. WTF, they have hundreds of new & used vehicles there!! Oh well, next week I'm told. Frustrated?... naw.....

Edited October 4, 2016 by Willyone

lee16silverado · October 5, 2016

The frequency of vibration I have in my truck cab is 18 Hz +/- regardless of speed, the amplitude just gets higher at 76-80 mph. The truck bed also vibrates at 18hz. My guess is that the truck bed is vibrating due to harmonics, which causes the rest of the truck to shake. And I'm going to guess that trucks with caps on the bed may vibrate less than trucks that dont have them because it adds mass and may act as a stiffener. I also would be willing to bet that loading the bed at the tailgate with enough weight will mostly eliminate the vibration due to the dampening effect and/or change in natural frequency.

Another potential would be to use some rubber grommets between the bed and the frame to help dampen the vibration.

Willyone · October 5, 2016

The frequency of vibration I have in my truck cab is 18 Hz +/- regardless of speed, the amplitude just gets higher at 76-80 mph. The truck bed also vibrates at 18hz. My guess is that the truck bed is vibrating due to harmonics, which causes the rest of the truck to shake. And I'm going to guess that trucks with caps on the bed may vibrate less than trucks that dont have them because it adds mass and may act as a stiffener. I also would be willing to bet that loading the bed at the tailgate with enough weight will mostly eliminate the vibration due to the dampening effect and/or change in natural frequency.

Another potential would be to use some rubber grommets between the bed and the frame to help dampen the vibration.

Interesting thoughts. I don't know anything about harmonics or frequencies, but have thought the vibes might possibly be due to aerodynamics. Problem with my bright idea (or not so bright LOL) though, is that GM trucks of different design/shapes have the same vibration issue.

I agree that rubber grommets or some kind of isolators might help lessen the vibes felt in the cab or bed. But that wouldn't correct the root cause of the vibes and I'd think that over time, whatever is vibrating or causing the vibration might pop loose and maybe cause some real damage. And the vibes as they are, over time sure as hell can't be doing the truck any good overall.

Edited October 5, 2016 by Willyone

14silverado4.3 · October 5, 2016

The frequency of vibration I have in my truck cab is 18 Hz +/- regardless of speed, the amplitude just gets higher at 76-80 mph. The truck bed also vibrates at 18hz. My guess is that the truck bed is vibrating due to harmonics, which causes the rest of the truck to shake. And I'm going to guess that trucks with caps on the bed may vibrate less than trucks that dont have them because it adds mass and may act as a stiffener. I also would be willing to bet that loading the bed at the tailgate with enough weight will mostly eliminate the vibration due to the dampening effect and/or change in natural frequency.

Another potential would be to use some rubber grommets between the bed and the frame to help dampen the vibration.

Interesting thoughts. I don't know anything about harmonics or frequencies, but have thought the vibes might possibly be due to aerodynamics. Problem with my bright idea (or not so bright LOL) though, is that GM trucks of different design/shapes have the same vibration issue.

I agree that rubber grommets or some kind of isolators might help lessen the vibes felt in the cab or bed. But that wouldn't correct the root cause of the vibes and I'd think that over time, whatever is vibrating or causing the vibration might pop loose and maybe cause some real damage. And the vibes as they are, over time sure as hell can't be doing the truck any good overall.

Vibrations not good for truck or for you!

C6Bill · October 5, 2016

The frequency of vibration I have in my truck cab is 18 Hz +/- regardless of speed, the amplitude just gets higher at 76-80 mph. The truck bed also vibrates at 18hz. My guess is that the truck bed is vibrating due to harmonics, which causes the rest of the truck to shake. And I'm going to guess that trucks with caps on the bed may vibrate less than trucks that dont have them because it adds mass and may act as a stiffener. I also would be willing to bet that loading the bed at the tailgate with enough weight will mostly eliminate the vibration due to the dampening effect and/or change in natural frequency.

Another potential would be to use some rubber grommets between the bed and the frame to help dampen the vibration.

Go take an Escalade for a ride, my sister had one as a loaner and we took it for a ride. I asked my BIL to get it to 73 MPH and hold it there. Sure enough the same vibration. I was really hoping I was wrong but I was in the passenger seat and I wanted to get out and walk as the rest of the ride I got to hear about how for the last 50+ years I was the biggest GM fanboy out there and now I had to admit they sell crap. The number of times I called my other sister a communist for driving a Camry is more than I care to remember now lol

Willyone · October 5, 2016

Go take an Escalade for a ride, my sister had one as a loaner and we took it for a ride. I asked my BIL to get it to 73 MPH and hold it there. Sure enough the same vibration. I was really hoping I was wrong but I was in the passenger seat and I wanted to get out and walk as the rest of the ride I got to hear about how for the last 50+ years I was the biggest GM fanboy out there and now I had to admit they sell crap. The number of times I called my other sister a communist for driving a Camry is more than I care to remember now lol

My wife bought a new Toyota Corolla in 2010. I busted her chops, laughed, and told her she had to park it behind the garage so no one would see it. Kidding of course, well, mostly LOL. Well, her car has never seen a dealer or repair shop since she bought it home except for oil changes and a set of tires. Crow doesn't taste good at all.

