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Low Speed Thumping Noise Front Suspension

Anyone notice a rubbing vibrating in the stearing wheel when you make a slow turn to the right. I only have 1600 miles on mine and this happens every so offen. ???
 
I posted this on another link -- so will paste it here
also since have no idea what the noise is


Wheel bearing thread -----
Did a search and found this thread. May just be
starting to have this problem. My North Face has
16K and I just noticed a pop sound coming from the
front when have to merge into traffic from a stop and
turning (at a corner).

Sounds like the dealers will be an A.H. like on the PVC
value. Wondering if should just drive till comes apart
and let them tow rather than argue something is
starting to go out.

This a 4X4 so it could be another problem. 4X4 has
never been used.
Logged

 
Ive got an 02 2wd with 42k on it. Ive had this weird rattle in the steering column since the day I drove it home. it was very subtle in the begining but is now getting to be unbearable. Ive had it in for service twice. Its a loose rattle that I can feel and in some cases hear especially when road curves to the right. Its so bad now I can sometimes hear a popping noise in the dash. Hopefully this will help narrow it down as I will be taking it back in for the 3rd time. J
 
Just something for you to check out-- At 4000 miles we also had a funny front end clunking- the entire front end had to be replaced !! The front differential, pinion gear, etc. FELL APART. The dealership was great, it took a week but it didn't cost us a penny. Apparently it was a factory defect. Have it checked out, it can be a very dangerous situation. Ours was an annoying clunk at low speed too. Hope this helps.
 
I'm with you guys! I have been trying to figure this one out as well. Here's my summary:
19 days in the shop and counting. It's a rotational vibration at low speeds, worse after driving for a while. Occasionally it is very loud! You can feel and hear it through the front floor and steering wheel. My dealer has now told me this is normal and that they put in an additive. Strange because Eaton says the LRD "needs no lubrication"...the gloves are about to come off! :8:

1st service - They lubed my front suspension. No help.
2nd service - They lubed my steering column. No help.
3rd service - Kept it for 12 days and did nothing to it!!!
4th service - Letter documenting my experiences, they serviced the rear differential. It is still doing it!!!
5th service - I had a long discussion with the service manager. Dead end. They won't replace the diff unit. It does it constantly. The owner of the dealership is supposed to call me next. :eek:

Take 10 deep breaths and call me in the morning!
 
I didn't read all the replies, but I wanted to add mine in.

I have a 2000 Chevrolet Ext. Cab 2WD and it also thunks at low speeds and you can feel the movement in the steering wheel. After several attempts at getting this resolved(its still under the extended warranty at 78K miles), the service deparment is claiming it to be something that started with the 2000 Chevys and is beyond their control.

Now, I'm not one to go pointing fingers, but I recently drove an 2002 Avalanche with 25K miles on it and it had the same thump at low speeds and I could barely feel movement in the steering column. This was easily noticeable when I turned sharply or had any vertical movement of the wheels, especially on the driver's side.

Luckily, my 02 AV does not have this problem and you bet, I'm knocking on wood.
 
I was getting a wired sound/feel at 13,000 miles in my Z66. It almost sounded/felt like when a CV joint goes bad on a front wheel drive car. It seems to happen at lower speeds when turning.

I brought it in and they used some new lube on the steering shaft. Apparently what came from the factory was breaking down prematurely, but has since been corrected. I picked it up this morning, and the noise/feel is gone. :D I saw this problem mentioned in another thread (forget which one).

Good Luck-
JohnS
 
Well, I have had this problem since November and had it in to the dealer 9 times since then. They have checked the torsion bars, taken them apart to find that they could not be adjusted, tightened control arms per GM (I even have a case number) and this helped for about 2 days and the sound returned. They found too much play in the relay rod, so they replaced the center link. That didn't do a thing for the thumping noise. I am frustrated and wondering if this will ever be fixed. I took them this thred today and highlighted where other individuals mentioned the same noise and what was done. At the end of the day I got the same thing - "the tech drove it and didn't hear the problem, he put it up on the rack and it all looks tight." We now have 19.5K on our av and have had this thumping noise since 14.9K (the last tire rotation - to be honest I really thought they had left something loose and took it back to be checked right away and it was all tight - the thumping is like a rattle in some respects - like hitting a bumper pad over and over again). I think the dealer thinks I am just a whiner - that it's all in my head or rather in my ear? The fact that I am woman helps not at all. I love our av - it is one great family vehicle. I just wish I could get this thump thing worked out.
 
