2000 Chevy Silverado Vibration - II

obyone

expert on Edmunds...I remember post #221 on Silverado XII, mgdvhman, has claimed the honors to that title.

Quad

Found the old email...see if you can make sense out of this one...

"dean, look between your front tire and door. halfway between the "A" frame and first body mount there is a "u" shaped strap of metal welded onto your frame. is there a 3/4 inch. rod attached?, if not your missing your front stablizers. I think our frames are twisting as the truck hits a bump. causing severe but temporary caster camber movements, its like the tires going up and down is bringing the frame along with it. this is what is causing tire feathering, and a ride that feels like a old old truck ready to fall apart. I'm still working on this and am not finished with every detail, but the end is near. see if this makes sense to you and pass it along to any 1999 gm 2wd truck owners. the new ones have stablizers. see ya larry

Care to take a shot at it? BTW, I don't have the rod attached...and mine is a '00

quadrunner500

I can't even find a u-shaped strap welded anywhere onto the frame of my 4x4 in that vicinity.

Do you have Tim's pager? Maybe he knows...(LOL!)

xbbuster

I am definitly going to need a copy of that bulletin. My '00 silverado ext. cab SB is going back to the dealer for the third time(vibe). They must think I'm dreaming about the vibration.Thanks

obyone

agreed...ditto on the baffled part. I think that's why he's saying it's coming out on the 2001.

kansan

I believe the TSB is for the V6 only.

white6

this afternoon in regards to my 2K GMC Sierra reg cab 2wd vibration problem. Took it in this morning and informed them of the bulletin I have read about here on Edmunds (actually printed out a response with the number in it). Service manager at Bob Howard GMC in Edmond, OK recognized this bulletin. They said they have to order all the parts to perform this bulletin, so I guess that means they're going to actually do something other than "can't duplicate/normal operation" bs. I must admit, I'm suprised. Of course, it hasn't happened yet, and he told me it would be a very involved service procedure. My salesman at Howard (Kyle Addcock) gave me a 2K Grand Prix GT to drive "as long as you need it." I would highly recommend Kyle. I'll reserve my judgement on their service department until this whole thing is done. I'll keep everybody updated.

kingfishgus

Just talked to my Srv Mgr. He checked and says the new TSB is for strong front then shake when you hit bumps only, not the 65-70 mph highway vibration. He said the fix is for a range of VIN numbers which includes some 2000 year model trucks. Bunch of parts involved. Has not installed the fix on any so doesn't know how well it does.
Keep posting on this and lets find out what it really fixes.

quadrunner500

Get it done. Don't let a stubborn srv mgr stand in the way. A few of them will argue rather than go back on what they first told you...i.e. it's a "normal characteristic" etc.

Good luck!

quadrunner500

>>>He checked and says the
new TSB is for strong front then shake when you hit bumps only,<<<
*************************************
Besides, who's been complaining about this? Never even heard of it. Good luck. Stay after 'em, or find a good dealer that will help you out.

anonymous

read a bunch of stuff on topic #1877. is this new
tech. bull. related to the same problems that the
giys on that topic are talking about. have also
seen this on the #1996 topic.

thanx,
red

mrurl

Thanks for the info. I don't have the high speed shakes, but the front end shakes heavily when I hit a bump. Feels like worn out shocks. I was planning to replace the shocks when I do my nsuspension mods anyway. I printed out your message and will check my VIN at lunch. Mine was built in Ft. Wayne.

