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Dealer Telling The Truth? No Transmission Bulletin

J

jhlwilliam

GUEST
Ok, long story short, I have been on before about vibration problems with my 02 Avalanche. now i know there should be some kind of a vibration in trucks, tires, roads, and all that. but i know that my vibrations in my truck is in excess. i have gone as far as to take upon a BBB arbitration, unfortunately, BBB doesn't believe my case is strong enough for chevy to take my truck back. But i have consistantly told my dealer that the vibration has something to do with drivetrain, what with all the research on this site. and i even presented them a print out of the technical bulletins through a link here where it indicated multiple bulletins on transmissions. yet when i called the chevy dealer they claimed there has been not one word on transmission in the technical bulletins. bottom line, of everyone's efforts here, i have not been able to use any info to my advantage. i need help! anyone with a proven fix on vibration or transmission problems with an actual dealer write out please help!!!. my transmission has been slipping, hard shifting, and delay shifting as of late.
 
jhlwilliam,,,

I feel your pain... I had a similar situation with a new 2000 Blazer LT ... It came down to a buy back, but this didn't come easy... My knowledge, and ability to articulate that the problem "wasn't right" was the key...

The biggest thing in your favor of a buy back, is how well your service dept. documents your warranty history record... If the dealer service dept. is on your side, and goes the extra mile to locate, and attempt a driveline vibration fix, then great... But this depends entirely on the skill of the techs... If they don't have experience with av vibrations, they will be hunting in the dark with no light... The dealerships have a hotline to call if things mystify them... bottom line is:

YOUR SERVICE DEPT., HAS THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO HELP YOU... IF THEY ARE NOT, AND YOU HAVE ALREADY GONE DOWN THE ARBITRATION ROAD, ETC. TRY ANOTHER DEALERSHIP... A BIG ONE!!! THEY USUALLY HAVE THE HISTORY OF INHERENT PROBLEMS...

I can tell you some common problems with the AV and vibration. but without knowing your issue or driving the truck, I couldn't even guess... I tried to find your location, but you don't list it... If you are near central AZ, I would be happy to help ya... Here's some common things with the AV:

1. Tires ... The Goodyear AT's are HORRIBLE!
2. Body Mounts (rare)
3. Wheel / Tire assembly Runout / All should be force balanced to less than 15 pounds out of variance otherwise you WILL feel it in a stiff chassis like the av...
4. Prop Shaft ... Splines need frequent service by a special lubrication and removal procedure ... Sometimes this can lead to a vibration...
5. Rear Differential housing Pinion Inlet machined Off-Center (Extremely rare, but exists... This will put Prop shaft U-joints in a bind causing vibration)

among others...

But, 80% of the common vibration issues are the Goodyears... Force balancing the whole wheel / tire assembly is the only way to tell (I had 4 bad tires on the AV ... They ranged from 41-18 #'s out of varince) ... The Goodyears are SUCH AN ISSUE, I WAS TOLD THAT WHEN THEY GET A NEW SET FOR WARRANTY, THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO COME FROM A GM PARTS CENTER THAT PRE-INSPECTS THE TIRES BEFORE THE DEALER GETS THEM... If your dealership doesn't have a "Road force variance balancer" then they have no way of properly diagnosing a wheel assembly vibration... Spin balancing or Target balancing I hate to say it, is old technology, and more or less worthless ... The only tires that run true as a whole, are Michelins...

11H

 
Here is what I could find on transmission TSB's - it appears your dealer is telling the truth based on the problems you're describing.

Make: CHEVROLET TRUCK Model: AVALANCHE Year: 2002

Service Bulletin Number: 020730024 Bulletin Sequence Number: 634 Date of Bulletin: 05/02

NHTSA Item Number: 634999
Component: POWER TRAIN TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE)
Summary:
INFORMATION ON DIAGNOSING CRACKED OR BROKEN TRANSMISSION CASE. *TT

That's the only one. I really can't add anything to the outstanding post above on diagnosing these problems. Harmonic chassis vibration is pretty darn rare these days - but anything is possible. Don't give up the fight but I would exhaust every avenue possible with the tires. I had a pull and vibration until they cross rotated my Goodyears. Never been a big fan of 'em - and probably never will.
 
Thanks for your info guys, but i forgot to mention that the first thing my dealer did was to replace my right rear tire, but the vibration was still there right after. my vibration follows the rpm of the engine. between 1100 to 2000 rpms. at highway speeds 65 or so, it is constant. so during acceleration and cruising is when it is most obvious. on the side note at times when the car's been sitting over night there are no vibrations at start up, then as it warms up it get worse and worse. I am guess it has more to do with the drivetrain somewhere. and now that my transmission is slipping every once in awhile i am more convinced it's got to be drivetrain related.
 
jhlwilliam,

I think I have a very minor case of what you have.

After 70-75mph - which is 2300rpm in my 4.10'd Av, there is a minor "rumbling in the feet feeling". I can't pinpoint it at all. It seems to be everywhere... only when I'm on the throttle above those speeds.
 
It defenitely sounds transmission related... I would try it in 4HI to see if it is exaggerated...

I hate to be judgemental, but if your dealer is not up to the task, you gotta go somewhere else that writes a lot of work...

I will add, that just because a tire was replaced, doesn't mean it's true... (Why do you think tires on brand new trucks are bad...) The goodyears mainly the AT's are cause to a lot of things...

Sounds like the dealership isn't helping you too much... Sometimes it amazes me the difference in service I hear of... Heck Wiki had his av at a dealership for 2 weeks trying to rack down a in dash vibration noise that was just a nuisance... They ended up tearing half his interior apart to fix it...

Goes to show ya...

11H
 
Ok guys, i went into NHTSA web and found the following summary for a technical service bulletin:

service bulletin number: 020421005

some vehicles will not move when 4-wheel drive is requested, noise, shudder, poor performance, transmission/ transfer case slips, transmission will not upshift, slips in 4-wheel drive.

does anyone have the full report?, and info that might help? cause i have had 5 out of 7 above things happen to me. and the dealers are too "bussy" to do research for me.
 
Had a bad day. My tranie went out. Took it to the dealer this afternoon will see wat hapens. I had reverse but no forward gears.
I have a vibratiuon problem myself but it seem more like a soud vibration when the turck reaches a searten RPM, almost like a exaust shiled vibriating. will see what happens when I get it back. I hate being negitive but dealers suck.
 
hey jhlwilliam, i was just at my dealer yesterday having them look at my tranny probs. mine was slipping between the 1-2 shift and was also delayed. There is a bullitin out there describing everything you just listed to a tee. i read it at the dealer yesterday. It did not describe my problem at all so they reprogrammed the computer for the shifting and all is well now. But, just so you know,that bullitin that you are looking for, it is out there at the dealer,need to find one that is willing to look it up for you. :B: :B: :B:
 
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