vibration on the hiway

[tfpary]

My 97 K1500 Suburban just developed a vibration and "growl" at about 55 mph and above.  I just crawled around under the truck looking for anything amiss.  U-joints appear good (no clunk when shifting in to gear anyway,and feel tight), balance weights on drive shaft all appear to be there, no wheel weights appear to be missing, front end seems tight (nothing obviously missing or loose).  Around town up to 50-55mph all is good, but the noise starts to build around 55 and increases from there, and you can feel a very hi speed vibration in the steering wheel.  Shift into nuetral and the noise and vibration stay the same.  Strangely, it seems to remain when slowing down, all the way down to the 30-35mph range.  What torques me off is it sat in the driveway for two days with out being driven, then this just pops up.  Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

[Wingnut]

U-joints can vibrate like a big dog without making a sound.

 

They are also like 10 bucks apiece. I would start there.

 

Or check the bearings in the front wheels.

 

Just my .02

[TROYROBO]

tires flat spotted???????when was last time they were balanced????????

[Shaners]

Check the U-joints and carrier bearing in the drive shaft.  I bet that is your problem.

[fennsz]

tires sound chopped. I would start with the tires. More than likely that's your problem.

[SilveradoWV]

Just rotate your tires and see if that changes anything, since it doesnt cost anything (if you do it yourself) that would be the best place to start. I had/have the same problem with my truck, as soon as I would hit 55mph the steering wheel would start vibrating, I had the balance checked once and it didnt help, so it came time to rotate and that cured my problem. Well didnt cure it, its just that I cant feel it on the rear like I could on the front. Guess I will have them balanced before I rotate again. Note: I have been neglecting a dynamic balance because I didnt want weights on the outside of my wheels, but apparently static wouldnt cut it because I have had them static balanced like 3 times, 2 machine spin and 1 bubble. They say since the tires are big and heavy, static doesnt work too well.