Balls in the bed

Beltron462 · March 30, 2020

I have a 2017 I bought used. It has 26k on it. The back end is very clunky at slower speeds/in and out of driveway/slow reverse. Almost sounds like a muffled softball in the bed rolling around. Anyway, I took it in to the dealership and they said, "tech found noise is normal form axle flay (I'm assuming that was a typo and that they meant "play") and the vehicle is within specs. Unable to duplicate the concern at this time" (which would be complete BS since you can hear it each and every time you drive it anywhere- so they probably didn't even drive it). Just wanted to get some thoughts on this issue. First truck, thanks a lot for any and all feedback.

btj_z71 · March 31, 2020

6 minutes ago, Beltron462 said:

I have a 2017 I bought used. It has 26k on it. The back end is very clunky at slower speeds/in and out of driveway/slow reverse. Almost sounds like a muffled softball in the bed rolling around. Anyway, I took it in to the dealership and they said, "tech found noise is normal form axle flay (I'm assuming that was a typo and that they meant "play") and the vehicle is within specs. Unable to duplicate the concern at this time" (which would be complete BS since you can hear it each and every time you drive it anywhere- so they probably didn't even drive it). Just wanted to get some thoughts on this issue. First truck, thanks a lot for any and all feedback.

I suggest letting someone else drive while you ride in the bed (safely of course) and see if you can hear it from there.

It could be as simple as a pen or something in the glove box or center console but just sounds likes it's coming from the rear. Acoustics can play tricks on us.

I assume you've already done this but ensure that the radio and AC is off too when attempting to identify where the sound is coming from.

There may be a loose bracket or clip on the rear end that makes a sound like what you are hearing.

Last thought, is to take your truck to a different Chevrolet dealership. Let them know the first place couldn't figure it out and so you're counting on them to get a solution.

LDM · March 31, 2020

My 2015 did the same thing after about a year of ownership. Turned out to be the leaf spring axle pads. I ended up putting some rubber gasket material between the pads and the leaf springs, fixed the problem immediately. Cheap and easy fix, got the rubber gasket material from the plumbing section at my local Menards for a few bucks. Just cut a few squares the size of the leaf spring pads.

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbing/plumbing-installation-repair/faucet-repair/o-rings-faucet-washers/danco-reg-6-x-6-rubber-packing-sheets/9d00059849/p-1444428632074-c-8544.htm