1999 4x4 Silverado Vibrations

[Mike Lewis]

ok. first off i'm new here... seems like a great community. i just bought a 1999 4x4 Silverado LS EXT with 116,000 mi and i've noticed a few little vibrations/noises as i drive it...

 

i traded in a 1994 reg cab 4x4 5-spd that has never given me a day of trouble (147,000 mi). the only reason i moved in to the LS is that i needed the ex cab.

 

i did some searching and found out about the "lauch shudder" that i am experiencing, but i've only found it in the 2wd models... is it common in the 4x4? also at about 55 mph there is a slight vibration/sound almost as if it were in full-time 4 wheel drive (but the sound only increases in 4x4). i'm guessing that it's the u-joints perhaps so that's my question: is it a common problem in the 99's to have u-joint problems?

are there any rear-end problems in these models?

what about front-end problems?

could the driveshaft need balancing?

 

maybe someone has a list of the problems GM experienced with this model?

 

what's interesting is that my wife and i also own a 1999 suburban and it's like driving two different vehicles from different planets . i know there was a model change but the suburban is smooth and this LS is really not .

 

again i did some searching but only found some launch shudder stuff so hopefully you can point me in the right direction here. very much appreciated!

 

-mike