Is it really tire noise?

sgiangregorio · April 28, 2004

For a couple of months now, I've had a noise in my front end. I had the tires balanced, and the dealer go through the front end. Both the tire store and the dealer say it's road noise from the Goodyear Wrangler ATs.

Over the last week, the noise, which was just a lump sound, has progressed into what I would describe as a "grinding" or "growling" sound. It's to the point that I believe (unless my mind is playing games with me) I can feel it in the steering wheel now.

I'm concerned that this is something much more serious than road noise from the tires. The truck went out of warranty about 2000 miles, but when they looked at it the first time, it was still in the warranty, and they documented the issue.

Anyway, has anyone ever heard of road noise being this severe? The tire dealer says that these tires are known to be loud. They have 38,000 miles on them, but from a treadwear perspective, still look new.

Thanks.

GF7PE · April 28, 2004

to be honest, those tires are not that loud, are they louder than the stock tires? yes! but not that much

you shouldnt really hear them at all.

can you hear the noise with the radio on?

do you have any way to swap rims and tires for a few miles? a buddy or something

dukbludvl · April 28, 2004

is this just a thud noise that only occurs when you're turning? if so, it could be the intermediate steering shaft needs to be lubed. i know that's been a problem on a lot of these trucks -- i had to lube my yukon in january 04

sgiangregorio · April 28, 2004

Thanks for the replies.

It's not the interm shaft. I know what that feels like and had it fixed before.

This is a constant noise, which is speed sensitive, which leads me to wonder if it's tires or a shaft. The tires came on the truck, it's a Z71. I guess th only thing I can do is rotate the tires and see what happens...I just don't feel like that right now.

Shaners · April 28, 2004

I'd say it could be the tires or a wheel bearing.

sgiangregorio · April 28, 2004

hmmm...a bearing. Could be.

Shaners · April 28, 2004

hmmm...a bearing. Could be.

A bad wheel bearing will make a "thrumming growl" (how's that? LOL!!!). It can very easily be felt through the steering wheel and usually in the floor pan too if it's bad enough.

sgiangregorio · April 29, 2004

I think that's it. But when the dealer checked it out, they said the bearings were fine. Maybe it just wasn't bad enough yet to notice a problem?

Either way, if that is the problem, do you think it could have been caused by something else, or can they just go this soon? I've never heard of one going at such low mileage.

And if this is the problem, am I doing any further damage by driving the vehicle? I can't get it into the dealer until Tuesday... And can I inspect it myself to determine if that's it?

Thanks

seadoons · April 29, 2004

Something I would suggest is to take it to a mechanic that you trust and have him "diagnose" the problem, then take it back to Chevy and have them fix it under the warranty. If they give you crap about you being over the warranty, call General Motors, explain to them that you had it in for the problem while still covered and they didn't fix it.

Shaners · April 29, 2004

On these new trucks you can't just replace the bearing on the front wheels... it's an expensive hub assembly that you'll need to buy.

My buddy just put a new one in on his truck ('00 K2500 4x4) with 40K on the clock.

I think the parts are several hundred dollars, so if it is in fact the wheel bearing, I'd try to get your dealer to fix it under warranty.

You should be OK to drive on it for awhile... just don't head across country.

sgiangregorio · April 29, 2004

Great. After this truck, I'm starting to lose faith in the General.

PFarkas · April 29, 2004

When my front bearings failed, the early signs were hard subtle and required that I be driving at highway speeds.

As they got worse, the noise became more noticable at lower speeds and finally became noticable as feel through the steering wheel.

The first time I took it in to have it fixed under warranty, the dealership couldn't be bothered to drive the truck 1.5 miles from their parking lot to the expressway and run 2 miles up to the next exit and then return to get the problem to show up.

I'm pretty sure that my bearings failed because I put the truck in some deep water. Not "into the cab" deep, but "over the hubs" deep.

I believe that I found replacement wheel bearings at GMPartsDirect.Com for around $140 a piece. They aren't handed, meaning that the same part is used for both sides. If you have a half-ton, they may be cheaper.

Certainly not a trivial install, but it doesn't require any exotic tools and should be manageable if you're comfortable doing work like swapping out brake calipers or changing leaf springs.

Frank S · April 30, 2004

I had a similar problem on my ZR2 and it was indeed the hub assembly.As mentioned above,it started out as a growl during higher speeds,say 55 mph and above and just got progressivley louder over time.

I too picked mine up from gm parts direct and you will save money by going that route.I do believe it was about or around half of what a dealership wanted but they will hit you for a relatively high shipping charge.

It will be easier for you to do this with an air impact wrench and if the set up is the same as what was on my front end,it will take either a 36 or 37 mm (can't remember which off hand) socket to remove the control nut.It really isn't that bad of a swap out at all if you end up having to DIY.

tommyboyZ71 · April 30, 2004

my bearings went on my right wheel at 18,000 miles.....sounds just like what your describing.

sgiangregorio · April 30, 2004

It really does sound like it, although the sound, at least at first, was more of a consistent sound, but not constant. It almost sounded like an out of balance tire, but didn't feel like it. Now it's a solid steady growl.