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04 Silverado 5.3L - Dealer Can't Find Problem

RandyH

By RandyH
in Ask A GM Technician

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RandyH Enthusiast

RandyH

Posted
Posted

:crazy: I have a 2004 Extended Cab Silverado with 14,000 ORIGINAL miles. Whenever the temperature here in Dallas is hot, the engine/ transmission makes this loud (almost irritating whinning sound). The local Chevrolet dealership has looked at it three times now and says everything is fine. But, they went ahead and (supposedly) replaced the fan clutch just to make sure. But the sound is STILL horrible. Sounds like an 18 wheeler taking off in granny gear. The sound is so bad that whenever I pull through my office parking garage everyone turns to look at me. I am ashamed of this vehicle! No other GM vehicle has ever made this sound. My Son has a 2004 GMC Sierra (same engine and everything) and his does not make this whining sound. At first I thought it was stuck in "Tow/Haul" but that has proven not to be the case. I wish I could describe the sound better, but just imagine what a dump truck or concrete truck sounds like whenever it leaves a red light. Sounds like it is stuck in low gear (although it's not). After the engine has warmed up the sound never dissipates or goes away (well inless of course I turn the engine off). It's hard to tell if it is engine, transmission, air conditioner or fan clutch. I am at a total loss as to where the 'Granny" gear sound is coming from. The ironic part is that the dealership here in Dallas acts as though this is normal. My 2002 Avalanche did not sound like this and neither did my 1999 GMC Sierra.

 

I am so irritated with this and nobody seems to have a clue what it might be. I have noticed that after the vehicle has sat all night, the first few miles in the morning seems fine. But once it warms up - here comes the whine again. When the air conditioner is on it seems to sound louder than when the air conditioner is off, but just a little less.

 

Can anyone suggest other things the dealership could check. I KNOW this is NOT the way General Motors intended for this vehicle to sound. Thanks in advance !

snoman Senior Enthusiast

snoman

Posted
Posted

Tell me more about the sound. Does it do it in neutral as well as drive and it is worse when it is hot and it tracks engine RPM more than vehicle speed? If yest it could be na bad front pump in tranny or in the torque converter. I had a simular problem with my 2000 K3500 a few years ago that they fixed for free. It was not that loud but GM recommanded replacing converter and front pump because they said they have had some problems with some of them and afterward is has been quiet.

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted

Snoman,

 

I have a whining noise coming from my truck, but it is nowhere as bad as described above. It is RPM related, it does it cold or hot, generally whenever the engine is accelerated to about 1200 RPM and above. I first heard that noise at around 1000 miles, then it sort of went away (or I did not listen as intently to it) and came back around the 2400 mile mark.

 

At first I suspected the transmission. The noise is not tied to any one gear, the noise is there even when the engine is revved up when the truck is in park or neutral.

 

I was thinking that maybe the noise is coming from the serpentine belt idler pulley, tensioner, or alternator, or waterpump bearing. I thought about removing the serpentine belt to see if the noise will disappear. This will at least help me eliminate or confirm these bearings as the source of the noise. The noise is there whether the alternator is charging or not. ('06 trucks have an alternator shutdown system)

 

As I said, the noise is not very pronounced now, but it is there, it is a whining noise, and I am worried that it will only get worse with time, and that I too, will be told some BS by the dealer that this is normal.

 

I would be grateful if somebody could steer me in the right direction on this. I have posted twice about this problem and got very limited response.

snoman Senior Enthusiast

snoman

Posted
Posted
Snoman,

 

I have a whining noise coming from my truck, but it is nowhere as bad as described above.  It is RPM related, it does it cold or hot, generally whenever the engine is accelerated to about 1200 RPM and above.  I first heard that noise at around 1000 miles, then it sort of went away (or I did not listen as intently to it) and came back around the 2400 mile mark.   

 

At first I suspected the transmission.  The noise is not tied to any one gear, the noise is there even when the engine is revved up when the truck is in park or neutral.

 

I was thinking that maybe the noise is coming from the serpentine belt idler pulley, tensioner, or alternator, or waterpump bearing.  I thought about removing the serpentine belt to see if the noise will disappear.  This will at least help me eliminate or confirm these bearings as the source of the noise.  The noise is there whether the alternator is charging or not. ('06 trucks have an alternator shutdown system)

 

As I said, the noise is not very pronounced now, but it is there, it is a whining noise, and I am worried that it will only get worse with time, and that I too, will be told some BS by the dealer that this is normal. 

 

I would be grateful if somebody could steer me in the right direction on this.  I have posted twice about this problem and got very limited response.

 

 

 

 

Get you a 3 or 4 foot piece of 3/4 inch or bigger heater hose (or the like but you want rubber so outside noise to no come through walls easily) and place one end by you ear and move the other end around engine compartment when noise is present and you will be able to locate its source quickly because when you are dead on it you will hear the difference. THis can help a lot as engine compartment noises are hard to pinpoint sometimes. (that is how I pinpointed mine a few years ago)

bobcat5544 Enthusiast

bobcat5544

Posted
Posted

You have at least one of 3 problems, either

1. The new fan clutch that was put on is bad or they really did not replace it,

2. You have air flow blockage though the front of the grill not letting enought air to get throw the ac condensor and radiator, or exceive heat arount the cooleng fan clutch

3. you veh is running about 210 or higher...

