Shake or Vibration Issues

[2strokesmoke]

My driveshaft has weights welded on from the factory so it can certainly be done (at least on this one). Does everybody with the problem have the same type of driveshaft or has anybody kept track? That might be interesting data.

 

I have no vibration issues and my driveshaft is the 5.5" diam aluminum hydroformed (I'm guessing) shaft, 6.2 CC Standard bed.

I have the same driveshaft as yours with a weight welded on near the rear ujoints. Funny thing though mine has lots of blue marks written all over the shaft from the factory where the weight is welded on.

sierra crew cab 5.3L standard box 6'-5" All Terrain model 20" wheels.

My trucks shakes like a blender starting at 42mph - 55mph smoothing out as you get faster into a fine highway speed vibration.

I have narrowed it down to a speed related vibration, now where...driveshaft or tranny or rearend.

My gut tells me the driveshaft is the culprit after all I have read and watched.

Edited May 6, 2014 by 2strokesmoke

[HDNitehawk]

I also have no vibration and have the a crew cab 6.2 max trailering package with 6.5 bed

 

One of the more common things that those that have vibration is that they have short beds.

 

This could be one of the reasons the 2500 crowd is not having problems, they can not get the short bed

[2strokesmoke]

Is a short box not 5' 8" and standard box 6' 6" inside the box on the crew cab models?

That is the only 2 sizes available to the crew cab that I know of.

Cab and a half comes 6' 6" and 8' too I beleive.

Mine is a 6'6" crew cab that shakes

[MJFlores]

I have to tell you, I'm reaching the boiling point here. I mean, how long has it been and there's no fix yet? Come on GM. It's to the point where I dont even want to drive my brand new truck. You would think this would have gone a few weeks at most and then GM would have a posted bulletin with a known fix to solve their customers problems. I'm about ready to trade out to a Ford at a loss, and if I do I'm never coming back to GM for the rest of my life. I've owned Chevy since highschool but clearly brand loyalty gets you nowhere. I'm very, very disappointed with GM right now.

[FL335i]

^ The '14 F150 is a strong option. It's the last year in the generation, so a lot of the bugs are gone. A '14 F150 only has 2 TSB's as of today!!! And the Intercooler problem has been fixed. Their torque comes on like a diesel at 2,500 (or 335i bmw). Very strong mechanical platform. Oh yea, no shakes.

[pm26]

I can tell you from experience that drive shaft vibration can feel just like wheels badly out of balance. I had a two piece driveshaft on my '95 Nissan 4x4 extended cab pickup. The driveshaft was supported by a center bearing encased in a rubber bushing. I had the rear differential replaced under warranty because of whine under load in the 45-55 MPH speed range. Apparently whoever did the job damaged the center drive shaft bearing bushing when they worked on the truck. A while later the truck developed a very unpleasant vibration that felt just like badly balanced tires. When I closely looked at the driveshaft I saw that I could move it up and down about 1/2 inch in the center support bearing rubber mount, which was torn. Replacing the center support bearing/mount fixed the probelm for good.

Some driveshafts do not have center support bearings but a badly installed U-joint(s) can also cause all kinds of vibration problems.

Edited May 7, 2014 by pm26

[Boughtalemon]

Mine is going back tomorrow for the third time in its first 5 weeks. The vibration is 41-50 with 41-45 being the worst. I towed by boat today and had a bad vibration at 65-75. The boat is 2000 lbs so the tongue weight is high. When they don't fix it this time, I will be going after the lemon law. I have had it with this truck. I hate this truck and it's too bad that GM put out garbage like this. I think I drove my last GM.

[2strokesmoke]

Report it to the NHTSA you have a bad vibration at highway speed with this new vehicle, and towing an object makes it worse and it feels unsafe at highway speeds.

Make a report, and eventually we will force them to fix our trucks, what if ends up being internal problem in transmission later that ends up failing early aftef warranty then we all will be screwed.

[pm26]

you have a valid point. Vibration problems, if uncorected may eventually lead to premature wear out of other parts.

[MJFlores]

My thought right now is, if I dont trade and decide to put up with the vibration for a few years until I have better trade equity....I would think if anything breaks in the powertrain because of this excessive vibration we'd all be covered at least under the 3 / 36 warranty...and most likely out to the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. In one way or another, it's GM's baby to deal with and pay for right? They'll pay in one way or another for turning out a crap product. Hell, they're already paying in the form of vastly reduced sales, and turning away former loyal customers. The GM lots are full of 2014 trucks...and I still rarely pass one on the road. I pass a few Ford dealers on the way to work, and there are presumably traded in 2014 Silverados sitting out from for sale...which should be an embarrassment to GM. If GM were smart they'd be SCRAMBLING to correct this issue and put it behind them...and then launch a PR campaign to retain customers who have been rubber the wrong way. I dont see any of that happening however.

