Shake or Vibration Issues

Brett606 · November 29, 2016

This is my first post, and I have read around 100 pages on this forum thread after buying my overstock new 2015 Silverado 1500 Double Cab Z71 4x4 about 3 weeks ago. I have read about complaints, failed attempts, fixes, non issues, and how bad the quality of life now seems after buying a new truck that vibrates constantly. I must claim that my truck has a vibration that many have described. My truck vibrates right around 45 MPH and again between about 72 and 80 MPH. For the sake of people sharing war stories let my experience add to the lot:

I graduated college in Dec 2015 and traded my college car (2008 Honda Civic) for a used 2014 Ram 1500 4x4 all black edition. Man that thing was beautiful in my eyes. I had a 4x4 before I bought my college car and wanted to get another. Plus I lived in a region where snow is prevalent. The Ram had 36,000 miles on it when I bought it, and was right in my price range. So I got that big ol thing and drove it like it was a monster truck. After all, that Civic didn't sit any higher than the door handles on the Ram. I drove the thing everywhere on the road, off road, through the snow, and pulling a motorcycle trailer full of core drilling equipment through the mountains of West Virginia. Well...my commute to work was 100 miles round trip, and I started to see the mileage racking up. Basically I got paranoid that something would go wrong. For buying vehicles in my family I was raised by "Get a Chevy, do not buy a Ford, and Dodge will always be the worst." I was in denial of this when I bought the thing I guess. I started to research other trucks to see what I could get. I was making good money and living for cheap. So after about 6 months and 20,000 miles on the Ram I decided that I was going to get a new 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road 4x4. I got the Toyota and loved driving it, but it had its issues as well. It is a nice truck, and would suit the needs of many people. However, I missed the power of that V8 and the overall satisfaction of driving a full size truck. So I had the Tacoma and moved jobs.....to Texas. I was now the proud owner of the smallest truck in the whole state....the trucks are HUGE down here. The Tacoma kept giving me fits and lack of power said it was time to look for a truck again. I had money saved up and moved to Texas to make better money so I wasn't worried about taking a hit. I had that Tacoma for 3 months and 8,000 miles before I traded for that 2015 Silverado. I was in love with the Chevy. The dealer was all too eager to get me into my new wheels. I bought the Silverado about 3 weeks ago and noted some vibration. I did some research and found this forum thread. I did what any good forum reader would do and justified the vibration as tires. I put 4 brand new Cooper ATP tires on it (the same ones on the Ram that had no issues). I had hose puppies road force balanced and everything. I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out if it was still vibrating or not. The roads around me aren't smooth like on the interstates. I decided that I would test it on the long ride back home to Kentucky (about 1100 miles) for Thanksgiving. I just got back yesterday, and I can tell you that the truck vibrated nearly the entire way to and from at cruising speed. It vibrated so much that I think I have become used to it! The vibration was coming from the rear so I had the rear wheels and tires balanced again just a couple hours ago. They just paved a section of road near me, and I tried the new balance out....vibration still there surprise, surprise. I love this Chevy truck, and would do almost anything to have it fixed. I am going to schedule with the dealer near me tomorrow to see what can be done. If nothing can be done then I am going to drive this thing so hard that something has to break. Maybe it will fix the issue!

07Softail · November 29, 2016

Well I thought my vibrations/shakes were fixed after getting my driveshaft rebalanced, but today I drove on the interstate for about two hours and the shake/shimmy is still there. Rebalancing the driveshaft defiantly made the truck ride smoother and made it more obvious that the shake was coming from the rear end. I noticed a few pages back, someone posted a video of the rear axle hub face spinning and it not being round. So today, I tried the same the thing and I have the same results as the previous video. I think I'm going to try to find a tire shop that balances tires while the tires are on the truck and if this solves the 75+ mph shake I'm having, then I will be ordering some axles from Moser Engineering. The hub face my video is obviously not round and is that within specs??? Has anyone tried swapping out the axles with GM axles or aftermarket axles??

