2001 GMC Sierra - Banging feeling in steering wheel

[Christopher Miller]

Good Morning Gents..hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful saturday morning. I have a 2001 GMC Sierra that I bought used in 2018. I am the 2nd owner and its a beautiful truck. Ive put about 60,000 miles on it and recently the front end has felt funny. Kind of loose when hitting bumps adn sometimes I actually feel a "bang" in the steering wheel. I took it to a local guy who said that everything was tight and he tightened the steering box. It didnt feel much better, so I had him replace the front shocks, which had noto been done since I bought it. It had the check enging light on so I took it into a local garage to fix that and check out the suspension. Everything is original and the rubber bushings that I can see look bad. They said everything was tight and there wasnt any play in the front end. Im concerned about the banging feeling in the wheel. Ive been driving this truck for 8 years, so I know how it usually feels and this is something new. Its a second vehicle, so I dont drive it all the time, but Im trying to use it more often. I live out in the country and some of the  roads are kind of rough and I alive on gravel roads. Anyone deal with anything like this before? 

[txab]

Without knowing how bad your banging is, one suggestion is the intermediate steering shaft on the steering wheel. These used to be a problem on 800 and earlier series. The feeling/sound was sometimes described as "clunking" and was felt in the wheel. Also there is a plastic piece in the lower column that is referred to as a bearing. Not your traditional looking bearing though. Your ball joints, bushings and tie rods or steering rack (if equipped) are the main point of issues. You never mention total unit miles, only that you've put 60k on it.

 

You can search the site for help on the ISS description. Plenty of these have been replaced

 

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=site%3Agm-trucks.com+intermediate+steering+shaft&ia=web

Edited Saturday at 03:36 PM by txab

[Christopher Miller]

Good Afternoon..thanks for the reply. I purchased the truck with 108,000 miles on it in 2018. It now has just under 170,000 miles. My previous truck, a 1992 Chevy K1500 Silverado had 370,000 miles on when I sold it at 13 years old and I never felt anything like this, but then again it wasnt 25 year old. I do not feel that all the time. Only when catching a bump just right". I was assuming that it was time for ball joints, control arms, tie rods, etc. but I am being told all of that is solid and not in need of replacement, although the buishings that I can see in the wheel well appear to be dry and cracked. Ill take a look at the parts you mentioned and will start going thru the forums for info. Just had the idea to look for a forum the other day since I am not satisfied with what I am being told and what I feel when driving the truck.  

[txab]

with your further description, I'd be looking at all front end components. Control arm bushings can be deceiving. May look like fair condition but they're allowing play