Rattle Coming From Steering ?

[magstar67]

I bought this truck in Jan 09 with 19k miles, at that time it had what I call 'feedback' in the steering wheel. It was most noticable when at low speed and especially when the road surface is somewhat rough and initially did it when you would turn to the left, I could feel a light rattle in the steering wheel and it seemed to come from the steering column/dash area.

 

My dealer replaced the I-shaft and it still did it after the repair except then it did it when going straight instead of when turning left.

 

I took it back to dealer, they replaced the lower (I think...I dont have the invoice in front of me right now) bearing and I think tried another I-shaft, didnt fix it and now it does it when turning to the right...going straight or left it is good, turn the steering wheel to right and I can immediately feel & hear the noise/rattle

 

I took it back again, this time they replaced the steering gear assembly and it still does it when turning it to right.

 

Took it back again, dealer spent hours checking it out with no improvement. Dealer doesnt know what else to try, they have replaced everything with no real improvement, if anything I think it has gotten slightly worse. Therefore dealer has talked with GM Tech Assist and they are telling dealer that the I-shaft repair wont work on a crew cab and that a fix is in process. GM also told dealer that larger than stock tires will make noise worse...my truck has 265 tires instead of stock 245 tires...had them when I bought the truck in January.

 

I have had a 01 Silverado 1500HD crew 4x4 and a 05 Avalanche 4x4 1500 and both had noise in the steering and were both fixed the first visit to same dealer by either replacing I-shaft or lubing the shaft.

 

My dealer has been very helpful trying to fix but with no luck, I love the truck but the noise is very annoying and shouldnt be unfixable on a 25,000 mile truck in my opinion.

 

What do you guys think? Thanks for your time.

[ScottyBoy]

Did you run a car fax history report on the truck before you purchased it? I've seen 10,000 mile trucks that were wrecked and repaired and sold. A past coworker of mine puchsed a truck that was less than a year old, only 5k miles, and was supposedly a "demo" model. After many problems with the steering and suspension, and irregular tire wear, he then discovered that the truck was in a MAJOR wreck. It was more than $14,000 worth of damage, but the truck was worth about 20k, so they fixed it and sold it. Dealer was no help until he then filed a suit against the dealer who then agreed to take the truck back and give him a brand new vehicle. Just throwing this out there, but sometimes a wrecked vehicle can have all sorts of problems like that. A slight twist of the frame will throw everything off , the steering, alignment and everything. Hopefully thats not your problem, but just make sure.

[magstar67]

I didnt run a Carfax but I am virtually certain it hasnt been wrecked. I do paint work for a living and I am sure it has never had any paint work but I guess it could still have had frame damage...I'll check just to be sure.

 

Thanks for the input.

[magstar67]

I was pulling my trailer today, It seems to be less noticable when my trailer is hooked to the truck. I guess putting weight on the rear takes weight off the front axle which could effect the noise in the steering???