Clunking on sharp right turns or on uneven surface

Gm truck enthusiast · April 17, 2023

Hello,

I have a 2019 GMC Sierra AT4 that I’ve recently had some issues with. I had to take it in for service because the passenger side cv axle went bad and was throwing grease from the boot. The dealer replaced it, and then 3 weeks later it started doing the same thing. They replaced it again.

Fast forward a few months since then, now when I take really sharp right turns, or if I’m pulling into my driveway by turning the wheel to the right, I am hearing a clunk sound. I can also feel it in the floorboard of the truck.

I’m not sure if it’s the driver side CV axle, it appears to be in good shape and no visible damage.

I’ve checked the tie rod ends as best I could they don’t appear to be in bad shape either. If jumped up and down on the truck bed to see if the shocks were maybe making any noises and didn’t hear anything coming from the suspension.

The dealer claims they can’t find a problem.

I have heard of the rear leaf springs making clunking sounds and I have ordered some spring things to install to see if that possibly is the problem.

in the next few days I plan to climb underneath the truck and inspect the u joint bolts and look for signs of any play in some of the components as well as check other nuts and bolts to make sure nothing isn’t sliding a bit on that particular side.

Just curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar and has been able to identify the problem, when the problem isn’t obvious? If it isn’t one of the above solutions, only thing I can think of is maybe the driver side CV ****** the bed and isn’t displaying any visual signs.

I’m not sure what else it could be. It doesn’t make any sounds when driving over bumps. It seems to only be when there is some sort of significant weight transfer.

silveradosid · April 18, 2023

check your front sway bar links, dealer would have disconnected them to replace the cv shaft

Gangly · April 18, 2023

They would have most likely disconnected the UCA ball joint, the steering tie rod end, the sway bar link, and the shock bolts so that would be where I first looked for improper torque specs.

Its easy enough to check the torque on those nuts and bolts and would only take 5 minutes.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Gangly

Gangly · April 18, 2023

Torque Specs for the Upper Control Arm Ball Joint

First: 26 ft/lbs

Second: Additional 60-75 degrees (A little shy of a 1/4 turn of a wrench)

Front Shock/Strut Bolts

Upper: 43 ft/lbs

Lower: 37 ft/lbs

Sway Bar Link

74 ft/lbs

Steering Tie Rod

First: 26 ft/lbs

Second: 85-100 Degrees(1/4 turn of the wrench)

Edited April 18, 2023 by Gangly

newdude · April 18, 2023

On 4/17/2023 at 1:01 PM, Gm truck enthusiast said:

Hello,

I have a 2019 GMC Sierra AT4 that I’ve recently had some issues with. I had to take it in for service because the passenger side cv axle went bad and was throwing grease from the boot. The dealer replaced it, and then 3 weeks later it started doing the same thing. They replaced it again.

Fast forward a few months since then, now when I take really sharp right turns, or if I’m pulling into my driveway by turning the wheel to the right, I am hearing a clunk sound. I can also feel it in the floorboard of the truck.

I’m not sure if it’s the driver side CV axle, it appears to be in good shape and no visible damage.

I’ve checked the tie rod ends as best I could they don’t appear to be in bad shape either. If jumped up and down on the truck bed to see if the shocks were maybe making any noises and didn’t hear anything coming from the suspension.

The dealer claims they can’t find a problem.

I have heard of the rear leaf springs making clunking sounds and I have ordered some spring things to install to see if that possibly is the problem.

in the next few days I plan to climb underneath the truck and inspect the u joint bolts and look for signs of any play in some of the components as well as check other nuts and bolts to make sure nothing isn’t sliding a bit on that particular side.

Just curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar and has been able to identify the problem, when the problem isn’t obvious? If it isn’t one of the above solutions, only thing I can think of is maybe the driver side CV ****** the bed and isn’t displaying any visual signs.

I’m not sure what else it could be. It doesn’t make any sounds when driving over bumps. It seems to only be when there is some sort of significant weight transfer.