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crow hopping, grinding noises in 4 wheel high

burnedup

New Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2007
Messages
3
Location
Fulton New York
I have a 2003 chevy silverado that is of the same drivetrain family as the chevy avalanche. It has 60K miles on it and when it is in 4 wheel high it crow hops or jumps when turning in as large a circle as 50 feet in diameter.? also, when turning onto a side street when the 4 wheel high is engaged I get a winding up kind of noise that sounds vaguely like a milling machine machining away at something in the front differential housing. the dealership agrees that this is not normal and Ive had it in the shop twice already but they cant seem to pinpoint the problem. the first time it went in they replaced a front hub bearing and the second time they replaced all the bearings in the front differential. the symptoms havent changed. Im at wits end. any thoughts or suggestions? I am experiencing these symptoms on snow covered roads and parking lots-? NOT ON DRY PAVEMENT
 
:welcome: to the club.
You got me stumped on your problem, maybe someone else will have an answer.
 
Check to see if all 4 tires are exactly the same size. Measure them to see. 1/4 inch smaller on 1 tire can make a huge difference.
 
Maybe I should explain further. I bought the truck used and it already had the new tires on it. I never tried the 4 wheel saystem until it snowed because it was sunny and dry when i bought it. it was in mint shape and extremely clean and from a reputable dealer so i didnt think i needed to be worried about the 4 wheel system. I will measure the tires though
 
Ive seen new tires be off too. I've even seen tire shops put on different size tires and even different brands.
 
Are you sure the tires are slipping in the snow when turning?

find some sand or muddy areas.... and try again
 
Does it do it in 4 low?  If not I would suspect something in the transfer case in the 4 high gearing.
 
No expert here but I just had my 04 Z71 in the shop for much the same reason.? Noise from 4 wheel high that just didn't seem right.? ?There is a GM bulletin that may or may not be helpful to you it's GM Document #1742901. Though the document refers to this problem in 2WD mode it does also apply to vehicles when in 4WD.? On my truck they replaced the differnetial houseing (said it was "warped" ) and replaced the "engagement gear", pinion gear and several bearings.? The work they did seems to have cleared the problem up.? I can send you a list of the parts they changed out and let you see how it compares to the work you've had done thus far.? ?Also wondering if when you have the vehicle in 4hi if you get the milling sound when driving straight down the road?? That noise was the dead giveaway for my mechanic.? Hope this helps.
 
Since my last post I took the vehicle into the shop and basically was given the bums rush. They told me that the noise was "normal and that all the trucks of that year made the noise" Then they took me for a ride in two other trucks that were 2003`s and indeed they did make the noise. I have a hard time believing that the american public is that easily duped into spending $35,000.00 on a vehicle that operates and sounds like that. I also have several friends and an independant mechanic who have driven my truck and they all agree that it sounds like something is drastically wrong in the front end of my truck. For now i am living with it, since they tore it down last week the gears are noisy now because the pinion is shimmed differently than it has been for the last 60,000 miles so it is a little noisy. when i`m driving straight ahead or making a slight turn the noise is not present it seems most evident when slowing down and turning into a parking lot or side street. I would be most interested in reading that 1742901 document from GM if any body knows how to get a copy of it
 
Without actually hearing it, I would venture to say that it's probably normal in 4WD.  I get the same noises in 4WD, been like that since day 1, and it doesn't matter if it's on dry pavement or dirt.  The tires are getting traction in the turn and it's getting bound up, then slipping or forcing the rotation.  In the mud and ice, it's not as prevalent, but you still hear it.

You ever drive a car that had a Detroit locker in it?  Very similar going around the turn since the outside wheel is making more revolutions than the inside tire.
 
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