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drivetrain vibration
i have a drivetrain vibration at 40mph in a 2003 chevy 1500 4wd.the dealer can't seem to find the problem.does anyone have or had this problem?
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You could be hitting the resonance frequency of the truck. I have a slight vib at 72 and it goes away if i go faster
I’ve recently purchased a 2003 Chevy Silverado Z71 truck. It has a 4.8L engine and the now infamous L60E automatic transmission. I purchased the truck as new with 45 miles on it and babied the vehicle until around 500 miles just like the manual suggests (keeping the vehicle under 55 mph for 1st 500 miles). When I started to drive the truck more normally I started to notice a rather loud hard clunking noise and jerk coming from the transmission.
I notified the salesman, who I had bought the vehicle off of and told him of the problems I was encountering. He suggested that I bring it in for service. I brought the vehicle in at 985 miles for an oil change and service for the shifting problem. The service desk told me that 4X4s will clunk more then other vehicles and I assured him that I knew that since I had previously owned a 1999 Z71 Silverado and that truck had never made these types of shift noises. Anyhow, they gave me the old grease and lube the driveshaft and universals treatment. Of course this didn’t take care of the problem.
After further talking to the service desk I learned that there is a GM bulletin addressing the issue. He told me that GM (O.E.) considers this shift clunk normal, but that putting on an updated “valve body” as he called it may help.
I scheduled the vehicle for service a second time at around 2490 miles. Upon picking up my truck, I learned that they did not put an updated “valve body” on my vehicle after all because it already had the newer style. Further more they claim they detected a shift selonoid fault and replaced the selonoid.
I believe that my shift clunking actually got worse after this. I called the sales person, again, and he arranged for a meeting with one of the Managers at Sun Chevy. I demonstrated the condition for Mr. xxxx, then he drove and admitted to feeling “some clunking”. At this point I was told that this noise was considered normal and that there probably wasn’t anymore they could do for it. Some solution! The truck had also developed some kind of vacuum leak, you could hear a hissing noise when the accelerator is depressed. I expressed my extreme dissatisfaction over the objectionable transmission shift, clunk and noise. Mr. xxxxx said he would set up a meeting with the local GM representative to further discuss my problem.
A week later I met with Mr. yyyyyy, we went for a test ride and he also heard the clunk, but once again I was told that this was normal and that there was nothing more that could be done to address the issue. Being told that this is a normal noise just sounds like a GM disclaimer. I’d like to meet the engineer who designed in the clunk! What if GM put out a disclosure letter stating that: “To all future Silverado purchasers, the transmissions on these vehicles may clunk during shifting and normal operation”. I think if you guys did this, you would scare away a lot of potential customers. And as far as the explanation of tolerance stack up goes, I don’t buy it. I am an Engineer myself and if a system’s collective tolerances are too great then guess what, it’s out of tolerance. It’s fine to say that every component is in tolerance, but the overall system still has to perform.
I have been a loyal GM owner all of my life. My first 2 cars were GM vehicles, I’ve owned a 1996 Chevy Blazer, a 1999 Z71 Silverado, and my wife’s car is a Chevy Berretta that we bought at this dealership.
Now I don’t know about you, but I bought a new vehicle and it should drive, sound and shift like a new vehicle. I traded in a 2001 Jeep with only 15K miles (the only non-GM vehicle we’ve ever owned) to put myself into what was supposed to be my dream truck ($32,000) that has a major shift clunk in the transmission. One of the reasons I bought the Silverado was because it was supposed to be truck of the year. Judging by the number of complaints on the internet and associated GM bulletins it sounds like you guys have a major problem in the working.
Mr. yyyyyy said he would extend the warranty coverage on the trany for 6 years 100,000 miles, but you know that just doesn’t cut it. I want it fixed, replaced or re-purchased. This is what will make me happy. If GM doesn’t make this right, I WILL NEVER purchase another GM product again. I guess I have to contact the BBB and file a lemon suit.
What do we “the customer” have to do to get your (GM) attention? Do I have to make up a bunch of bumper stickers up saying “Honk if your Chevy Clunks”? You know the Ford and Dodge guys will gobble this up. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Concerned and Loyal GM Customer
Steve R. Scott
Process Control & Automations Engr
J&L Specialty Steel Inc.
You are not alone in this, so fight the good fight my friend. Semper fi my brother!
Jag