So my saga continues - I took my av in for the scheduled appointment today. They told me they would get someone to drive me home then left me there for 20 minutes while they drew straws among the management as to who would come tell me to take it somewhere else to have it repaired. They even put it in writing that I should go to another dealer as they were unable to hear/fix the problem. I got on the horn with Chevy customer service and they set me up with a dealer in the big city (Los Angeles) and put me in touch with the service manager. After a few questions he stated that this is a known problem with the av and one they deal with on a daily basis. He stated that it would entail lubing the intermediate steering shaft. Although this is supposed to fix the problem, he did state that the problem is a recurring one and that I could look for it to occur again. I hesitated to go to the city for repairs as it is a good three hour drive away and will result in a day off work, but if it fixes the problem it will be worth it. Needless to say I thumbed my nose at the local dealership when I drove by this evening! I'll let you know what transpires after my big city trip.
 
hsc said:
I got on the horn with Chevy customer service and they set me up with a dealer in the big city (Los Angeles) and put me in touch with the service manager. ?After a few questions he stated that this is a known problem with the av and one they deal with on a daily basis. ?He stated that it would entail lubing the intermediate steering shaft.
Click to expand...

I understand your pain - I would push for the LA dealer to call your local dealer about how to fix the problem. Why waste your time, becasue the General doesn't have a good dealer in your area. Just my .02 :)
 
At low speeds,going over speed breakers,turning R or L and just starting out. I would hear a thumping noise coming from the frontend. Here is what I find to be my problem. Taking a flashlight and looking up into the crossmember that runs under the front seats and holds the rear of the transmission.The two bolts that hold the rear of the transmission on the crossmember, one bolt was missing all together and the other one with just two turns fill off. I guess the person at the factory just forget to torque the bolts tight after his/her lunchbreak. MY 2002 Avalanche has only 7000 miles. That's the scary part.

David B
 
You're right - that is scary! I would think that the lack of a bolt might have been spotted during the safety check preformed at each oil change. Course that is if they do everything they are supposed to - I had a check engine oil level message come on two weeks after my last LOF and it turns out they had only put in 5 quarts instead of 6 - so they had to add a quart. Seems like we need to be extra diligent. Good luck with the bolt thing - and enjoy your av!
 
spork_av said:
The dealership just called, and it seems that their isn't too much left of my front differential.... ?just a bunch of metal shavings...... ?so, looks like we will have loaner car for awhile... ?can't wait to see what they give us (probably a geo metro) :7:
Click to expand...
This sounds exactly like what happened to my truck. At very low speeds, around 2 - 4 mph, a rattling, banging, or clunking sound could be heard from the front end. When they first installed accoustic sensors across the underbody, they thought they pinpointed the sound to the transmission. After screwing with it for three days though, General Motors called them and told them to begin stripping down the vehicle until they located the problem. Finally, they tore apart the front differential and their writeup was either 'front differential bearings disintigrated' or 'front differential bearings destroyed.' I cannot remember which. The fluid was also badly contaminated, as you can imagine. They fixed everything and the sound has been gone since. The only disturbing thing is that they already had my differential apart months prior due to a whining noise. In that incident, they found that the bearings and fluid were discoloured. I am wondering if it is just 'one of those things' or if they screwed up when putting everything back together on that job.

For those interested, and I note this because the shop foreman had never seen this before, even though it was the front differential, the noise was there regardless of whether the truck was in 4LO, 4HI, 2HI, or Auto4WD.
 
I forgot to mention that for nearly eight months leading up to my front differential problem with the bearings self-destructing, I drove in 2HI. Not once did I go into 4LO, 4HI, or Auto4WD.
 