Peter

ricsch

The problem you describe could possibly be corrected with this service bulletin. I was in contact with Landmark Chevrolet out of Houston,TX and they spoke of similar problems and corrected them-they referred to this problem as "dithering" and if I'm correct this latest bulletin is GM's "cure" for it.

ricsch

What type of suspension mods are you going to perform on your truck?

kansan

Thanks for your post. They're ordering the kit for my truck today, so mine must fall into the "replacement" category. It was made August 31, 1999, in Ft. Wayne. I checked my VIN, and it was similar to the VIN for the Body Series C15753, except it starts with "1GCEC..." instead of "1GTEC...". I haven't seen the Service Bulletin yet, but wonder if you may have accidentally hit the "T" button instead of the "C" button when typing in the VIN for the Body Series C15753 truck mad e in Ft. Wayne.
Thanks,
Ken

obyone

by substituting the "T" for the "C" in the VIN, T refers to a GMC truck where C refers to Chevy truck.

onepat

amazing after 5 dealerships that would admit nothing as to vibs went to another today, sales person was right upfront about the problem, now the good stuff, tradin price is correct, and good untill my 2001 is delivered. 2001 prices are not even out but recieved a firm quote that matched all of my edmounds research. delv. about 90 days. dealership knows hell has no fury to match a shafted retired old geezer with time to play.

xbbuster

The last six digits of my VIN are 338336. The truck has a build date of 5/19/00. Doesn't matter what number they put on the truck, It's got vibration at 30 to 40 and again at 60 to 70 mph. With 700 miles on it it's going back to the dealer for the third time, this time with a copy of the TSB in hand.

kingfishgus

If you only have 700 miles, get the BBB involved and get rid of it. If their free arbitrator rules for you, it should only cost you about 3/4 of 1 percent to get a new one. They take 100,000 miles as the basis and divide your mileage at buyback time, and multiply it times your purchase price. So if you had 10,000 miles, they would give you back 90% of your purchase price. I belive this is true no matter what state you live in.
Since most of these trucks cost 25-30K, that milege formula works out to about 25 to 30 cents per mile. This is at the time you give the truck back, not report it. I understand it has been taking about 3-4 weeks to get the BBB arbitrator to make a decision.
Who knows, maybe the front end TSB also fixes the 65-75 vibs.

ricsch

First, I double-checked the VIN's on my copy of the bulletin and I have typed in exactly what is in the bulletin so hopefully GM gave us true info. And for kingfishgus, this bulletin for the steering system is for the 65-70mph vibes. Has anyone had their vehicle repaired with this service bulletin yet? If so did it work? I bet the tire manufacturers are happy with GM blaming the problem on tires. I've had 20 different tires on my truck within the 2800 miles on it and the problem is still there.

kansan

In post 393, obyone clarified that the "T" in the VIN is for GMCs, and the "C" is for Chevys. So I guess you just fill in the 3rd digit with a "C" or a "T" depending on which you have.

mrurl

Suspension mods planned are a 2/4 drop and heavy duty anti sway bars front and back. Haven't decided on replacement shocks yet.

Peter

ricsch

I have plans to drop my truck also. I have a suspension kit from Hotchkis Performance using shorter coils and new rear leaf springs. Guys at Hotchkis said it will lower the truck 2 1/4" front, 4 1/4" in the rear. Purchased it through Summit Racing, best price and free shipping. Hopefully the vibration problem will be resolved next week and after some time of driving the truck to ensure the problem is gone I can get the parts on it. What type of drop kit are you going to use? Doing a c-notch for the rear? I was told by several different companies that with the 4" drop it wouldn't be necessary but it appears to me that there is about 3" of travel between the frame and where the axle will be located when lowered. Has anyone installed a billet grille insert on their Silverado?

kingfishgus

Did you or any of us here see the wording on the TSB? I haven't, just going by what srv mgr said the regional repair rep said. I do not that when I hit a bigger bump, the steering wheel and front end seem to have alot more movement and shakes than any other vehicle I've ever driven. A couple of years ago I put a few hundred thousand miles on various late model sport utilities I used for business (Jeep, Explorer, S10, Suburban, Expedition, Tahoe)and non of those trucklike vehicles acted this poorly, nor have any of my pickups or vans I've owned or driven over the years. There is something definately funny about either the engineering or parts used on my Silverado. I can't relate that directly to the smooth road vibrations at 65-75 mph.
I have experimented with air pressure recently. I noticed that the more air presssure in the tires, the faster you can go without it vibrating. With 35psi it seems to do the worst at about 60-65 mph. With 40 lbs the worst speed is 70-75 although it is generally a rougher ride at that pressure.
I guess if I put the tires up to about 60 lbs I might get above the speed governor ;-) although the tires are rated for 40 max.
2000 1500 ext cab short box 4.8 locking rear 3.42 255 Generals.

