Groan while turning in 4wd

[chris_kucia]

Been hearing a groaning noise while turning to the left coming from the driver side while in 4wd or auto. Now that the weather's bad, I have to use 4wd all the time.

 

So I crawled up under there and it seems that the inner CV on the driver side is worn, but the inner axle is also sloppy so it looks like I'm going to need a new bearing.

 

Mine's a 2000 Sierra ext cab Z71.

 

Anyhow, the P/N info is:

 

Bearing:26041515

Seal: 12479012

 

They're both pretty cheap. I think $35 for both including shipping.

 

I pulled the inner axle and measured the surface and the axle hasn't suffered any damage. The p/n for that is 26058813.

 

As far as the inner CV is concerned, I found a company online called www.raxles.com. They charge $150 for an entire front axle with new inner and outer CV joints. Pretty easy replacement - six bolts on the inner axle flange and big nut on the hub. Service manual says to remove the idler link, presumably to move the control arm enough to get the axle out.

 

 

My suspicion is that the short inner axle isn't as rigid as the passenger side, which is in a tube off the differential. Once the bearing wears, the inner axle can canter slightly on the bearing race, which ruins the geometry of the inner CV joint and damages it. Its just a theory, but it makes sense to my warped mind.

 

FWIW...