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Low Speed Thumping Noise Front Suspension

Well I too will join the clunking in the front end problem at slow speeds with no feedback in the steering wheel. They have ruled out the steering problem a lot of people have here. Last time I talked to them the technician believes he has isolated the problem to the front differential and is in the process of cracking it open. Haven't talked to them since then so should hear more tommorrow. Sure seams to be a trend here!
 
Has anyone noticed the fixing of the problem with this solution?
 
Got my truck back the next day, kudo's to Curt Warner Chevy in Vancouver, WA. The technician changed all bearings in the front differential as well as some other parts, basically have a fully rebuilt front differential. Drove it all weekend and noise/feel is completely gone.
 
Is there a zerk fitting on it??

I don't have a LOW speed noise, but I DO have a bit of a 'tick' when I have the wheel cranked over to take the large sweeping 180-degree turns to come up the hill here to work...

I hit a bump from a crack or manhole, and I get a little loose feeling up front, along with the faintest little 'tick' noise.

???
 
This is intersting to see this post. ?I had this problem in my '00 Silverado and it was fixed with the grease. ?There was a TSB on it at the time. ?I have not noticed the same problem in my Av... of course now I probably will ?:rolleyes:

-Mark
 
marc_w said:
Is there a zerk fitting on it??
Unfortunately, no. It's a bit more complicated than that. mrosenfield posted the complete details as an attachment to this post earlier in this thread.

I don't have a LOW speed noise, but I DO have a bit of a 'tick' when I have the wheel cranked over to take the large sweeping 180-degree turns to come up the hill here to work...

I hit a bump from a crack or manhole, and I get a little loose feeling up front, along with the faintest little 'tick' noise.
Let's discuss this in this topic: Looseness or tick in steering

-- SS
 
Just heard back from our dealer at 15,000 miles service....we were hearing wheel/axle noise when driving straight, turning and slowing down. They are gonna have to REBUILD THE WHOLE REAR END of our Avalanche (replace gears, etc) They say they saw metal shavings. Argh....I hope this fixes it. It is covered under warranty, but I'm worried that we'll see other problems now.
 
What a great site this is. Where else could we find this kind of assistance without dealing with crooked auto shops and mechanics that may or may not know what is going on with our expensive equipment.

Just this past week I started hearing a klunk, kinda like cracking your knuckles, when I am turning left or right and my tire enters the water run offs between side walks. I will be traveling about 5 to 20 miles an hour while turning and drive over these small depressions in the concrete and hear my front end go pop.

After reading through all of these postings I will be talking to the dealership tomorrow. My AV is five months old with 12k miles (trip to Michigan racked up the miles).

Thanks All.
 
I'm happy to report a happy ending with my frustration. It seems that I got a defective Eaton G80 LRD Unit!!! :E: I went to the website (after they serviced it again) and printed the "maintenance free" description given...this set the wheels in motion.

The Rear LRD was completely replaced after some further interactions with my dealer and a regional rep from GM. I have driven 10k+ miles since the swap ($1,000 bill the warranty paid for) and the noise has not returned! ;D

Thanks to all on this board who helped by sharing information!!!
 
I have had my 03 Z66 1500 in the shop 6 times for this noise. At 2 different dealers. One time they replaced the Wheel joint or something like that. The noise came back. The next time they lubed the wheel stoppers?? Then they replaced the steering box. Each time they try something different and the noise keeps coming back. My concern is what happens when my warrenty runs out and I have to pay for all of these failed attempts? Has anyone contacted GM? What's their offical stance on this?

Thanks

GW
 
My AV has just over 3K miles it and I just noticed a clunking noise (driver side front) when I take off from a stop. The noise doesn't happen all of time as it probably happended 3 times today out of 20+ starts. Being an intermittent noise doesn't give me great confidence that my local dealer will find the problem.

I am wondering having the tires inflated to 40psi might cause this. I moved the pressure up to 40psi for a weekend trip with the travel trailer and haven't dropped the pressure down yet.

Any suggestions?
 
I have the same type of noise, the dealer has a front shock on order to replace the one that is messed up. I notice noise when I go over speed bumps, start off from stops, etc. I don't know if it will fix it, but just take it in and let them find it.
 
New member here: 2002 AV - Z66

I had a problem and the dealership kept telling me it was a "truck" thing. After being a persistant pest they admitted there was a problem and begun investigating. It turns out that when my front wheel turned sharply the torsion bar was knocking into the oil pan. They said that the factory has not been torking the bolts to proper spec and after the vehicle has been on the road for a while this can happen. They tightened it up and the problem was solved.

Now I have a new knock noise when I go up my driveway or back down from it. It keeps pace with tire revolutions. Driveway is a slight incline which could be from the original problem in early stages, but I have my doubts. I am getting frustrated with all the nit-picky GM flaws in this vehicle. It seems most problems are truly assembly flaws and not design errors.
 
Also,

had a tire revolution noise that turned out to be defgective axle bearings. the entire end had to come off and new bearings were packed.

I only have 2500 miles of warranty left and intend to make every effort to gets the bugs worked out of it.
 
I have the thumping on turns. Its most noticable on long winding off ramps where you keep the wheel turned slightly. You can feel it in the steering wheel through the entire turn. I ordered the lube kit and will do the TSB and see if it helps.

Mike
 
I had the same problem...It was actually the oil pan thumping into something. Chevy said it was common in the suburbans too and if you drive one long enough, you will have to deal with it. Basically it gets worse based on driving habits. I always heard it when I turned sharply, particularly in reverse going down my driveway. It is fixed with a simple tightening from underneath. Mine was warranty work at 29,000 miles.

Good luck!
 
I did the TSB myself on the steering shaft. It did solve the problem as no more noise or feeling in the steering wheel. It was a little harderer than explained in the TSB as the shaft is not easily removed. I finally removed the throttle assembly and that made it easy. ;)

Mike
 
DamonCollins said:
I have a similiar knuckle poping thunk noise at slow speeds also. However, mine is only while turning. Mine is a z66. I'll also be going to the dealer soon.
Thanks,
Damon

Damon-i think what I hear with mine is similar to yours. I wouldn't say mine what a thunk but almost kind of a whooshing sound. But its at low speeds and mainly only when I'm turning.
 
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