obyone

does it feel like the whole front end might fall off? I saw the actual TSB and didn't see what the fix was for. Just the VIN identifying which truck qualifies for the fix. Not for any symptoms.

ovalley

Just got off the phone with the dealership trying to fix the aftershocks on my 2000 GMC 2wd XC about the new TSB for steering wheel/front end vibrations. Looks like they are going to order the parts to perform this service. Their guess is for next week.

This whole thing is kind of funny. I tried another dealership since the one I bought the truck from didn't want to try any more. They first told me they found nothing wrong. I took the truck back in the next day and took a drive with the shop foreman. He seemed to recognize the problem I was talking about and suggested that the rear leaf spring replacement might fix the aftershocks. I also had some slight launch shudder. Well, it seemed to have fixed the launch shudder, but not the aftershocks. The service report indicated my complaint about the launch shudder, but not the aftershocks. After hearing about this latest TSB, I called them about it. They had never heard of it, but I had a copy and faxed it to them. After some research and a call to GM they confirmed that it applied to my truck and ordered the parts to perform this TSB.

Sure seems like a lot of effort by the dealership to fix a problem that they never recognize in writing. Can't wait to see what the next service report reads on this one.

ricsch

Who did you speak with in getting the extended warranty- the dealer,or GM? For all of the trouble in getting the problems resolved, the extension on warranty coverage would be nice, and like you mention, what if for some reason the problem re-occurs out of the standard period.

kingfishgus

Well, I can't say it feels like the front end is going to fall off, but it does hit real hard on the bigger bumps and the steering wheel turns about 1/4 to 1/2 inch left and right 4 or 5 times (like you were rapidly turning right and left quickly). The front end movement is more of a very hard BOING with a few seconds of shaking. Hard to describe, and I'm not really sure mine fits the stated problem although it does fit in the range of the TSB. Imagine the feel you get in your hands, arms, shoulders and body if you took a baseball bat and hit a stationary steel pipe hard. That kind of boing. It only happens a little on on small bumps or expansion strips in concrete, but on a pothole or small armadillo, it jerks the wheel violently although it doesnt feel like you are necessarily going to crash. When you hit a larger obstruction on the expresway, there is no way you can hold onto the steering wheel, it goes left and right so hard. It doesn't move alot, but it is sure different from any vehicle I've ever driven. I figured it was just poor engineering. (I guess it is).

obyone

like you need a couple of shocks mounted horizontally to help absorb all that front end movement. I think that a lot of people have this problem and it has to be due to the rack and pinion. Way too sensitive....transmitting everything up the steering shaft into the steering wheel. Imagine what it would be like without power steering...thing is GM went to the R&P to save money...

tkeller1

hello, I'm new to this web site but I'm not new to this problem. I have a 99 silverado ext. cab.
with a vibration problem. I've had the truck for 7 mons. and have approx. 5000 miles. The dealership has put on seven new tires and one rim.
and shimmed the rear end. what a joke. They raised the rearend and the steering wheel was misaligned. The dealership has had the truck for the past nine days. This is the fourth time. My question is--does anyone know of a service bulletin that came out last week about replaceing the tires. My service adviser(greeter) told me that it stated that my tires were made in 1998 and the tire specs. were not good enough for my truck. The bulletin stated that the tires must be replaced with the same tire, but manufactured with a date of feb. 1999. or better. They said it will take another week to get them. the first set they recieved had a date of 1998. They also said that they removed the rear shims. I complained about the rear end being to high. I'm waiting for them to get an "ok" to put a better tire on the truck. Like the tires on an LS or LT pkg.

