2015 Chevy 1500/Vibrations (Grinding) when engaged Auto 4wd

swasinger · December 2, 2015

Hello, I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500 with a 5" Rough County lift. After engaging the Auto 4wd the other day I notice a "grinding" noise coming from the front left hub. After taking it to the dealership they are stating that the angle of the front axle is off enough to cause one of the bearings in the transfer case to not get properly oiled to which is causing the "grinding" noise. Of course, when contacting Rough Country they have never heard of such and a thing and now I am being deferred back to the dealership. I have seen another forum http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/155288-axle-problems-after-lifting-2014/ that speaks to this and it ended up being the lift that was causing the problem. Is there anyone out there that has experienced the same issue? And if so, can you share your findings? I am looking for information to stake my claim with either the installer or dealership.

Thanks!!

Edited December 2, 2015 by swasinger

Sierra Jon · December 14, 2015

Hello, I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500 with a 5" Rough County lift. After engaging the Auto 4wd the other day I notice a "grinding" noise coming from the front left hub. After taking it to the dealership they are stating that the angle of the front axle is off enough to cause one of the bearings in the transfer case to not get properly oiled to which is causing the "grinding" noise. Of course, when contacting Rough Country they have never heard of such and a thing and now I am being deferred back to the dealership. I have seen another forum http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/155288-axle-problems-after-lifting-2014/ that speaks to this and it ended up being the lift that was causing the problem. Is there anyone out there that has experienced the same issue? And if so, can you share your findings? I am looking for information to stake my claim with either the installer or dealership.

Thanks!!

This is BS. My truck is in for the hub right now and I don't have a lift.

I also have 48k miles and they are not covering it under power train warranty... Fighting them now.

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Front Runner · December 15, 2015

I read where many on this forum have a 5, 6, & 7 inch lift. If the lift was causing the problem, I would think that all of them would be affected too. Unless your installer didn't put your diff's at the right angles during the lift kit installation.

swasinger · December 16, 2015

Yeah, it is BS. They are claiming the pitch angle of the front drive shaft is causing the noise in the Transfer Case, however they never pulled it to see if that was actually causing the noise. I agree, the installer has done several hundred of these 5" lifts on Newer Chevy's and have never heard of this, neither has the manufacturer. So I am lead to believe there is an warranty issue with the Transfer Case. I have a found a dealership that is willing to work with me, I will keep you posted on what is found.

GRRW00F · November 11, 2019

On 12/16/2015 at 9:38 AM, swasinger said:

Yeah, it is BS. They are claiming the pitch angle of the front drive shaft is causing the noise in the Transfer Case, however they never pulled it to see if that was actually causing the noise. I agree, the installer has done several hundred of these 5" lifts on Newer Chevy's and have never heard of this, neither has the manufacturer. So I am lead to believe there is an warranty issue with the Transfer Case. I have a found a dealership that is willing to work with me, I will keep you posted on what is found.

Hey so whatever happened with your issue because I am having the same problem, 2018 Silverado; 6" lift and it goes to the dealer in 3 days to diagnose...

Wc-gw01 · March 23, 2020

I had a 5” RC lift installed on my 2014 and I am having the same problem. I noticed it the day after the lift was installed. If I put my truck in auto or 4HI I hear grinding in the front when it engages/disengages. If I accelerate or decelerate I can also hear it. Everything is fine when in 2wd. The noise is more noticeable at higher speeds like 40mph+

Anyone else that experienced this problem, could you please share the outcome? I’m going to take it back to the shop that installed the lift so they can take a look.

Edited March 23, 2020 by Wc-gw01

Bash74 · March 23, 2020

Did you check your angles. I say this because at our offroad shop people come in with their trucks when a dealer says the lift is the problem and more then half the time they are correct. Some shops must be blind when they install lifts or don't give a crap. If your angles are good then you have an argument if they are not then fix that first.

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Wc-gw01 · March 23, 2020

Could you please explain how I can check the angles? I’m not sure what that means

Wc-gw01 · March 23, 2020

I dropped it off at the shop this morning and they told me that the noise is most likely because the angle changed due to the lift and it’s putting more strain on the transfer case. They said there’s not much they can do about it and to avoid using 4wd unless I really need to.

Any advice on what to do? Should I just leave it at that or should I push them to fix this or maybe refund my money? I paid 2700 for this lift + install and wasn’t aware it might cause grinding or problems with the 4wd.

I appreciate any advice you guys have for me.

Bash74 · March 24, 2020

I dropped it off at the shop this morning and they told me that the noise is most likely because the angle changed due to the lift and it’s putting more strain on the transfer case. They said there’s not much they can do about it and to avoid using 4wd unless I really need to.

Any advice on what to do? Should I just leave it at that or should I push them to fix this or maybe refund my money? I paid 2700 for this lift + install and wasn’t aware it might cause grinding or problems with the 4wd.

I appreciate any advice you guys have for me.

When you say the shop, do you mean the shop that installed the lift or the dealer. If it's the shop that installed it, then drive as fast away from them as fast as possible. Any good 4x4 shop that does lifts can look it over and tell you if the lift is causing your problem. It for some reason the lift is causing a problem with the T case then it was not correctly aligned.

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Johnhecht · March 24, 2021

I have a 2015 Silverado with a 5 inch rough country lift that is doing the exact same thing… I took him to the dealership and they kept it for a month and a half. After replacing the front differential twice and the transfer case, it still does exact same thing. They told me the driveshaft angles were too severe, but couldn’t tell me what the angle was or needed to be. I got under it myself and after five minutes found the output shaft from the front of the transfer case had play in it. I recorded a video of it and sent it to the dealer who claimed that from the video he could tell the play was within tolerances. Has anyone actually found out what the issue is?