I also forgot to mention that last week I started hearing a thunk from the front-left, similar to the sound from the front-right when the dealership found a leaking shock absorber, which they replaced. The city decided to plow the snow into the middle of some streets and on a four-lane stretch, I was penned into the middle lane, which was now extremely narrow. An Aerostar worked his way over slowly and I had to start driving the snow, which was piled 18" high and was frozen. I almost needed a change of underwear after that. I was only two minutes from my destination and quickly parked to look for damage. When on the snow, I could hear the underside and running boards on the snow and was certain I damaged something but everything was intact. I then began to hear the thunking noise. The dealership checked it out and of course I did not tell them about my onroad offroading, and they told me that they injected lubricant into my suspension. That was the person's exact words. At first I thought maybe they did a standard lube with the little nipple points, but a friend told me a couple years ago that most vehicles don't have that anymore. Who knows? All I know is that the noise is now gone. :)

Now if only I could get rid of the annoying interior rattles. :(
 
To all who have the infamous clunking/rattling sound from the front end at low speeds or over small bumps including speed bumps, the solution: Go to dealer and have them inject grease into the MidShaft. If there isnt a TSB, there will be soon. This is the steering column piece that clinks/rattles in almost all Avalanches. It is easy to fix. Hope you guys are happy.
 
What midshaft are you speaking of . I would like to do this myself. Are talking about the steering shaft?Thanks
 
Thats the one........Solves all the problems with the clunk/rattle from the steering column.
 
I have had the same thump sound. It is getting worse. it occurs when I stop and release the break and 2-3 seconds later as I am coasting it will thump. You feel it more than here it. GM has made a nickel plated slip yoke from what I have read that can help with this problem I hope. I am not sure what the part does but they did order me a part and is going to install. I don't know if this will help our not we will see.
 
I took my av to the dealership in Los Angeles and I am happy to say they fixed the problem in less than an hour. It was indeed the Intermediate Steering Shaft, and it's been over a week and lots of right turns later and still no clunk. Chevy customer service called me a few days after the appointment to follow up and I was happy to have another chance to complain about my local dealer (especially since I had suggested this might be the problem to them and they refused to look). I have nothing but praise for the Los Angeles dealer who performed the work - they were courteous as well as speedy. Thanks to all of you for posting about this problem - it helped us get it repaired. I might suggest that if you have the same problem and get it fixed at a dealer that you ask for a copy of the service bulletin which explains the procedure - we were told it's a reccurring problem. Maybe fixable without dealer intervention in the future? ;D
 
Thats it , im going in on MOnday, I just went to the lake and the thing was clunking and popping like crazy, it was subtle and now every where i go i fell it and it was at low speeds now i feel it at like 60!!!! Is the point that gets grease that big rubber boot by the fire wall? I have a 02 z66 so i its not the front diff, and the rewar diff fluid is good. I tried yanking and pulling on the arm wile parked but could not recreate. Is it as simple as packing the damn thing with grease?
 
I'm not sure what you are describing is the same problem, although we also have an '02 Z66. Sorry I don't know anything about the big rubber boot by the firewall. I will say that the service bulletin used by the dealer is #00-02-35-003B (Clunking Noise Under Hood and Can Be Felt in the Steering Wheel) and this is a problem on a big list of vehicles from AV's to Silverados, the rich cousin Escalades, and even Hummers. Good luck with yours - I hope it is as simple to repair as ours was at the end. :)
 
OK ....FIXED.... I Love My Service Dept.!!!! You dont hear that too often. Well I t was like everyone else lack of grease in the MidShaft. There is a Lube Kit that chevy put out. I was in and out within 45 min this AM. I love my AV , but the trips too the dealer are getting old. I took the whole day off of work to expecting i would have to leave it or sit and wait all day. Well I took advantage of the day and went to the Lake with my PWC!! >:D
 
For those interested, here is a copy of the service bulletin for this fix. I hope this is readable. I had to ZIP it so I would post. It is viewable using Internet Explorer.
 

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