C6Bill · October 6, 2016

I have more miles on my Tundra than I had on both of my 2014 Silverado's combined. Only Tundra trip to the dealer was for an oil change

Edited October 6, 2016 by C6Bill

lee16silverado · October 6, 2016

Go take an Escalade for a ride, my sister had one as a loaner and we took it for a ride. I asked my BIL to get it to 73 MPH and hold it there. Sure enough the same vibration. I was really hoping I was wrong but I was in the passenger seat and I wanted to get out and walk as the rest of the ride I got to hear about how for the last 50+ years I was the biggest GM fanboy out there and now I had to admit they sell crap. The number of times I called my other sister a communist for driving a Camry is more than I care to remember now lol

Well there goes that theory...

I had a Nissan 350z and Hyundai Elantra which I drove over 200k miles combined, and they were virtually trouble free. My wifes Toyota FJ after 10 years is still rock solid, though we are about to outgrow it and need more room for the the kids. I guess I can cross the Tahoe off the list now.

Schmidt152 · October 6, 2016

Day 2 of driving the loaner and it shakes as well. I feel like I'm going crazy. At least this one doesn't shake as bad. Seems like when you get on the highway it will shake at first and then smooth out. Nice to not have my hand numb after going down the road for 15 minutes.

slopra · October 6, 2016

Everything listed here has been brought up in the past as well. Somewhere in the 650 pages of posts. I personally brought up all the same points and measured runout on everything. Found runout issues with the hub stud center but at the time new hub assemblies were not readily available and were expensive. To fix the front runout issues requires a complete new assembly to fix the rear requires new axle shafts and I couldn't convince myself to spend the money for one reason, The hubs are not lug centric and the wheels center on the pilot which I found to be right on the money however what is strange GM used lug centric style lug nuts that will pull the wheel in one direct but only as far as the clearance between the rim and pilot will allow. i keep coming back to the hubs as well but haven't convinced myself to replace them because I'm not sure a new assembly will have any better tolerances than the ones on the truck right now. For the rear I looked at new shafts from Yukon 275 dollars each plus the labor to open the diff and unclip them which also means new gear oil making the whole endeavor somewhat expensive and time consuming. Attached is picture I took after measuring runout. The green line is the high point for the stud circle at .010" I used my mititoyo dial indicator with .0005" resolution to make the measurements. If you look closely you will see a pink line right next to the green, that pink line was there from the factory. This tells me GM knows these trucks are sensitive and shake and they are trying to minimize it before it leaves the factory by finding runout and trying to match low spots on the wheel assembly with the high spots on the hub to minimize the overall assembly runout. I'd be interested to know what you find if you measure yours and if you ultimately change hubs if it fixes the issue. Good luck. BTW I used the vib sensor app on my phone as well, my vibrations are third order 40 Hz at 75 MPH. Not nearly as bad as many videos I've seen but annoying none the less they come and go depending on temperature, weight in the bed and I think phasing plays a role as well but they fall below GM's acceptable limit so the dealer won't do anything.

Thanks for sharing, I was actually hoping you'd respond after seeing some of the out of the box thinking you've been doing. I won't have time soon to measure runout or do any other sort of troubleshooting, but I definitely will eventually.

I've got a lot of ideas to expand on, and a lot of possible theories I'd like to share to get everyone thinking. Hopefully I'll have some time to write it all out and share this week.

To start, this afternoon I'm going to get an on car balance at one of the last shops here in town that do it, and apparently they do a stellar job. This will at least confirm it's something in the wheel assembly if my vibrations go away, and stay away. Then I can do some measuring later when I've got the chance.

Willyone · October 6, 2016

Thanks for sharing, I was actually hoping you'd respond after seeing some of the out of the box thinking you've been doing. I won't have time soon to measure runout or do any other sort of troubleshooting, but I definitely will eventually.

I've got a lot of ideas to expand on, and a lot of possible theories I'd like to share to get everyone thinking. Hopefully I'll have some time to write it all out and share this week.

To start, this afternoon I'm going to get an on car balance at one of the last shops here in town that do it, and apparently they do a stellar job. This will at least confirm it's something in the wheel assembly if my vibrations go away, and stay away. Then I can do some measuring later when I've got the chance.

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Great idea. Years ago I had the 'on car' balance done on a 1984 Town Car that I bought used and with a ton of miles on it. I believe at the time the garage called it a dynamic balance. Made that old car ride smooth as can be.

Please post your results after the on car balance. I for one would like to know if it helped. And I'll bet I'm not the only person here that would like to know LOL.

Edited October 6, 2016 by Willyone

abominable z71 · October 6, 2016

Thanks for sharing, I was actually hoping you'd respond after seeing some of the out of the box thinking you've been doing. I won't have time soon to measure runout or do any other sort of troubleshooting, but I definitely will eventually.

I've got a lot of ideas to expand on, and a lot of possible theories I'd like to share to get everyone thinking. Hopefully I'll have some time to write it all out and share this week.

To start, this afternoon I'm going to get an on car balance at one of the last shops here in town that do it, and apparently they do a stellar job. This will at least confirm it's something in the wheel assembly if my vibrations go away, and stay away. Then I can do some measuring later when I've got the chance.

I hope it works out for you, i went down the same avenue. only one shop left in town that does an on the vehicle balance I took it one step further and had them true the tires to eliminate run-out then balance them on the vehicle but alas the vibration is still there and comes and goes in intensity. Makes me wonder if it is a bearing issue in the front hubs.