Steering shaft lube

gnutruk · June 3, 2004

After much procrastination I finally took baby in to get the intermediate steering shaft lube done. Huge improvement! Now it takes corners nice and smooth, just like when new. No more of that aggravating ‘rumble’ in low speed turns.

Like many of us, I suspect, my biggest hesitation was in letting anyone else put their hands on baby. But I had a long talk afterward with the tech guy who did the work, and he was really helpful and obviously very knowledgeable. He said he has done LOTS of these tsb’s, and he took me through the entire sequence. He had an extra intermediate shaft lying right there on his bench, and he very kindly took the time to show me all about it.

I had downloaded and printed out the entire Steering Column Intermediate Shaft Lube info. sheet that CarGuru so kindly posted in the Guides section of this Forum, and the tech guy was clearly impressed with the type and quality of information available on the ‘Net’ to us non-experts.

gnutruk

Draphty · June 3, 2004

Congrats...I hope yours last longer than mine. Had it done at 10k. Started making noise again at 13k. Now (at 16k) the dealer's telling me that Chevy has a new "kit" that will become available in late June that will permanently fix the prob. Hope he's right!

Did anyone mention a "kit" to you?

AZ-Z71 · June 3, 2004

Someone here mentioned the kit and that the dealer did it for them. I ask my dealer and a parts person and they knew nothing about it. Someone on this forum did have the dealer replace with this kit. I can't remember if they came back with the part number but do a search. I think it was within the last month.

01BlackZ71 · June 3, 2004

What symptoms show up if you need your steering shaft lubed?

Draphty · June 3, 2004

You get kinda weak in the knees and start drooling....joking.

Starts out with just a little rattle that you can feel in the steering wheel. generally off center, going slow into a driveway. Then before you know it, you start to hear it and it seems like somethings loose, or actually, about to fall off the front suspension.

Chuckster · June 4, 2004

After much procrastination I finally took baby in to get the intermediate steering shaft lube done. Huge improvement! Now it takes corners nice and smooth, just like when new. No more of that aggravating ‘rumble’ in low speed turns.

Like many of us, I suspect, my biggest hesitation was in letting anyone else put their hands on baby. But I had a long talk afterward with the tech guy who did the work, and he was really helpful and obviously very knowledgeable. He said he has done LOTS of these tsb’s, and he took me through the entire sequence. He had an extra intermediate shaft lying right there on his bench, and he very kindly took the time to show me all about it.

I had downloaded and printed out the entire Steering Column Intermediate Shaft Lube info. sheet that CarGuru so kindly posted in the Guides section of this Forum, and the tech guy was clearly impressed with the type and quality of information available on the ‘Net’ to us non-experts.

gnutruk

Very Simple Job... I did mine in 1/2 hour...

If the clunking ever comes back I will grease it again! Cheap insurance..

carguru · June 4, 2004

Glad it worked out.

fastdrvr23 · June 4, 2004

Mine's in the shop right now getting the steering intermediate shaft replaced. It's my third trip for this problem, and the service guy said he was going to replace it with a new part instead of greasing it again within 5,000 miles of last time... I'll post the part number tomorrow when I get the truck back.

Funny thing is, the 2004 silverado they gave me as a rental, has the same d**n problem as well as the "warm-start knock" that mine does. Sheesh, these little things get old quick.

cdiddy · June 4, 2004

how do you get to the guides section of this forum????

mdub · June 4, 2004

Mine's in the shop right now getting the steering intermediate shaft replaced. It's my third trip for this problem, and the service guy said he was going to replace it with a new part instead of greasing it again within 5,000 miles of last time... I'll post the part number tomorrow when I get the truck back.

Funny thing is, the 2004 silverado they gave me as a rental, has the same d**n problem as well as the "warm-start knock" that mine does. Sheesh, these little things get old quick.

fastdrvr23,

Just curious if they're replacing the steering shaft with an improved component, or if your dealer is just reaching for ideas and replacing with another part of the exact same type? I'm curious because my dealer claims there is still no REAL fix from GM, and the grease is the only [temporary] fix. Please ask and report if you have a chance -- it would be nice if my dealer is wrong.

This is yet another ridiculous problem that GM keeps pumping out with no apparent interest in solving. As I've said before, it's STUPID that GM expects customers to disassemble their steering columns every 5k miles to apply grease, and it's STUPID that GM continues to build them the same way to this day after YEARS of the same problems. And only one of many reasons I'll NEVER make the same mistake again and put up with GM's b.s.