No need in buying new axles... just take the one's you have to a machine shop and they can chuck em in a lathe and they can true that up in 15-20 minutes for about $80-100 bucks.

RT

fmblizz · November 29, 2016

BS.... My trucks AFM has been off for years and it still vibrated until I had the driveshaft fixed.

RT

Did you ever stop to think we maybe talking about two different issues... Don't be so quick to say BS.... Have never had any issues over 50 MPH like other do. Also why would my vibration always and I mean always be when the truck is dropping cylinder.. I can put it on the cruise control when it starts and the vibration continues until the computer tell the truck to go back to normal V6 mode and then things smooth out again. Have never felt any shutter except when the RPM's are 1200, and the truck drops the two cylinders and my V4 indicator come on.

MRW412 · November 29, 2016

Only way to balance is wheels and tires on the truck and as the tires wear and rotations are done vibrations can be different. Better or worse.

It wasn't going to be a permanent balance, I was thinking about doing it to see if the weights on the wheel counter balance the lop sided hub face. If doing that fixed my issue, then the out of round hub face would likely be my problem.

No need in buying new axles... just take the one's you have to a machine shop and they can chuck em in a lathe and they can true that up in 15-20 minutes for about $80-100 bucks.

RT

Would a machine shop be able to make sure the studs are running true as well?

abominable z71 · November 29, 2016

If it was warped rotors wouldn't you get increased vibration when braking ?

Yeah a warped rotor would shake your teeth out when you hit the brakes. My girlfriend had a warped rotor on her Jaguar the amount of shaking during braking was unbelievable.

abominable z71 · November 29, 2016

The engineer was perplexed? I call BS. No way that after all these years they still don't know what's causing the problems.

Someone knows what the issue is, But those who know are probably way higher up the food chain than the field engineers. The more people who know the problem in GM the more likely it will leak out and they don't want that so the odds are very few people within GM are privy to the information and field engineers are not likely in that circle.

abominable z71 · November 29, 2016

No need in buying new axles... just take the one's you have to a machine shop and they can chuck em in a lathe and they can true that up in 15-20 minutes for about $80-100 bucks.

RT

The hub itself can be trued in a lathe no problem but if your stud circle is off center you're better off replacing the axle. i think they run about 275 dollars a piece from Yukon.

Edited November 29, 2016 by abominable z71

mookdoc6 · November 29, 2016

No need in buying new axles... just take the one's you have to a machine shop and they can chuck em in a lathe and they can true that up in 15-20 minutes for about $80-100 bucks.

RT

You could have a square "hub" and would not do anything....as long as the Lugs are placed in appropriate positions off center anything past that is just material for strength. It could look like shark teeth too and would not effect anything............keep trying!

No need in buying new axles... just take the one's you have to a machine shop and they can chuck em in a lathe and they can true that up in 15-20 minutes for about $80-100 bucks.

RT

You could have a square "hub" and would not do anything....as long as the Lugs are placed in appropriate positions off center anything past that is just material for strength. It could look like shark teeth too and would not effect anything............keep trying!

Otimebomb · November 29, 2016

Any update on the axle flange runout issue? A good machine shop can cut and true the flange up!

RT

Update- New axle- My vibration when from a 7 or 8 out of 10 to about a 2 out of 10 that actually gets better the longer I drive it seems like.

MRW412 · November 29, 2016

Update- New axle- My vibration when from a 7 or 8 out of 10 to about a 2 out of 10 that actually gets better the longer I drive it seems like.

On your old axle, could you tell if the stud circle was centered or not?

xkvator · November 30, 2016

2015 Silverado C.C. 4WD - NEVER had an ounce of vibration in 25,500 miles...I work away, so I run the Pa. turnpike twice a week. or so...about 110 miles each way @ 70+ mph...

UNTIL...

