First Tires, Then Water Pump, Now Brakes!

jessdog · January 4, 2008

Hey all,

I have a 2006 with a tick over 19k. I Just got my truck back from the dealer. They had to replace the water pump which luckily was under warranty. I had to replace the tires at 16k and now they said that my rear drum brakes have less then 25% left. WTF!!! I heard about the american general tires wearing quickly, but nothing about the water pump or let alone the rear brakes so soon. I did a search but most issues were with rear disks. Anyone else have this issue? Oh, I also have the cluncking in the steering.

jrrod2004 · January 4, 2008

clunking has been a slight issue, tires are almost gone, and the brakes are pretty good, got an 06 crew rado.

Tylerz71 · January 4, 2008

Sorry to hear about all the problems.

The "clunk" is probably the intermediate steering shaft. A replacement is about $40 if i remember correctly.

I cant believe GM put drum brakes on the later model trucks. My 2000 Sierra has rear discs and I have had a little trouble with them. But they work good.

And yes, those American General tires suck.

ZZ327 · January 4, 2008

I think theyre either warranty replacing the steering shafts, or doing that jacking thing with them at the dealer.

the hammer · January 4, 2008

My water pump had to be replaced as soon as I bought my truck new in 06. The top had a leak right where the top hose attaches. My rear brakes suck too, but I hope to one day replace them with the stainless steel brake kit conversion. It is expensive, though, like $1000 dollars. I wish I could switch out the rear drums with a factory disc setup as it is much easier to manage and repair.

pm26 · January 4, 2008

What were the problems with your tires? Did they just wear out quickly? I have Bridgestones on mine, and the only issue I have with them is slight feathering along the outer edge on the front wheels. I have not checked the rear brakes yet, but I have only 7 k miles on my truck, so I cannot believe that they would be worn by now. One of my front rotors has a good size groove in it.

No clunking in the steering yet. No water pump issues either.

Question: Are early water pump failures common with these trucks?

jrrod2004 · January 4, 2008

we both have the same brand: General Ameritracs, google it and you will see how bad they suck (wear out too fast)

ZZ327 · January 4, 2008

What were the problems with your tires? I have Bridgestones on mine, and the only issue I have with them is slight feathering along the outer edge on the front wheels. I have not checked the rear brakes yet, but I have only 7 k miles on my truck, so I cannot believe that they would be worn by now. One of my front rotors has a good size groove in it.

No clunking in the steering yet.

that will take an alignment to fix, ive heard quite a few left the factory with the wrong Toe settings. Mine had to be aligned at 6K miles

jessdog · January 4, 2008

With the tires, they started with the feathering, then all of a sudden, the front passenger side was really worn. I took it to the dealer and everytime they said it was the alignment. There was no point in aligning worn tires. The rear were not as bad. When I replaced the tires, I got it aligned at a different place, and they said he had to adjust it just slightly, nothing to major. With the water pump, I came from work the day after xmas and there as a puddle of antifreeze on the ground. I saw drops comming from behind the water pump, but not from the gasket. My buddy has a 02 tahoo and his does the same steering noise so I thought it was a Chevy thing. I also have a crew cab. I might have the brakes replaced somewhere else. I just wanted to see if I should fight with the dealer since all this crap is happening so soon.

Thanks for all the replies.

jrrod2004 · January 4, 2008

fight em if it is still under warranty, I take mine in for regular maintenance (everything) only because they are within a couple of dollars of their competitors when it comes to price. (and if they break something, they can simply order parts directly from GM). I have managed to make the ameritracs last 23K (rotating them ever 4500 miles) but it is almost that time for me to drop cash for new tires .

pm26 · January 4, 2008

What were the problems with your tires? I have Bridgestones on mine, and the only issue I have with them is slight feathering along the outer edge on the front wheels. I have not checked the rear brakes yet, but I have only 7 k miles on my truck, so I cannot believe that they would be worn by now. One of my front rotors has a good size groove in it.

No clunking in the steering yet.

that will take an alignment to fix, ive heard quite a few left the factory with the wrong Toe settings. Mine had to be aligned at 6K miles

I had mine aligned at 3k miles and the toe setting was corrected a little. However, the front tires are still showing some feathering at the edges (I rotated rear wheels to the front after the alignment and at that time the rear ones were worn perfectly evenly). Somebody advised me to have the camber dropped to 0.0 degrees . It is presently slightly positive, set to +0.1 degrees. The toe is adjusted I believe to +0.02 on both sides. Should I have it set to 0.0 on camber and 0.00 on toe in as well? I guess it would not hurt to try.

It really pisses me of that some jackass at the factory did not do his job and aligned the truck improperly in the first place. But, my Nissan truck came misaligned from the factory too. Must be a chronic problem.

jrrod2004 · January 4, 2008

dont always blame factory, you should see what the carriers do to trucks (and cars). if memory serves me correctly, it is done, but with the way the trucks are strapped down for shipping does mess up the alignment more often than not. hell I have seen carriers snap an axle or two because they tie the trucks down too hard. that is why GM has a rather large NVD group (New Vehicle Damage) in DBC (Dealer Business Center).

Impalacat · January 4, 2008

I'm glad mine has rear disc, I have a little over 95000 on my 2000 and still have the origanal brakes I did have the front rotors turned a little, I had a wobble I thought came from the left, but the right rotor was the one that was warped a little, I have replaced the wtr pump, but I had 81000 on it. and yes I had The General of Junk Tires on my rig from the factory also would never buy that brand on my own.

pm26 · January 4, 2008

dont always blame factory, you should see what the carriers do to trucks (and cars). if memory serves me correctly, it is done, but with the way the trucks are strapped down for shipping does mess up the alignment more often than not. hell I have seen carriers snap an axle or two because they tie the trucks down too hard. that is why GM has a rather large NVD group (New Vehicle Damage) in DBC (Dealer Business Center).

You are probably right. I would appreciate it very much if somebody could give me a set of good alignment numbers to avoid feathering of the front tires. As it is, the toe-in is very slight, almost zero. Since the tires in the back are not feathering, I assume that 0.00 settings on both toe in and camber in the front might do the trick.