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99silverado vibration problem
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The B8 hub, and the earlier rack and pinion preload seem to address front end shimmy, or vibration problems. Some here are reporting the vibration in the rear. Not saying diagnosis of rear is correct.
My Silverado was built in 1998. Being an early model, would it not also have been built with the B8 hub? If so, why don't I get a vibration/shimmy, or am I just lucky so far? Could I have gotten the B9 hub instead?
Thanks in advance.
But for your information, I was wondering why my truck does NOT have the vibration at 65 mph. Since it was made in '98, I just assumed (you know what they say about assume) that I must have the B8 hub. Maybe I don't? Mine is 1500 4x4, recirculating ball steering. No vibration or shimmy at any speed, yet.
I took my GMC back to the dealer today for the fourth time about the rear end shimmy. The service advisor told me that he just received a new service advisory (TSB?) from GM this morning concerning this issue (about 15 minutes before I arrived). He couldn't tell me a whole lot about it yet because he hasn't read it fully. In general, he said it relates to changing the rear leaf spring bushings, changing tires (different brand?) and fixing the launch vibration on starts, among other things. If there is anything else, I don't remember it all. I'll call tomorrow to find out more details, what was done to my truck and if vibration and shimmy has been fixed (hopefully).
Service Bulletin Number: 86-74-03
Bulletin Sequence Number: 277
Daate of Bulletin: 9810
NHTSA Item Number: SB602756
Make: GMC
Model: GMC Truck
Year: 1999
Component: Power train: Transmission: Automatic
Summary: Some vehicles may experience a bump/clunk upon acceleration.
There was no further details on their web site. Check with your dealers, he should have further information on this. Just thought I would share this bit of information with everyone. This adresses the issue of a vibration from a start. Later.
The tires are Generals 235/75/r16. I hope it is the tires so I can get rid of these and upgrade to a better brand and larger size. What would be a good size to upgrade to? I'll keep you posted.
Truck tires are tough, but street tires are comfortable.
IF YOUR SERVICE MANAGER WILL NOT CALL TECH ASSITANCE.. TALK TO THE DEALER SHIP GENERAL MANAGER MAKE IT HAPPEN.. THIS INFO IS NOT BEING PASS OUT THEY WILL HAVE TO SEARCH FOR IT. UNTIL A TSB IS RELEASE.. THIS REPAIR HAS ONLY BEEN AVAIL SINCE MONDAY AND BEEN PROVEN BY THIS TECH 7 TIMES,,, IF YOU CAN'T GET ANY HELP FROM YOUR DEALERSHIP CALL THE 1800 CUSTOMER SERVICE IN YOUR OWNERS BOOK AND TELL THEM THIS INFO.
A CHEVORLET MECHANIC TRYING TO
HELP (THIS WORKS) STEVE C.
I took my 99 GMC ext Z71 in for the vibration noise at 40 mph and all they did was drive another new truck on the lot and say it had the same noise so it was normal!!
I also told them when braking hard you could hear a clank about 2-3 times 1/2 sec apart. It sounded like u-joint clank when you are parked and go from Park to D or R. They said the rear rotors were bad and put new ones on. Well not the truck vibrates from 25 and up. It feels like a "flat" spot on the tires like in the old days and you first got in your truck on a cold day. I have a friend who is a Chevy mech and he said the rear rotors look used. They are pitted, and rusted, If you look where the pads hit you will see some funny dis-coloration in the rotor. Real strange.
I feel I an getting the run around, I will bet if I told they it was using 1qt of oil in 500 miles they would say that is normal.