[hotrodz37]

Could this have anything to do with it? Probably not the vibration, but I have heard some people in this thread complaining of the clunking and whining noises.

 

2014 Gmc Sierra 1500 Suspension Service Bulletin 367958

NHTSA: Action Number: 10054631 Service Bulletin Number: 367958

• Report Date:
  Dec 01, 2013
• Component:
  Suspension

Summary: Chevrolet/gmc: see document search button for owner letter. The rear axle pinion nut is improperly fasten and can cause gear to make clicking, grinding, moaning or whining noises and should be refasten. Model 2014 siverado 1500, sierra

[bowflygsp]

My truck (4wd Z71, double cab, 6.5' bed, 3.42) is back at the dealership for the second time in a week.

I took mine in last Wednesday for the 40-50 (or 50-40) mph vibration.

They said it was done the next day blaming the tires (aftermarket, larger diameter Bridgestone) with excessive road force and AFM.

They told me the vibration when slowing down between 50-40 was due to the V4 mode and "deemed normal".

 

Over the next couple of days I played around with the "manual" shift mode.

I found that if I left it set at "M5", it never went into V4 mode, but it still has the 50-40mph vibration.

Also noticed that, in regular auto mode, I could get it to go into V4 mode at around 70 but did not have a vibration there.

That seemed to eliminate their claim that the AFM was to blame for the 50-40mph vibration.

 

I went back to the tire shop Sunday morning to address the road force claim.

The tire shop brought me out to their road force machine and showed me that the dealer had never removed wheel weights when doing the their test.

They were very cooperative, stripped all weights off, tested and recorded road force values and rebalanced.

All road force values were within spec for an LT tire.

They even had their master tech take the truck for a drive and he suspected a powertrain issue (go figure).

 

Monday morning, I am back at the dealership at 7am when the service department opens.

They basically refuse to do anything because the tires were not replaced.

I explained to them that I didn't care about the tire vibration.

They still refused to do anything unless I basically bought new tires from them.

I told them I am only concerned with the 40-50mph issue.

They still refused.

And on and on.

I got pi$$ed. Some expletives were said and the shop foreman told his tech to pull my truck out of service and he was not going to work on it.

That's I went to the service manager. I told him that I wanted to speak with the regional service rep and the dealership manager.

Then he decided maybe they could look at it again.

They still have my truck.

 

From the update they gave me yesterday afternoon, they have swapped wheels and tires from two other trucks and have not figured out the issue.

I mentioned that I used to work for GM and had suggestions from the driveline engineer in Milford to inspect the propshaft for dents and to index the propshaft at easy first steps. The dealer service rep claimed that was what they were looking at next.

 

So, my experience so far seems to stay with the common theme over the nearly 90 pages on this thread; dealer claims "tires, tires, tires" until blue in the face, then maybe starts looking for the real issue.

Edited May 7, 2014 by BowFlyGSP

[scoobyd3w]

2500mi still not a single issue 5.3 CC 3.42 short bed.

The only vibrations I feel come from the bose stereo and I can feel that through doors, seat, steering wheel and pedals...lol

Sorry to those that do have issues

Edited May 7, 2014 by scoobyd3w

[Aboothlsu]

Update on mine. 30 days in the shop, still no resolution.

 

Things theyve tried

 

Tires all rebalanced and road forced multiple times.

Swapped tires and rims with other trucks.

Driveshaft replaced with other truck on the lot.

New design driveshaft ordered and installed.

New Rear end assembly ordered and installed.

All motor and trans mounts checked and replaced.

Specialty tools were overnighted to check all driveline angles.

Now they are opening some valve in the exhaust manually and taking it for a test drive to see if it is getting stuck closed causing the vibration.

 

I want them to buy it back from me at this point. I dont want to drive a science experiment frankestein truck now even if they do fix it. I believe eventually they will find some way to minimize it and give it back to me claiming it is now within spec. Who knows what else the vibration has effected causing a premature failure down the road.

 

I want them to buy it back not replace it. I've been a loyal gmc fan and love everything else about the truck but dont want to risk another lemon.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Aboothlsu

[pm26]

There are so many variables here. GM is constantly outsourcing production of various parts to third world countries and who knows how good the quality control is. For example, who knows if all flywheels installed on these engines are properly balanced? A badly balanced flywheel will cause all kinds of vibration problems, send the dealer service department on a goose chase replacing all driveline parts downstream of the transmission, with no improvement.

 

This is why good workmanship and good quality control must be maintained at the part level, and also during assembly. Otherwise, getting a good truck is nothing but a crap shoot.

Edited May 8, 2014 by pm26