Need A Little Help!

[Jordan836]

Alright so I just picked up an 03 SS from Carmax yesterday to replace my other silverado that got totaled thanks to a drunk driver. Well since I got the truck Ive just kind of been putting it through its paces to make sure theres no issues before I start adding some go fast parts that way I can have them fixed under the warranty. Well tonight I was on the high way and noticed almost like a vibration/griding feeling coming from the front of the truck but its pretty much between say like 75 -90 mph I can feel it in the steering wheel but it doesnt really make a noise, although I could swear I almost hear a very very slight hum or growl when going slow but very slight maybe it does it all the time and I just cant hear it do to the normal noise of the vehicle? The truck is bone stock. This is the first AWD truck Ive ever owned so Im not sure whats normal and whats not but I feel like I shouldnt feel a grinding or vibration doing 90 since theres tons of you guys out there going faster than that so I figured Id ask the experts! Then another small issue is the brakes squeak pretty loud but not when slowing down from excessive speed mostly around town like stop light from stop light and when I picked the truck up yesterday I noticed they went a little heavy on the tire dressing so I thought maybe they got some on the rotor so I wiped them down with brake cleaner and they still squeak, from what I can see theres still plenty of meat left on all the pads so I dont see how it can be down to the wear tabs yet and the rotors look almost brand new! I did notice before I wiped them down with brake cleaner that you could almost see areas where the pad was touching and where it wasnt almost as if there was like something stuck between the pad an rotor making it so the entire pad wasnt touching the rotor but the truck doesnt have any problem stopping so Im not sure. If you guys have any advise Id really appeciate it! Other than these things I love the truck its definitly faster than the 5.3 silverado I had before and that one had longtubes and a tune!

[chpspecial]

that howl you are hearing is the front diff, the 4.10 gears are also noisier than your old gears plus you have to sets to amplify the noise. there could be a problem but if its light you might be ok... Have the warranty department check it out to make sure that the diff does not need to be rebuilt, or if it does.

[Jordan836]

Ya I never really thought about the gears. I also forgot to add in the first post that when I was getting on it on my street and got the RPMS up I could almost here and feel a slight clicking. I think im going to bring it back their sometime this week for the to replace a peice of weather strip on the door so Ill mention that. Im not really sure I trust the carmax mechanics but I guess they cant be to bad. The truck is also going to my tranny guy late next week to get a shift kit and servos installed so Ill have him take a look at it too and see what he thinks. Would the front dif needing to be rebuilt cause that slight grind/vibration I feel at higher than normal driving speeds? It seems to excelerate fine its just when your on it at around 80 and over I can feel it. But thanks for the fast help!

[Downeast Johnny]

I got my 03 SSS used with 47,000 miles on the clock.

 

First test drive was the first time i had sat in an AWD vehicle or driven one.

 

Noticed the same mild vibrations through the steering wheel that you mention in a quite narrow speed range of 40 to 50 MPH. Figured that it might be normal for AWD.

 

Wrong!

 

5,000 miles later the vibration was unmistakable from 15 MPH up to around 65 MPH.

 

Replace all bearings in front diff; Problem solved, $1100.

 

My brakes squeal, a little, too. Mostly at very low speed and under light braking.

 

I would say that, considering that disc brake pads are in constant light contact with the rotors, it is virtually impossible that there is something stuck between your pad and rotor, and that if there was you would see a very obvious groove in the rotor.

[BgRd1]

dont want to scare you too much but i got my truck about 2 weeks ago (03 SSS, 94k) and it had the same sort of squeeling from the brakes. i thought it was pads so literally on my way to firestone to have brakes done (dealer was paying) the parking brake shoe on the drivers side exploded. no shit it exploded and luckily i was just taking off from a stop light so i was only doing about 10-15 mph. the total bill to have the parking brake shoes and hardware replaced, front pads replaced (rotors turned) and rear pads replaced (rotors turned) is 640 buck plus tax. thats firestone price. dealers paying for it.

 

to finish the story though..... i called the dealership for a tow, they towed me to firestone. i had to be in salt lake city utah for a memorial service, (my buddy was KIA in afghanistan RIP SPC James Miller) so i just had the guys at firestone remove the peices of the parking brake (couldnt use it now but whatever) and replace the rear brake pads and turn the rear rotor cuz the front pads were still good but the back ones were at about 5%. that got me on the road with no more squealing and grinding. made it back from utah and tomorrow i take my truck to have the rest of the work done.

 

i hope this isnt the case for you buddy but thats my .02 cents. might wanna go get a 16$ inspection at firestone!!!

[Jordan836]

Thanks for all the good info! Im going to try to get back to the dealer and have them deal with it. Now im a little worried that they wont honor the warranty for the grinding/vibration that I feel when the RPMS are higher going around 85-90 mph just because those arent normal driving speeds but well see I guess! Thanks for the help!

[Downeast Johnny]

i had to be in salt lake city utah for a memorial service, (my buddy was KIA in afghanistan RIP SPC James Miller)

 

 

Sorry to hear about your Buddy, BgRd!

 

RIP SPC James Miller.