Door noises on Chevy K1500 Extended cab LS Z71

wcasperson

Here are the details:
2002 Chevy K1500 extended cab (2 regular doors, 2 inverted doors). Z71, LS model. 5.3 Vortec. I had the dealer add a Manik grill guard and Smittybilt "nerf" bars. Stainless steel for both.

The truck was purchased in Feb of 2002, and has about 3,500 miles on it now.

On Seattle roads (a touch bumpy), I get a creaking noise or squeak out of the driver side doors. The squeak is not heard on the passenger side. If I turn the radio up, it drowns out the squeak.

I took it in to the dealership at 3K miles. The dealer's solution was to lube the doors. Problem went away for a day, and now it is back again.

The inverted door on the drivers side needs to be shut hard in order to get it shut. Not slammed, but pushed all the way until it shuts. I was told be the dealer that this "is by design"

Any suggestions on how to resolve this? Has anyone else seen this problem?

obyone

"Any suggestions on how to resolve this? Has anyone else seen this problem?"

It appears your door needs adjusting is the first problem. The second problem is getting your dealer to recognize this and adjust it. The answer to the adjustment is obvious. Getting the dealer to do anything is the real problem.

gator36

It is an apparent problem with the uper latch. I too have this and the dealer did recognise the problem.
There is a Customer assistance request into GM on it.
(not holding my breath) In the meantime, you can
wrap black tape on the striker loop at the top and this should quit it down...

pjcav

My driver side rear door has done this also. It really rattles when it is below 55 degrees in the morning. As soon as it wrms up in the cab it goes away. It sounds like a rattling door actuator arm. Of course the dealer "tried " to adjust it but they only moved the door striker out more and made the door not as tight against the body. did not do much help so i adjusted it back in. Still i cant isolate the rattle. It comes from the drivers side at the upper stricker area. i think I will try the balck electrical tape, it cant hurt.

Pat
2001 LT extended cab, z-71

akjbmw

Check for loose or dangling seat belt parts too...

mentor34

My 2002 2500HD has the same squeak from the driver's side doors, it drives me crazy and it only had 1,500 miles on it. Sounds like the doors squeak whenever the frame flexes, not so good on a new not so cheap truck.

noobie1

Sounds like a squeaky gasket. I've greased it with GM silicon lube twice without much success. I've also noticed the latch is a ratchet with at least three positions and if not bottomed out (slammed hard) creates even more noise, especially in cold weather. One of these days I'm gonna have someone else drive it and crawl around back there to see if I can isolate it. In the mean time adjusting the catch farther in seems worth a try. I remember someone reporting a while back that his dealer replaced the gasket and it cured the problem although he didn't mention any adjustments. Odd that it's only on the driver's side. Maybe the assembler on that side of the line needs a vacation.

-David

gator36

I had another rattle in my driver side door.
It was cause by a loose door handle on the outside. The handle had about 1/2 inch of play before it would meet with resistance. Driving down the road it would catch some wind and rattle. I had taken it to the dealer more than 5 times trying to isolate the problem. Then one day I was getting out of my truck and noticed the play. Taped it on the way home and rattle gone. Took the tape off and adjusted the mirror so I can watch it and sure enough. The dealer felt really stupid on that one...

dch0300

I've recently noticed the driver's side doors squeaking/creaking noise on my 2001 Silverado ex-cab too. It seems to be worse some days and better on others, and seems to be present only when I'm going over bumps or around corners then the cab is flexing. And it also seems to be worse just after I've washed the truck or when it is raining out. It was not present the first 9 months that I've owned the truck and is not present on the passenger side.
I live in Everett, maybe we should get together and try to isolate the problem ourselves if the wrapping of black tape on the striker loop at the top doesn't temporarily fix the problem.

jaijay

I did have a door squeak problem a while ago. The passenger door would squeak when it was opened or closed. After spraying the hinges with grease many times the problem still persisted. In a final determination to eliminate the problem I found it to be located in the sliding mechanisim that moves in and out of the door when it is opened and closed.

There is a rubber dust cap that I removed that is located on the front side of the door. The slider moves in and out of this dust cap.

Upon removing the cap there are two guide rollers in the door that the slider moves on. I sprayed grease onto both of them and replaced the dust cap. The opening door squeak has never returned.

dch0300

Black electrical tape on the upper striker loop DID NOT stop the creaking/squeaking in my driver's side extra cab door when it is shut and I travel around corners or bumps.

noobie1

I did a little investigating since last post. Going over it point by point and comparing it to the passenger side I found quite a bit more movement at the top latch. With the rear door closed and front open I stood on a milk crate pushing in successively at the top. It moved in and out about a quarter inch. On the passenger side, very snug. There's no doubt a way to adjust the catch under that plastic valence thingy, but without any knowledge getting it off could be costly. Anyone know the trick?

-David

pjcav

that plastic cover puls down and out to get to the upper strike. there are little plastic black tabs stuck into the cloth over head. in my haste i broke one but it is not that big of a deal. i adjusted the upper stike in a little to get as you saw less slop in the upper latch area. it is tighter now but not a whole lot quieter.

pat

noobie1

Thanks for the response.
Now, if you haven't already, thoroughly lubricate the rubber in that area with silicon grease where metal meets rubber. Let us know the results.
Just visited the alldata.com site and found: TSB 01-08-64-015, Side Access Door - Squeak Or Scraping Noise.
Haven't read the text so don't know if it refers to our problem. Anyone know a source for the text?