Not a happy camper. Almost wishing I bought a Ford.
steve
tell them to call in the results of the eva test to tech asst and get the fix
Scraw,
I took your postings to the dealer yesterday, and this is their responce. They basically said that they will not, are not, can not, nor be interested in hearing of, or respond to anything that is/was posted on any web site, bulletin board or discussion group. It has to be written is stone, and it has as to come to them either as a service advisory, service letter, from tech support or TSB delivered to them via telephone from GM tech support, fax, e-mail or by snail mail from GM or GMC. They said. This was/is their policy. I personally do not think they will ever take the time to call either your dealership nor tech support because of this policy. I also tried the only other GMC dealer in this area. I talked to the service manager and he said that this was his dealerships policy, also. What I don't understand is, why are they so pig headed that they won't take the helpful information handed to them from other sources and take the time to ask another dealership for assistance. So that, if and when they do run into a problem, there may have been a procedure that was overlooked or that they (the other dealership) may have a solution for it. Sure looks like that I may have ran into a problem (stone wall) as far as getting any help from any of these two dealerships. It just HAS to be OFFICIAL from GM, not from the web. As a side note, they both were appreciative of you and your dealerships hard work and dedication but, their hands are tied by their dealerships policy. I guess they would rather go on going step by step, by the book, fix by repair and replace parts until they get it right, instead of investigating and diagnosing the problem like you have done on your own. I would suggest that YOU document all the steps you used, all the procedures that you have done so far, what was done, parts involved, etc. and present a strong case to GM. May be now there will be a service advisory, service letter or TSB issued, just to get this dealers off their [non-permissible content removed] and get moving. All I know is that all four of my aluminum rims are getting pretty marked up on the inside bead area from all the wheel weights that have been use so far, and the ride is no better at 62 to 72 MPH. Taking my truck to Oklahoma from south central Florida would be out of the question, just to have my truck taken care of properly would be going alittle bit to far wouldn't you think? KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK STEVE and may be something will come out of this soon, hopefully. Got to get off my soap box. Later.
PS, I was told that the muffler (looks like a water heater to me) rubber mounts could/has caused something like this before? True or false?
I just wish tech asst would get out the tsb they said is was on the way but as of yet I havent seen it.......good luck and remember there is a fix and it will be done soon....
Ps I might be coming to kissimmee at christmas so if its not fixed by then I'll look you up
See ya
Read the whole list. Most have same question. There are three problems:
1) front end shimmy-caused by Rack and pinion preload not properly set AND B8 vs B9 hubs (B8 not self centering causing a vibration B9 is self centering and doesn't vibrate)fix- adjust R&P preload and replace B8 with B9 hubs
2) Rear end shimmy at 60-70 mph-only reported in 2wd w/ 3.43 dif locking or not-appearantly caused by an excessive u-joint angle in the back half of the drive shaft. fixes: change the angle with shims or new motor-tranny mounting brackets. U-joints are not constant velocity and create felt vibrations depending on rpm, load and angle. Fix2: replace the 3.43 dif with a 3.7-get ready for better pulling but less mpg's (-1 or -2 mpg at worst)
3) Bad tires: the General brand tire that came as oem appears to have a run out problem- FIX: replace tire with new oem Firestone brand.
4) Another problem I've been reading about is a squeak caused by two things. Thing1: bad chasis mounts or improperly torqued chasis bolts-fix: retorquing the bolt solves problem short term-replacing mounting pad and bolt provides those reporting a more long term repair (no new complaits after doing this) Thing2: Suspension springs front and rear rub against spring bracket when compressed (ie. going over a bump)causing a high pitched metalic squeal. Fix: have a welder move the spring bracket 1/2 inch more away from the spring. (personaly don't like this option but has been reported to clear up squeak). Keep working at it Steve, we are listening.
Phil
Phil
Sorry, forgot this one.
Engine/transission growl at 35-40 MPH: caused by the locking plate prematurely moving into position in automatic transmissions fix: GM actually has a fix for some early and possibly later VINS at this time. Take your truck in and get the program flashed. One report indicated that not only did the growl go away but the truck felt like it had better performance and power.
Phil
1. a rumble - vibration coming from the floor in the area of the transmission at 45 mph.
2. A shutter - shaking in the rear of the truck when taking off from a stop, labeled as a "launch shutter" by the service dept.
3. A vibration at 65 mph, mostly on the passenger side of the truck, causing the cups in the cup holders to jump wildly.
4. Finally, a violent shaking of the steering wheel on rough pavement, sometimes so bad that slowing down and almost stopping was the only way to control it.
As you can see, I have had my problems! Through
all of this Hudiburg Chev. service dept. has bent over backwards trying to correct the problems.
