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So, this is my first post here, I have lurked for a while and I have looked through the archives for a similar thread, but haven't quite found one, if anyone knows and would like to link to it to make this easier, that would be appreciated, but in case there isn't, here we go.

 

My dad has a 2005 silverado 1500, he has recently complained of a loud noise when disengaging from 4Hi back to 2Hi, the other threads I have found call it a "clunk", whereas this is a hard slam, I have felt it in both the front and back seat, driver's side and passenger side.

 

It happens at any speed, from 5 all the way to 25-30 ish, and is only slightly less harsh if you go into neutral for a second and then back into drive.

 

I checked the t-case fluid, it was not contaminated or burned, I checked the front differential and it was a little low and there appears to be a slight axle leak, I topped off the fluid, but the slam remains, I checked the U-joints and they all seem fine.

 

Any ideas or help would be much appreciated, TIA

Edited by Squarebody92
Topped off instead of topped of
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So, this is my first post here, I have lurked for a while and I have looked through the archives for a similar thread, but haven't quite found one, if anyone knows and would like to link to it to make this easier, that would be appreciated, but in case there isn't, here we go.
 
My dad has a 2005 silverado 1500, he has recently complained of a loud noise when disengaging from 4Hi back to 2Hi, the other threads I have found call it a "clunk", whereas this is a hard slam, I have felt it in both the front and back seat, driver's side and passenger side.
 
It happens at any speed, from 5 all the way to 25-30 ish, and is only slightly less harsh if you go into neutral for a second and then back into drive.
 
I checked the t-case fluid, it was not contaminated or burned, I checked the front differential and it was a little low and there appears to be a slight axle leak, I topped off the fluid, but the slam remains, I checked the U-joints and they all seem fine.
 
Any ideas or help would be much appreciated, TIA
You might have to get under the truck and try to isolate it.. Make sure there's nothing stuck in the rubber mount grounding it to the metal.

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5 minutes ago, Hillwood said:

You might have to get under the truck and try to isolate it.. Make sure there's nothing stuck in the rubber mount grounding it to the metal.

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I put it up on a lift and did a pretty thorough visual inspection and rattle and shook everything I could, the only thing I didn't do is run it on the lift and see if I saw anything when it shifts, mostly because I just don't feel comfortable being under there while it is running and the drivelines are spinning, but maybe I will have to do just that

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The way I understand you're first post.. It makes the noise shifting from 4wd to 2wd. If this is right you should be able to shift it in and out on the hoist.
Do you have to be rolling to get the noise?
Will it do it in neutral not rolling?

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17 hours ago, Squarebody92 said:

My dad has a 2005 silverado 1500, he has recently complained of a loud noise when disengaging from 4Hi back to 2Hi,

Well, that sounds like an issue with the front differential.  Specifically, it seems to have something to do with the actuator and shift fork.  You can join AllDataDIY for a few bucks and get access to the troubleshooting guide and diagrams.

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44 minutes ago, Hillwood said:

The way I understand you're first post.. It makes the noise shifting from 4wd to 2wd. If this is right you should be able to shift it in and out on the hoist.
Do you have to be rolling to get the noise?
Will it do it in neutral not rolling?

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It seems it has to be rolling, yes, because one of the times I tried to figure out what the conditions were to cause the issue, we shifted from 4hi to 2 hi, pulled over and waited for a minute or two, and then maybe 10 seconds after we started moving again *WHAM* it shifted into 2hi

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46 minutes ago, swathdiver said:

Well, that sounds like an issue with the front differential.  Specifically, it seems to have something to do with the actuator and shift fork.  You can join AllDataDIY for a few bucks and get access to the troubleshooting guide and diagrams.

That's kinda where I was thinking the issue might be, but I haven't found anyone with a similar issue and I don't want to go throwing parts at it if I don't have good reason to

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It seems it has to be rolling, yes, because one of the times I tried to figure out what the conditions were to cause the issue, we shifted from 4hi to 2 hi, pulled over and waited for a minute or two, and then maybe 10 seconds after we started moving again *WHAM* it shifted into 2hi
Basic question here..
The tires all match?

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If it bangs as hard as you say, I would say t-case. The motor pushes against a pretty heavy spring to make the forks move. Might be something hanging up in there.
The front diff fork is disengaged by a little weak spring.

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37 minutes ago, Hillwood said:

If it bangs as hard as you say, I would say t-case. The motor pushes against a pretty heavy spring to make the forks move. Might be something hanging up in there.
The front diff fork is disengaged by a little weak spring.

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Alright, I will look more into that when I get a chance, thank you

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If you can get hold of a Tech-2 or other bi-directional scan tool, you can actuate those parts individually to rule them out, the actuators for the differential and transfer case.  There might even be codes stored already.

 

Without those tools it's tough but not impossible.  You can pull each actuator out and operate it and also look inside and see the condition of the parts they was actuatin'!

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  • 5 weeks later...

Alright, today was the first day back after holiday break, and I was able to hook it up to a scan tool finally.

 

Over the break I changed the fluid and the driver's side seal on the front diff, looked at the axle shafts, bearings and in the diff as much as I could, double checked the CV shafts, driveshaft and front shaft for play and they all seemed alright, I was informed that after being told the tires all matched that he did in fact have a different sized tire on the front driver's side, but that he had already swapped it

 

When I inspected the fluid coming out of the diff it appeared to have a bit of metal in it.

 

There is a slight grinding noise coming from the front end as well, that was also present before, but even after the change of fluid, is still there and is somewhat intermittent 

 

The noise is still there, slightly quieter, except for just a few minutes ago during testing.

 

The scan tool would not hook up to the transfer case, it had it listed as "Auto T-Case" and it is actually the old style with the manual stick shifter with the lever, so the only 4WD information was in the transmission data and consisted of 4WD engaged/disengaged, 4WD LOW engaged/disengaged, and transfer case ratio.

All of which changed accordingly when the 4wd was engaged or disengaged and while moving.

 

I haven't tested the actuator itself as I would think if the actuator wasn't working, it would either never kick out or never kick in, but maybe I am wrong.

 

Also, over the break, a similar noise seems to be happening when braking from time to time, might even be the same noise, you'll hear a clunk/slam as you're stopping, and also the aforementioned grinding and shuffling sound (not unlike a bad wheel bearing)

 

I haven't had a chance to pull the AllData up yet as the payment didn't go through from whoever handles that.

 

I am beginning to think the issue is in the front differential, but am open to other ideas

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