bsteff Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 Can people who have had work done on their front differential for the famous slow speed turning growl please post what was done and if it got rid of the noise. I have had my truck in twice, once for bearings and seals, and again for spider gears. Now they want to try rotating the tires . I am getting frustrated and would like sime input from the real pros. What other causes have been found? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthSS Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 That was my deal. I drove it with them, they admitted there was excessive noise, and kept the truck a week. Then they rotated the tires and the noise went away, because changing the tires changed the rotation pattern of the front diff and made it go away. But that is only a temp fix, good for about 100 miles. Mine does it when it is hot, and I have found a GMC Commercial truck dealer who is serious about fixing it. My first approach is to have them service the front differential, and be there when they take out the plug. If it has little to no metal shavings in it, and a drain and fill takes care of it, good. If not, we will start with the pinion and work our way outward. I hate to not go back to my dealer where I bought, but if GMC is going to take better care of me, then thats where I will go. I suggest two things: 1. Rotating the tires will not fix the problem which causes the noise. 2. If your dealer is giving you any kind of run-around on this or any service issue, then go to another dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hot rod truck Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 I had front and rear pinion, carrier bearings replaced. They showed me all the old parts as well. The carrier bearing was the only one that had failed, but they replaced alll the bearings because the races the bearings ride in were starting to pit. Tech decided to do all of them rather than just the carrier bearing Nice and quiet again. I know some techs will shortcut the job and only replace what they find wrong, thankfully this tech decided he already had it apart and to do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsteff Posted January 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 That was my deal. I drove it with them, they admitted there was excessive noise, and kept the truck a week. Then they rotated the tires and the noise went away, because changing the tires changed the rotation pattern of the front diff and made it go away. But that is only a temp fix, good for about 100 miles. Mine does it when it is hot, and I have found a GMC Commercial truck dealer who is serious about fixing it. My first approach is to have them service the front differential, and be there when they take out the plug. If it has little to no metal shavings in it, and a drain and fill takes care of it, good. If not, we will start with the pinion and work our way outward. I hate to not go back to my dealer where I bought, but if GMC is going to take better care of me, then thats where I will go. I suggest two things: 1. Rotating the tires will not fix the problem which causes the noise. 2. If your dealer is giving you any kind of run-around on this or any service issue, then go to another dealer. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I don't understand how rotating the tires could have any affect on the way the differential works, even temporarily. If it truly does, then why? The dealer I have been working with has been great so far I just hope they are not trying to shrug me off with this rotating the tires crap. Anyone else had other symptoms? I am no differential expert, are there other part besides the ones they have replaces that could cause problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hot rod truck Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Rotating the tires won't actually change anything if there is a mechanical problem with the diff. It will make it less noticeable. For example, if the tires vary in overall size between the two tires there can be a noticeable noise or growl because one tire is turning more/less revolutions than the opposite tire on the same axle. This can and will stress bearings gears etc. inside the diff, first signs being noise. If the noise is checked out early enough, parts inspected, replaced, tires replaced (if needed) then that may be the fix that is needed, no more problems. I saw that they replaced the spider gears on yours already, which kind of surprised me, unless you have a lot of miles on your truck. Depending on how bad the bearings/fluid were when first replaced, I would be suspect of the ring/ pinion gearset. Here's why: if enough debris has run through the ring and pinion, that debris will be imbedded to the ring and pinion usually causing a noise and /or vibration. The only way to correct it is to then replace the ring and pinion gearset, all the bearings and seals, spiders, etc. AGAIN or possibly a new front diff assembly. Now I have no idea how easily you can get that done under warranty. Maybe Zippy can chime in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the68cam Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 THEY CHANGED THE FRONT DIFF ON MINE PROBLEM GONE JUST DRAIN FLUID DRIVE WHEN IT GETS REAL BAD PUT FLUID BACK AND BRING IT IN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PladdPezzPunk Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 they told me the tires were rubbing the mudflaps on my truck, so i took them off, still same noise but i have yet to take it to another dealership. I got real up set with the dealer i went to initially because they told me that it was because of the "oversized tires". funny, cause GM installed the tires in thier factory and the mudflaps were installed at the dealership. IMO the a** holes should have fixed the so called "tire rub" if that was the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 THEY CHANGED THE FRONT DIFF ON MINE PROBLEM GONE JUST DRAIN FLUID DRIVE WHEN IT GETS REAL BAD PUT FLUID BACK AND BRING IT IN don't do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edessa Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Check out this post. http://www.silveradoss.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18886 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsteff Posted January 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 I may have to push for them to look at the transfer case. My truck was in for the third time late last week (differential case replaced this time). Still no improvement in the sound while turning. I also saw someone post a chevy helpline phone # where they ened up getting a warrenty extension for the front end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron's SS Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 I may have to push for them to look at the transfer case. My truck was in for the third time late last week (differential case replaced this time). Still no improvement in the sound while turning. I also saw someone post a chevy helpline phone # where they ened up getting a warrenty extension for the front end. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My truck had the front diff repaired a couple weeks ago. I changed the fluid at 50,000 miles the front plug was gunked with alot of shavings, by 53,000 it was bad, real bad. They replaced the pinion and side bearings and all seals. Well the sound subsided for about 1-1/2 weeks. Now it is back, 3 weeks later. I changed my transfer case fluid (Mr. P's How To) and it has helped some people but made no difference for me, some say drive it for 100 miles and replace the T-case fluid a second time. I'm yet to take my truck back to the dealer, figured I would let the sound get obvious, which it is now. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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