Steve (scraw) has put alot of time and effort on my truck and I appreciate it! I'm sorry that the rest of you with similar problems don't have the dealership and service dept. that I have been lucky enough to have. Today my truck is 98% better that when my problems began and I again am able to enjoy driving it.
My advice to you Silverado owners with problems is to listen to Steve or drive to Oklahoma and Hudiburg Chevrolet!!! Steve knows what he is talking about.
One more item I would like to bring up. I had the opportunity to talk to a engineer from GM who came to Hudiburg to observe the problems with my truck. I asked about an extended warranty because of the problems I was having. He said there was such a thing and he would get back with me. After a couple of weeks, I was told they wouldn't give me one because I didn't have enough miles on my vehicle at this time.
I would like to know what the rest of you Silverado owners out there with problems
think about this.
Again, thanks to Hudiburg Chev. and expecially to Steve for all the help they have given to me.
I thought I would let everyone know that I have arranged with the other GMC dealer to rule out any General tire imbalance. They will take all four tires and rims over to the local Cadillac dealer, where they have a HUNTER road force load measurement system tire balancer and check for any run-out on them. I'll also see if I can talk them into looking at the front wheel hubs while the rims are off to check for the B8's. Will let everyone know what happens on this one later.
To Phil;
I just hope that it is bad GENERAL tires. However, of all the tire manufacturers I dislike, it's FIRESTONE. Ever since they were bias-ply tires and the infamous FIRESTONE 500's. I would rather have Michelin's or BFG's as a replacement tire even if I have to share to cost for them. The dealer has so far replaced the drive shaft and shimmed the rear of the transmission at the rear mount, but I haven't seen in the w/o where they replaced the mount itself. As for replacing the 3:42 rear end gear ratio to 3:73's, I would rather not at this time unless it's the last resort. I like going down the turnpike or interstate at ~75 MPH and still have the engine turn alittle less than 2,000 RPM's.
To SCRAW;
I hope you're right.
When I think of what my first house costs compared to what my new truck costs...kinda turns the stomach!
$43K in Can. money though...right??
So about 1/2 American?
But I don't have a growl, shimmy, shudder, vibration, so I didn't get it reflashed for that.
It seems impossible, I know.
Knobby & mike38- sounds like you have the rack preset problem. It may (just a guess) have been caused by a poorly calibrated tool on the assembly line. If its just due to low preset tension on the rack it could be worth looking into. The B8 hub is the other half of the front end shimmy. I don't have a guess for that one other than parts on hand (even the wrong one that still works) equals production quotas stay up. I'll agree that the tires are more than likely not THE problem; more a symptom of the problem both front and rear.
Phil
STEVE C
Get this, a local General Tire distributor here in town will not do warranty work for these tires due to the fact that the tires are so cheap the tire dealers won't even sell them. The dealer wouldn't even give me anything on a trade for some other tires. It's too bad that GM puts this kind of product on their flagship vehicle. I guess it is what I get for ordering an SL--cheap truck gets cheap tires.
I'll keep you posted next week on the tire swap.
Scraw--
My truck was built in March. Do you think I could have the bad hub problem? I don't feel anything in the steering wheel at all.
I hear they are having big problems with tires do to the fact they have hired a bunch of workers that have no clue how to make tires. There has been radio commercials from the Union??..saying please don't buy Ford Products and call them and ask that they don't use these tires. Maybe GM is having the same problem?
Hopefully mine has the Firestones?? for 2000 On/Off road tires.
Tim
Interesting thing about tires, is that they are manufactured pretty much as they always were, by hand. It's more art than science. They use the same molds, but the plys are hand laid, and the vulcanizing process (curing) is not always consistent. Doesn't matter what brand you are talking about. So the main thing when you buy new ones, is to insist on replacements right away if you feel something is not right. There will always be good sets and bad sets.
I was wondering what you did to fix the launch shudder? Leaf springs?
Phil
Hope all is fine
Tim
I keep hoping the next "fix" is the one. This sounds more creditible though having read Steve's input on the hubs. Tires really have me puzzled though. How could more ridged frame affect tire stress that much?