jacook

I just test drove 4 identical chev xcabs,5.3,3.73
locker axle. ALL had similar vibrations as described by others.Build dates were 2/00, CANADA.
These trucks arrived at dealer on or about 6-1-00
with with approx. 6 miles on each odometer.Where
have they been for 4 months? Hmmmm
Two trucks pulled to the right and three trucks
had a hesitation or stall under very light
acceleration.When asked about this the salesman
replied,"THE PISTONS WERE NOT MOVING GOOD YET".Hmmm
The dealer was Yukon Chevrolet, OK.
Also visited 5 other dealers and received the same
response when inquiring about vibration problems.
Total denial.Two dealers asked where I had heard
this and I told them about this web site,both said
they would look it up that night at HOME,a clear
signal they would not attempt any such thing
from the dealerships computers.
KNOW THIS: These dealers are well versed as to how to respond to such inquiries and GM is not
about to allow such a debate involving their
best seller to be hashed out on the lot prior to
closing a sale. SALES AND SERVICE,we do need
both, but in the scheme of auto sales they are two
entirely different groups of people.Have you ever noticed salesman never go near the service dept.?
Hmmm

ovalley

Please keep us informed as to how the new "fix" works. Parts are on order for my truck. Should have it done next week, hopefully.

white6

Well, I got my truck back and they didn't actually fix anything. Three days and absolutely nothing. They did say they ordered the "kit" for the vibration fix. Said about a week. It has now been a week. Any guess as to whether I'll hear anything before August? I think there are going to be a lot of dealers ordering these "kits" and they probably will be on national "back-order" for months to come. Just my own gut feeling. BTW, jacook, you must live in central Oklahoma. If you want to talk to a decent salesman, try Kyle Addcock at Howard GMC in Edmond. That is, if you want a GMC. DO NOT try Howard Chevrolet. They will lie with every other breath. Kyle has been very helpful, and was very easy to deal with on the order and purchase of my 2K GMC Sierra SLE. Of course, he has no control or input with the service dept. Any salesman who says he does is probably blowing smoke. I guess I'll have to re-establish a repair request for the stuff that they didn't fix the first time on my return trip to install the vibration repair "kit," when and if it ever comes in.

kansan

I'm taking my truck to the dealers this evening to get the kit installed. They ordered it last Thursday, and got it on Monday, because the regional GM rep. in KC had one so they were able to ship it from there to Topeka the day they ordered it. He said that anyone trying to get the kit now will probably have a longer wait, as that was the only kit they had in KC, and the rest of them will have to be ordered piece by piece, and there will be quite a demand for the parts. That goes to show that you have to be persistent, if I hadn't bugged them about it I would probably be waiting like the rest. Hopefully this will resolve my vibration concerns as I already have the updated tires. I'll post on how the fix turns out.
Ken

ricsch

got my truck back with the updated rack, etc. and in the 30 miles I put on it, it feels to be free of vibration so far, definately want to get more miles of driving to verify that its fixed for good. The GM field engineer was at the dealership when I went there and he said he had plugged in his EVA2 vibe analyzer and showed zeros for any vibration. Took him for a ride to make sure while he was there that the truck was "fixed" Seems to be at this point. I still need to get under the truck to inspect the work that was done-they assured me that everything was done correctly?
The rep said that any trucks made after Jan.24th have the upgraded rack,lower control arms, etc.so if your truck was made before then, I would make sure to check and see if your vehicle was built prior to that date since it sounds like GM won't come looking for you! I also asked the rep about a front stabilizer for the 2001 trucks and said he hasn' heard of anything to that effect.

obyone

Interesting post. So any trucks before 1/24, not by VIN as the VINs don't reflect that.

Front stabilizer for '01 trucks...even if he did hear about it...would he acknowledge it?

At what speeds did you test vibes for? Did you "mark" any parts that they were replacing?