I dropped the truck off 2 weeks ago at the local dealer here in ohio to get the 3 recalls done, seat flex fixed, and I let them do the free oil change/rotate tire service, which I never use, because its inconvenient for me.

recalls were airbag, seat belt, and 4wd issues...

after picking the truck up, I drove it locally, to work, and then to home and back on turnpike...about 300 miles with no issues...

Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I had to take care of something 20 miles away, so I got on the turnpike after work, and getting up to around 74 mph, the steering wheel was shaking, and the truck vibrated like never before...I slowed to 65...no change...to 55...still vibrating...

I would have bet money that a wheel was coming loose...but after pulling over and checking all with a wheel wrench, all are tight...

vibrated the rest of the way...took care of business...then checked engine/trans oils...crawled underneath...nothing seemed out of place or loose.

next, while going up a slight grade, I noticed when the trans shifted into 3rd or 4th. the engine revved a couple hundred rpm...like it slipped...it did it once more after I had to slow for traffic.

on my way back to the highway, I put it in and out of 4 w.d. a few times...

got on the highway, and the vibration was gone...next day, going home on the turnpike, no vibration...on the weekend I even had it up to 85 on I-70...no vibration...back to work Monday morning on the turnpike...no vibration...

Colossus · November 30, 2016

They may have rotated the tires, but did they balance them? Most places no longer balance the tires at the time of rotation unless requested by the customer. VERY common to throw a wheel weight and not notice it until you have a rotation done.

Boostholic · November 30, 2016

2015 Silverado C.C. 4WD - NEVER had an ounce of vibration in 25,500 miles...I work away, so I run the Pa. turnpike twice a week. or so...about 110 miles each way @ 70+ mph...

UNTIL...

I dropped the truck off 2 weeks ago at the local dealer here in ohio to get the 3 recalls done, seat flex fixed, and I let them do the free oil change/rotate tire service, which I never use, because its inconvenient for me.

recalls were airbag, seat belt, and 4wd issues...

after picking the truck up, I drove it locally, to work, and then to home and back on turnpike...about 300 miles with no issues...

Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I had to take care of something 20 miles away, so I got on the turnpike after work, and getting up to around 74 mph, the steering wheel was shaking, and the truck vibrated like never before...I slowed to 65...no change...to 55...still vibrating...

I would have bet money that a wheel was coming loose...but after pulling over and checking all with a wheel wrench, all are tight...

vibrated the rest of the way...took care of business...then checked engine/trans oils...crawled underneath...nothing seemed out of place or loose.

next, while going up a slight grade, I noticed when the trans shifted into 3rd or 4th. the engine revved a couple hundred rpm...like it slipped...it did it once more after I had to slow for traffic.

on my way back to the highway, I put it in and out of 4 w.d. a few times...

got on the highway, and the vibration was gone...next day, going home on the turnpike, no vibration...on the weekend I even had it up to 85 on I-70...no vibration...back to work Monday morning on the turnpike...no vibration...

so you switched from 2wd to 4wd while driving and that fixed it from vibrating ??

pickmeup · November 30, 2016

I have a 15 rcsb that does not vibrate or shake but they done some extensive paving on 95 between Augusta and Waterville . One 5 mile stretch southbound will put my tires to singing and can feel a very slight vibration . It is the only time the Bridgestone tires sing or hum and I can feel a very slight vibration. Nowhere else ....go figure .

SilvgMc2017 · November 30, 2016

I have a 15 rcsb that does not vibrate or shake but they done some extensive paving on 95 between Augusta and Waterville . One 5 mile stretch southbound will put my tires to singing and can feel a very slight vibration . It is the only time the Bridgestone tires sing or hum and I can feel a very slight vibration. Nowhere else ....go figure .

I strongly feel the road type plays a significant role. I'm no highway paving expert, but there are many different types of roads in my area, the concrete looking section of highway seems the smoothest.