 

I know the sound you are talking about when I did a 3inch body lift on my truck the radiator got 1/3 block from the air flow and it would do it all the time

it is normal to here the sound you have specialy with the ac on, but one of the above things have to be going on.

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted

My truck has no fan clutch, but electric fans. The noise is there whether A/C is on or off, even when truck is started cold. The truck never overheats and the temp gauge always reads below 210 deg F. No blockage of the air flow to the A/C condenser or radiator - this is a brand new truck that has not bee anywhere off road yet.

snoman Senior Enthusiast

snoman

Posted
Posted
My truck has no fan clutch, but electric fans.  The noise is there whether A/C is on or off, even when truck is started cold.  The truck never overheats and the temp gauge always reads below 210 deg F.  No blockage of the air flow to the A/C condenser or radiator - this is a brand new truck that has not bee anywhere off road yet.

 

 

 

 

 

Use my hose trick and see what you find.

bobcat5544 Enthusiast

bobcat5544

Posted
Posted
My truck has no fan clutch, but electric fans.  The noise is there whether A/C is on or off, even when truck is started cold.  The truck never overheats and the temp gauge always reads below 210 deg F.  No blockage of the air flow to the A/C condenser or radiator - this is a brand new truck that has not bee anywhere off road yet.

 

 

 

 

1st you just stated the dealer replaced you fan clutch,

2nd unless you took the fan blade off the front of the engine and put in aftermarket elcetric fans then you have a fan clutch, 04 silverado with a 5.3l does not have dual electric fans option.

 

I would need to hear it, i'm almost positive I know the sound you here

 

check your email my # will be there. If I can just here it I can tell you what it is

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted
My truck has no fan clutch, but electric fans.  The noise is there whether A/C is on or off, even when truck is started cold.  The truck never overheats and the temp gauge always reads below 210 deg F.  No blockage of the air flow to the A/C condenser or radiator - this is a brand new truck that has not bee anywhere off road yet.

 

 

 

 

1st you just stated the dealer replaced you fan clutch,

2nd unless you took the fan blade off the front of the engine and put in aftermarket elcetric fans then you have a fan clutch, 04 silverado with a 5.3l does not have dual electric fans option.

 

I would need to hear it, i'm almost positive I know the sound you here

 

check your email my # will be there. If I can just here it I can tell you what it is

 

 

 

 

 

You got my response confused with the other guy's post.

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted
My truck has no fan clutch, but electric fans.  The noise is there whether A/C is on or off, even when truck is started cold.  The truck never overheats and the temp gauge always reads below 210 deg F.  No blockage of the air flow to the A/C condenser or radiator - this is a brand new truck that has not bee anywhere off road yet.

 

 

 

 

 

Use my hose trick and see what you find.

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I'll give it a try. I tried a mechanic's stethoscope and no luck.

RandyH Enthusiast

RandyH

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Tell me more about the sound. Does it do it in neutral as well as drive and it is worse when it is hot and it tracks engine RPM more than vehicle speed? If yest it could be na bad front pump in tranny or in the torque converter. I had a simular problem with my 2000 K3500 a few years ago that they fixed for free. It was not that loud but GM recommanded replacing converter and front pump because they said they have had some problems with some of them and afterward is has been quiet.

 

 

 

 

Snoman - I will call during the morning on Thursday. I am in Dallas Texas and it is now 12:00 midnight. I drove my truck home from the office tonight (16 miles) at 55 MPH. Parked it in the driveway and let it sit for about 5 hours. Had to run to the store a few minutes ago and immeditaley upon starting the truck I hear the loud whining noise. It's NOT high pitched. When I started off down the street the sound gets louder with the RPM's. Again, it sounds like a big truck taking off in low gear (Granny gear). The sound resonates with the rpms or the speed of the vehicle. Sorry - I can't tell which. The tmeperature is fine and the truck has never over heated. The GM delaership here (Huffines) can't locate the source and half act like they could care less. Their shop foreman told me this is normal for Chevrolet, but I beg to differ. It sounds like the transmission is about to come apart. No cracking or anything liek that - it just sounds like the transmission is totally being strained to it's limits. It does not shift funny or anything like that. I sat ina line at Chik-Fil-A today at the drive thru. When I pulled out on the street and took off from the light the sound was so loud I literally thought the engine or transmission was about to go. I am so frsutrated and dumbfounded by this never ending wind up sound. Sounds like the transmission is holding the truck back some. It is a FUlly Certiied GM product under full warranty. I just can't seem to get the dealership to understand how frustrating this is. They have heard the sound and that's what prompted them to replace the fan clutch. Although I did not get a chance to mark it prior toi the last repair, so I cannot say for sure, that they actually did it. No charge on ticket as it was warranty rep[air anyway. Thanks for listening. I am just looking for ideas on what to tell them to check AGAIN. Talk to you soon.