Thanks in advance.

xbbuster

Does anybody have the vibration problem on newer trucks, ones built after January 24? My '00 Silverado ext cab, 2WD, SB built 5/19/00 is in the shop again (1300 miles)for 60-70 mph vibes. The service mgr. took the truck for a ride with the EVA 2 vibration analyzer Although he said he felt the high speed vibration, the computer said it was not abnormal and within limits. They are going to balance the tires again tomorrow, this time at a local tire store that has a load balancer. He said if that doesn't fix it there is nothing else they can do. Has anyone really had luck with the buyback? I may need help.

obyone

Next time you see that service manager, ask him what the Hz reading on the EVA2 was. Vibrations between the 10-15 Hz range are nominal only at 60-65 mph. If it is reading 10-15 below or above that mph, you have a problem...

ricsch

From what the GM rep says, sounds like vehicles before the 1/24 date could have the problem-can't say for sure if he was just speaking in general-he didn't make it sound as it was VIN specific. He did say that trucks built after that date would have the same components that they just put on my truck, including the reinforcement plate that goes over the driver-side mount for the rack and pinion(which I want to verify by getting under a 2wd on a dealer lot)It's easy to see if it is there. As for the stabilizer, he probably wouldn't know any more than we do-have to see a new '01 truck. As for speeds tested at, 65-70mph, but I hope they had sense to watch for anything abnormal from low speeds to higher speeds. Had my truck up in the 65-70-75 mph range on the way to work and seems to be cured. I did mark the original control arms and rack assembly with a paint marker and yes, they did install new part.
As for xbbuster's truck, sounds like more than tires, from what I've found a guy would be lucky to get the problem solved by swapping tires- it may get somewhat better or worse. whose to say that when your truck was built, the factory only had the early-style rack and control arms. If it was me, I'd get on the dealership to get in contact with GM and see if the tsb can be done on your vehicle.

obyone

Faxed the GM of my Chevy dealership yesterday about the replacement kit. Got a call from the service manager late this afternoon saying parts were ordered and service advisor will call upon arrival. Hmm...isn't that amazing...

Met with GMC service manager about Denali vibes and spoke to him about the GMC 2wd trucks. Said he didn't see the TSB yet. I guess I got his interest as he told his secretary where was the latest stack of TSBs which she says she doesn't know. He goes online to GM tech site and finds it. Then tells me "Ugh" he has a couple of Sierras in for vibes and since he just got the GMC line and is the only GMC dealer for the time being, he's figuring on a nightmare...

xbbuster

Got my '00 2wd ext cab 1300 mi. back from service dept. After going with the serv. mgr. for test drive, he suggested taking it to a tire store that has a load force balancer. They did. LF failed test and they put it on RR. The dealer's porter took it to the Goodyear store for warranty replacement but they could find nothing wrong with it, they rebalanced it and put it back on. The serv. mgr. calls me, says it's ready. All this took three days. No change. I call the owner and after complaining he tells me to buy another tire and he will reimburse me. I then called GM customer assistance center and got a file # going. The truck supposedly had the vibe fix installed at the factory, built 5/19/00.

obyone

If the LF tire was defective and they moved it to the RR, the vibration should have left the steering and moved so that the whole truck vibrated and you would feel that in the seat of the pants instead of the steering.

A lot of times, it is faster to do it yourself and get reimbursed rather than letting it sit at the dealers and waiting for them to do it. If the Goodyear dealer did not have a force balancer, how would they be able to tell if the tire was defective or not? There have been a lot of stories regarding defective Goodyear tires along with defective Goodyear dealers...I know cause I experienced it firsthand. It's so hard to find good service isn't it. Good luck.

Where was your truck manufactured?

xbbuster

The truck was built 5/19/00 in Ft. Wayne. The roofer working on the house today was admiring the truck. He says he has a '99 silverado 3-door LT 2 wd. Best riding truck he ever owned, no vibration no shakes. Go figure.

obyone

was made. I guess its the luck of the draw. Actually there is very little vibration on mine and I have yet to do the "fix". What I do notice on the freeway is a wobble of the front tires when going over larger bumps. That and the fact that my tires are being eaten alive. Both on the outside and in extreme feathering occuring. Tires are Michelin 275/70R16 LTX M/S. So I am wondering if the wobble has anything to do with the tires being ground up...

gmcsierra

I was running 33-35 psi in the front tires and began seeing feathering very quickly on the inside and outside. I ran the psi up to 40 and have seen the feathering diminish. I'll have to put on more miles to tell for sure. I've had it to the speed governor on the interstate, and have not experienced a wobble on bumps in the front, little jiggle in the rear though.