- David

obyone

Side Access Door - Squeak or Scraping Noise

File In Section: 08 - Body and Accessories

Bulletin No.: 01-08-64-015

Date: October, 2001

TECHNICAL

Subject:
Front and Rear Side Access Door Noise
(Replace Door Check Link)

Models:
1999-2002 Chevrolet and GMC C/K Pickup Models (Silverado and Sierra)
2000-2002 Chevrolet and GMC C/K Utility Models (Avalanche, Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon, Yukon XL, Denali)
2001 GMC C3 Sierra
2002 Cadillac Escalade

Condition

Some customers may comment on a squeak or scraping type noise while opening the front and rear side access doors.

Correction

Replace the door check link on affected vehicles. Use the part numbers listed below. Refer to the Doors sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual for the Door Check Link Replacement procedure.

Parts Information

Parts are currently available from GMSPO.

Warranty Information

Labor operation Description Labor/time
B4050/B4051 Link or spring 0.5 hr.
front door hold open
replace right/left

B4490/B4491 Link or spring, rear 0.4 hr.
door hold open-replace
right/left
For vehicles repaired under warranty, use the table as shown

noobie1

Now we know that isn't relevant.

- David

pjcav

I plan on using silicone on the door seals to see if that helps quiet the squeaking/rubbing. I only hear it when the body flexes like pulling into a drivway or hitting fairly large bumps in the road. i still dont understand why only the driver side and not the passenger. I will let you know if the Lube helps.
pat

mentor34

Keep us posted, the driver's side squeak on my 2002 2500HD makes the whole vehicle seem cheap whenever a bump or corner are encountered.

obyone

creaking over them bumps? One thing for sure its not the hinges themselves cause they are welded. There is a kit to replace the weld with bolts should they have to break the weld to adjust the door. Course they won't tell you that.

noobie1

You remarked in Post #13 that you broke one of the two black plastic tabs stuck into the headliner. In case you didn't notice, they are a latch having two parts. One part goes on the top of the headliner, the other part snaps into it from the bottom, holding it in place. The two tangs of the cover in turn snap into them. Not realizing this, I too thought I had broken one of them until I found the missing part on the top of the headliner.
So I ended up adjusting the rear door latch inward using all the movement available, 11/64, which pretty much duplicates the door movement on the passenger side. Greased it up and left the cover off for the time being. I'll let you know the results next week. Thinking positive.

-David

pjcav

dave
i did actuallly break one of the black tabs. i saw it was two pieces, but one of the tabs on the lower half piece did in fact snp off. i went to the dealer to see if i could get a few, but they could not find any in the parts list. they believe they come with another part as in the headliner, which i dont plan on buying. i will just super glue it. so how does the 11/64 work out. you say you moved in the upper strike as far as it will go??

pat

noobie1

Yeah, all the way in, but there's still noise. Greased the area well too. However, as I said previously, I left that plastic cover off and while driving down my road just now (very uneven) I stuck my fingers up in there touching the black plastic latch and the strike at the same time. The movement felt is definitely coordinated to the sound heard. A little grease on the mating face might be the ticket. Think I'll give it a shot. Get back to ya.

-David

noobie1

It appears there's not enough grease in the world to stop that creaking.
The latest test was to return the strike to the factory position and start over.
Having taken the plastic cover off the other side to compare them visually I noticed, (1) the rubber bumper at the back of the latch slot doesn't protrude out as far on the driver's side, allowing the strike to plunge deeper into the latch, actually rubbing the paint off the metal sandwich at the back. (2) the strike was also lower in the slot on the driver's side, low enough to rub the paint off the metal there as well. The first condition was 'corrected' by rotating the strike forward slightly. It appears now that the strike doesn't indeed plunge as deeply although still not matching the passenger side. The second condition was corrected with (don't laugh) a large hammer and a block of wood (not recommended, but effective). The strike is now positioned in the middle of the slot. I gave it a brief test and so far so good. Another week for a more thorough test and I'll report back.
Are these the same conditions you've found? Are you trying anything different?
BTW, Those plastic fasteners holding the covers on don't work the way they were designed. What a royal pain! Either that or they were never meant to be removed which I find doubtful. I took an Exacto knife and carefully trimmed the thickness of the tabs so they work more smoothly.

-David

noobie1

No more noise. I guess there is enough grease after all. The real test though won't be until cold weather returns. But the question still remains, why only on the driver's side? It suggests that the techniques I used (liberal amounts of silicon lube on all the rubber, WD-40 on all three latches, and rotating the upper strike forward) may only be temporarily masking some defect. Time will tell.
Hope this helps.

-David

pjcav

I am going to try youre ideas today. i will see if i get the same results. by the way i left my trim cover off until i am done adjusting. i am pretty sure the black tabs will eventually break with constant removal.

pat

noobie1

I forgot to mention leaving the doors open until the solvent in the WD-40 evaporates, unless of course you like the odor. Let us know what happens.

-David

pjcav

well i siliconed all the rubber sealing strips on my truck after i cleaned them. i also adjusted the uper door strike in a little, and adjusted my drivers door( it stuck out a little in relation to the rear door) strike mounted on the rear door. i will test it out tommorrow on the way to work and let you know. how is your adjustments working out.

pat

noobie1

I haven't heard much since last post. Just a kind of rubbing sound when the body flexes. Not very objectionable but tried something else anyway. I bought this product for the rubber boot on the cap. Worked very well to quell the rubbing sound also associated with flexing - 3M Silicon Lubricant Plus (Wet Type). Comes in a spray can. I took a small piece of cotton cloth saturated with it and again covered all the gasket surfaces plus, this time, all the mating metal surfaces. It's advantage is that it drys pretty thoroughly leaving a very slick surface.
We haven't talked before about that rear door window. I've heard sounds, a kind of tinny, ticking associated with body flex, that vaguely have the 'ring' of tempered glass. I think the gasket around it is vinyl which gives further cause for suspicion. Using a Q-Tip and that saturated cloth I covered all areas that touch. So far, good results, but as previously, the real test is cold weather. Keep in touch.

-David