 

Randy

RandyH Enthusiast

RandyH

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Snoman,

 

I have a whining noise coming from my truck, but it is nowhere as bad as described above.  It is RPM related, it does it cold or hot, generally whenever the engine is accelerated to about 1200 RPM and above.  I first heard that noise at around 1000 miles, then it sort of went away (or I did not listen as intently to it) and came back around the 2400 mile mark.   

 

At first I suspected the transmission.  The noise is not tied to any one gear, the noise is there even when the engine is revved up when the truck is in park or neutral.

 

I was thinking that maybe the noise is coming from the serpentine belt idler pulley, tensioner, or alternator, or waterpump bearing.  I thought about removing the serpentine belt to see if the noise will disappear.  This will at least help me eliminate or confirm these bearings as the source of the noise.  The noise is there whether the alternator is charging or not. ('06 trucks have an alternator shutdown system)

 

As I said, the noise is not very pronounced now, but it is there, it is a whining noise, and I am worried that it will only get worse with time, and that I too, will be told some BS by the dealer that this is normal. 

 

I would be grateful if somebody could steer me in the right direction on this.  I have posted twice about this problem and got very limited response.

 

 

 

 

 

AMEN to EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE and I plan t call for a District Service Advisor if I have to.

RandyH Enthusiast

RandyH

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Tell me more about the sound. Does it do it in neutral as well as drive and it is worse when it is hot and it tracks engine RPM more than vehicle speed? If yest it could be na bad front pump in tranny or in the torque converter. I had a simular problem with my 2000 K3500 a few years ago that they fixed for free. It was not that loud but GM recommanded replacing converter and front pump because they said they have had some problems with some of them and afterward is has been quiet.

 

 

 

 

 

The sound is heard regardless of gear. Yes it is worse when HOT. Seems to track to vehicle speed.

RandyH Enthusiast

RandyH

Posted
  • Author
Posted
My truck has no fan clutch, but electric fans.  The noise is there whether A/C is on or off, even when truck is started cold.  The truck never overheats and the temp gauge always reads below 210 deg F.  No blockage of the air flow to the A/C condenser or radiator - this is a brand new truck that has not bee anywhere off road yet.

 

 

 

 

1st you just stated the dealer replaced you fan clutch,

2nd unless you took the fan blade off the front of the engine and put in aftermarket elcetric fans then you have a fan clutch, 04 silverado with a 5.3l does not have dual electric fans option.

 

I would need to hear it, i'm almost positive I know the sound you here

 

check your email my # will be there. If I can just here it I can tell you what it is

 

 

 

 

 

You got my response confused with the other guy's post.

 

 

 

 

 

I will call during the morning on Thursday. I am in Dallas Texas and it is now 12:00 midnight. I drove my truck home from the office tonight (16 miles) at 55 MPH. Parked it in the driveway and let it sit for about 5 hours. Had to run to the store a few minutes ago and immeditaley upon starting the truck I hear the loud whining noise. It's NOT high pitched. When I started off down the street the sound gets louder with the RPM's. Again, it sounds like a big truck taking off in low gear (Granny gear). The sound resonates with the rpms or the speed of the vehicle. Sorry - I can't tell which. The tmeperature is fine and the truck has never over heated. The GM delaership here (Huffines) can't locate the source and half act like they could care less. Their shop foreman told me this is normal for Chevrolet, but I beg to differ. It sounds like the transmission is about to come apart. No cracking or anything liek that - it just sounds like the transmission is totally being strained to it's limits. It does not shift funny or anything like that. I sat ina line at Chik-Fil-A today at the drive thru. When I pulled out on the street and took off from the light the sound was so loud I literally thought the engine or transmission was about to go. I am so frsutrated and dumbfounded by this never ending wind up sound. Sounds like the transmission is holding the truck back some. It is a FUlly Certiied GM product under full warranty. I just can't seem to get the dealership to understand how frustrating this is. They have heard the sound and that's what prompted them to replace the fan clutch. Although I did not get a chance to mark it prior toi the last repair, so I cannot say for sure, that they actually did it. No charge on ticket as it was warranty rep[air anyway. Thanks for listening. I am just looking for ideas on what to tell them to check AGAIN. Talk to you soon.

bobcat5544 Enthusiast

bobcat5544

Posted
Posted
My truck has no fan clutch, but electric fans.  The noise is there whether A/C is on or off, even when truck is started cold.  The truck never overheats and the temp gauge always reads below 210 deg F.  No blockage of the air flow to the A/C condenser or radiator - this is a brand new truck that has not bee anywhere off road yet.

 

 

 

 

1st you just stated the dealer replaced you fan clutch,

2nd unless you took the fan blade off the front of the engine and put in aftermarket elcetric fans then you have a fan clutch, 04 silverado with a 5.3l does not have dual electric fans option.

 

I would need to hear it, i'm almost positive I know the sound you here

 

check your email my # will be there. If I can just here it I can tell you what it is

 

 

 

 

 

You got my response confused with the other guy's post.

 

 

 

 

 

I do that from time to time, when someone else post there own problem on someone elses post

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