By the way, both mine and my friends truck were made in Ft Wayne.

obyone

my truck in 3000 miles, dealer aligned, General replaced all 5. 3000 miles later, feathering on outside and in on generals. General replaced again. This time, I told my dealer to hold the Generals and to get GM's approval for swap out. The retail value of your tires is $35 to $40. The credit I received for 4 brand new General 255/70R16 was $100 or $25 each. Of course on the swap out, the Michelin's were sold to me at cost which was about $115 each. So the math left me short $360 with the dealer paying for the mounting and balancing, and one last alignment. so here we are about 4000 miles later, dealer has replaced FR tire saying was defective and causing vibration. Don't really know if its the tires or the truck causing the problem cause the FL tire is kinda busted at this point. Pointed out to the dealer service advisor and he told me he probably could have that one changed under warranty too. My problem is that these tires are really being ground up. When looking at them, you can see the scuff marks on the tread. I know the dealer is thinking its the way I drive but that doesn't answer the abnormal wear on the inside. Tires were delivered and kept at 35 psi. Which is max tire pressure for these tires...

jed1894

Read back, if you have time, of the problems I had with Goodyear tires and wheel balancing.

To summarize...... I had Goodyear tires (4 sets) and they rotated to FR, FL, RL, RR..... every position I got a vibration at different speeds. The final cure, was to replace the warped rim, that GM could not find. I also had several bad Goodyear tires during the process.

The bottom line..... rotating the tire from front to back will not stop vibration if the vibration is tire related. Or at least it didn't change for me. It felt different to some extent and the vibration changed to different speeds. For me, the vibration felf the same when the bad tire was on front or back (65-75 steering wheel vibration/jerking).

Another idea....put on the spare tire if you know for sure which tire is giving you the problem. You can do that yourself. I wish I would have tried that before I went to 5 dealers and countless hours and days of shop time.

My suggestion: if your dealer is allowing you to consult with a private dealer, jump on it. Let someone who is not connected with GM or Goodyear work on your truck. GM will pay the bill (they did for me).

Good luck...... John

gmcsierra

Obyone,

Is the 35 psi for the Michelins? Was looking at my Generals, and they were 44psi on the sidewall.

Just curious.

gmc sierra

obyone

is 35 psi.

obyone

from the same guy. Reads as follows:

ok, I talked to a engineer, and the 2001 year 70-s frame has a few modifications!!!!!! the u- shaped strap of welded metal is just a handle for
the robots. but in the same area closer to the 1st body mount they have added a stabilizer from just in front of the mount to the crossmember from
both sided, and have added a stabilizing crossmember under the seat area to keep the seat from going nuts after bumps. and have welded extra thickness behind the cab to help the load strength, he called the frame on this truck
the galloping gurney, so check out the new trucks and look under to see what they say is nothing wrong. why did they change something if there is nothing wrong????? he also said 140 people lost there job over this truck frame, the frame is very light, It looks to me to be just over 1/16" thick, the life of this truck will be shortened drastically by the extra movements of this frame, and the stress on my first body mounts have misalign my doors from the galloping, the problem is getting worse the longer I drive it, now the
steering wheel shakes over bumps, does yours?
any one else you know have one of these trucks, it seems not all trucks have this bad a problem, good luck again and thanks for the info. I'll get into it in a week or so, Larry

ricsch

First, thanks for the info on ext. warranty-I'm going to go for it.

As for the info posted by obyone, the info on the 2001 trucks is interesting, hard to believe that the '99's were bragged about being so much better than the trucks they replaced. With all the hype of testing the GMT800 models and supposedly being such a good truck how the heck can there be so many problems and frustrated people(owners)? I'd like to just trade the truck for an '01 and hopefully have a trouble-free vehicle.

obyone

Maybe 2002, it seems that they might still be experimenting with the 2001's. My $.02