Thanks for any info you can provide -- I'm hoping to PERMANENTLY get rid of one of the simpler clunks in my "new" truck.

-Mdub

gnutruk · June 4, 2004

Congrats...I hope yours last longer than mine. Had it done at 10k. Started making noise again at 13k. Now (at 16k) the dealer's telling me that Chevy has a new "kit" that will become available in late June that will permanently fix the prob. Hope he's right!

Did anyone mention a "kit" to you?

Hi Draphty :

No, the tech guy who did the work didn't mention anything about a new kit. All he had was the standard lube kit, GM part # 26098419, which is what he used on my truck.

As we know, GM tends to be very closed-mouthed about new fixes for problems, largely, I suspect, because they don't want GM vehicle owners storming the dealers, demanding a kit that isn't yet available. The service guys at the dealerships may know about things that are coming down the pike well before they arrive, but for them there would be no reason to talk about it to a customer if the product isn't yet available.

GM also seems to change their minds every so often about how to go about doing fixes. The nickle-plated intermediate drive shaft fix being a typical case. So, rumors of a new kit might be about nothing more than an old kit which they dropped in favor of the kit that's currently being used.

gnutruk

gnutruk · June 4, 2004

What symptoms show up if you need your steering shaft lubed?

Hi 01BlackZ71 :

You start feeling this sort of dull knock coming up through the drive shaft. There isn't really too much noise associated with it; it's more a vibration. It's felt almost exclusively when turning corners at slow speed. The steering wheel doesn't turn or jerk in your hand, or anything like that, but when turning there's this frequent low popping, rumble, kicking knock. Kinda hard to exactly describe.

gnutruk

gnutruk · June 4, 2004

how do you get to the guides section of this forum????

Guides postings are listed under "Features", in a small insert in the upper left hand corner of the window you're in when you enter the 'Light Duty (1500, 2500)' forum.

Says:

FEATURES

»Truck Reviews

»Product Reviews

»Articles/Coverage

»RPO's

»Guides

gnutruk

fastdrvr23 · June 5, 2004

Mine's in the shop right now getting the steering intermediate shaft replaced. It's my third trip for this problem, and the service guy said he was going to replace it with a new part instead of greasing it again within 5,000 miles of last time... I'll post the part number tomorrow when I get the truck back.

Funny thing is, the 2004 silverado they gave me as a rental, has the same d**n problem as well as the "warm-start knock" that mine does. Sheesh, these little things get old quick.

fastdrvr23,

Just curious if they're replacing the steering shaft with an improved component, or if your dealer is just reaching for ideas and replacing with another part of the exact same type? I'm curious because my dealer claims there is still no REAL fix from GM, and the grease is the only [temporary] fix. Please ask and report if you have a chance -- it would be nice if my dealer is wrong.

This is yet another ridiculous problem that GM keeps pumping out with no apparent interest in solving. As I've said before, it's STUPID that GM expects customers to disassemble their steering columns every 5k miles to apply grease, and it's STUPID that GM continues to build them the same way to this day after YEARS of the same problems. And only one of many reasons I'll NEVER make the same mistake again and put up with GM's b.s.

Thanks for any info you can provide -- I'm hoping to PERMANENTLY get rid of one of the simpler clunks in my "new" truck.

-Mdub

Alright, it took them a day longer than I thought... They had to replace "O-Ring on Oil Pick up tube" to get rid of that annoying warm start knock... Which is still there, but a lot quieter.. It at least made me feel better, well, that and the 6yr/100k warranty on the engine now, after having to be pretty blunt with the service manager.

Alright, on the steering shaft, here's what was on the Invoice:

"Check for Knocking noise in steering when turning"

"Splines in Shaft Loose"

"Replaced Steering Shaft"

QTY 1, Part Number 88963611, Shaft 6.524, 1 Total Parts

Hope that helps!

This new part made the steering much tighter than the previous times when they just greased it.. The service advisor wasn't sure if it was a "new" part, but he said he hadn't had anyone return it for the same problem after they had this installed. Although, he said that was only 6 people so far. I'm really pleased with the results, I just hope it keeps working!

Good Luck!

Will

carguru · June 5, 2004

Keep in mind that fastdrvr23 has a 2wd truck. The part he posted will not work for a 4wd. Despite what is has been posted about a "new" shaft, there is no new design. The lube procedure is the only solution. I have access to the same bulletins as the dealers. There has not been a new bulletin issued on this. I've put on 8k since my lube job and it has not returned.