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How much 4WD driveline noise is normal?

FL335i

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FL335i Enthusiast

FL335i

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I'm a veteran 4wd truck owner. I've built straight axle toyotas with 38's and setup my own gears. My '14 Silverado is bone stock. Stock tires and all. Today I used 4wd on my construction site and noticed a lot of driveline noise and bind. More than I'm used to. I thought the front diff was open. I'm talking a good amount of front end noise with the wheels just about straight. Yes I'm in the dirt. Just seems like a lot of front end noise for my liking. Put it in 4auto, i get 4wd traction and no noise. Anyone else with the new body truck have this? I might do a cell video on my out tonight leaving the job site trailers. I figured a late model open diff IFS setup would be MUCH quieter. I'm changing my oil this Sat morning. While i'm up under there I'll check the CV joints and the whole front end for anything odd. I remember driving my dad's 2002 S10 4x4 and it had push button 4wd. Nothing close to this noise.

FL335i Enthusiast

FL335i

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Leaving the job site 4wd had much less noise, but still there. I think this is a case of having a new 4wd system. Needs a little bit of use....

dbannerz71 Enthusiast

dbannerz71

Posted
Posted

Leaving the job site 4wd had much less noise, but still there. I think this is a case of having a new 4wd system. Needs a little bit of use....

Probably gears need a bit of wear in. Mine is quite, same as my 99 Silverado z71.

Silverado-Hareek Senior Enthusiast

Silverado-Hareek

Posted
Posted

I would get that checked out. I've had 3 trucks over the past 11 years. For 2 of them the driveline was quiet as a mouse in 4 wheel drive. The third, my Dodge Dakota, had a lot of driveline noise and eventually I had to have the transmission, transfer case, and front differential re-built. So in my limited personal experience, noise = bad.

310racing Enthusiast

310racing

Posted
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If it's "whine", I'd say probably normal without me hearing it; if it's clunking, chattering, metal on metal type noise, head to the dealer....not normal.

FL335i Enthusiast

FL335i

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no clunking. It's a almost like a tire rubbing a wheel well sound from the front. The noise is from the front diff. When in 2wd, does the front diff spin, or is there some kind of actuator in the diff that disengages the gears from the CV?

Silverado4x4 Senior Enthusiast

Silverado4x4

Posted
Posted

The noise your hearing is coming from the "T" case, check the fluid level, mine was making the noise in 4WD after checking I had to add almost a quart till the oil run out the hole now is really quiet. This was when the truck was new. You are going to hear some noise.

Lawnmower2020 Enthusiast

Lawnmower2020

Posted
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If you are using 4High, you should expect some noise as there is a speed mismatch between front and rear any time the front wheels are turned away from straight ahead. On dry roads, any turning while using 4High will cause nasty wheel hopping due to the mismatch.

 

Normally in poor traction, which we had a LOT of this last winter, I'll use 4Auto which permits different speeds of the front and rear drive shafts, with a slight loss of traction and directional stability on very poor surfaces. 4High locks the front and rear drive shafts so the truck wants to go straight. I found this setting to work actually better on icy/slushy roads. But it might make noises when you hit spots with good traction and the front wheels are not straight ahead.

 

In 4Auto there shouldn't be any weird noises at all.

FL335i Enthusiast

FL335i

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Used a lot of 4wd on my job site today again. Much quieter. 95% of the noise is gone. I'm convinced it's b/c it's a new system. On my way out a semi truck hauling a low-boy got stuck out front of the gate. I used a crane strap and 4 low. I was doing a 4 wheel burnout for a second. I gave up and told him call in a wrecker. I'm not destroying my truck b/c you're an idiot. But the point is I proved that 4wd is working great. After that I have no noises at all, just a little bit of binding which is normal. I think the noises I heard was due to the truck being new. Just surprised my straight axle F250 didn't even make any noises in 4wd. Figured the IFS would be even better. Oh well, it works, nosies are all but gone. No problems... I just got nervous when I heard noise in a IFS '14 truck.

FL335i Enthusiast

FL335i

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Update. Did my oil change today. Check all the fluids in the truck. Front diff oil looks good, but it was low. No leaks. I really had to stick my finger down in there to get oil. I added some 75/90 Mobil 1 gear oil I had. Probably added 4-6oz and it still did not get it running out of the fill hole. Yes I was on my level garage floor. I think the noises I've been hearing have something to do with how low that front diff is. IMO. The 4-6oz I added got the level to where I stuck my finger in there and could easily get oil. Still not full though. I'm at 24,XXX miles right now. At my next oil change which should be around 31,500k I will plan on doing the front and rear diffs with 75/90 Mobil 1. Rear diff had the oil changed at 16k when a RR axle seal went bad. Front diff has no leaks and still has factory fill oil.

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