Topic: Vibration in 00 Yukon XL

[YMM]

I have really enjoyed reading this forum for some time and am now posting for the first time!  If I am not in the correct area, please let me know.

My 00 Yukon (5.3 l, 178,000 km) has had what felt like a wheel vibration for some time.  At the end of 03, I put new tires on in Alberta (and luckily bought the free tire replacement certificates) and drove it to Ontario.  About a year ago a vibration set in at about 100 kph so took it back to CTC where they told me the wheels were way out of balance.  All was well for a while but the vibration returned.  Recently, I took it back to CTC where they replaced the 2 front tires since they were going to need in excess of 5 ounces of lead to balance them.  That helped but did not fix the problem entirely but as time went on the vibration got worse.  Back again earlier this week to CTC who re-balanced all the wheels and confirmed the alignment was fine.  They also recommended I take it to a dealer for a "road force balance" which I did, and learned that the tires were not able to be balanced properly.  Went in to CTC today and they replaced all the tires with P as opposed to the LT rated ones that were on it.

While much quieter, there is still a vibration at about the 100 kph mark and it continues to get noisier at that speed but once I exceed 110 or a bit more, the vibration largely disappears and the noise mostly goes away.

I have not had a chance to take these new ones for a road force balance yet, but would anyone have any idea what would cause this vibration?

Most likely, I have not provided all the necessary information so please ask away!  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks!

[articsteve]

I  think you have an issue with one of the wheels.  Which one is the question.

[mrthompson]

Do you have a friend or relative with a Chevy/GMC pickup or SUV with the same size tires & bolt pattern?  If so, you would swap out wheels to try to isolate which one is fubar. 

[barrie1]

Definitely sounds like a real High speed Balance is in order on the right machine or you have a bad rim. Thats the thoughtas i am getting from reading your post. 

[articsteve]

Does this Tukon come with a full size spare?  If so replace one wheel at a time.  THis is something you will need to do yourself because it will require strict personal supervison.

[YMM]

Many thanks for your suggestions.  Am going to try the high speed balance first.  When a tire is balanced, does that not take into account an unbalanced rim at the same time or, if the rim is bad, would it simply not balance up at all?

Thanks!

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Welcome to POSTING on the forum 

Hope the issue is found and resolved for you.

[bigjayzway]

Hold on.
What kind of tires are these?
This will definately make a difference here.
Big Jay

[barrie1]

Usually a Bad rim would be caught at the factory and replaced then and there or at least recorded for the dealer to exchange. Its probably a problem with one of the tires that is doing this. I have actually seen a problem with the Hubcaps being too heavy and throwing the weight out ater they were appllied on the car. In this case they would use a bubble balancer and place the hub cap on the wheel to balance it then. Very Rare but does happen on occasion. Where are you feeling the vibration, thru the steering wheel or the floor on the hump part of the cover over the transmission. Hopefully a high speed balance will take care of this problem. 

[YMM]

The new tires are Goodrich 245/75/16 (P rated) from CTC.  There is definitely less noise than previously but the vibration is still there between 100 - 110 kph.  Once I exceed 110, it disappears quickly. 

I feel the vibration more through the seat rather than the wheel and there is definite hum/roar from the rear of the vehicle at 100 - 110.  There is a bit too at about 65 but not too noticeable.

Am going to arrange for another "road force" balancing this week and see what comes out of that.  CTC had already replaced the two front tires and now all four under their replacement certificate.  I can't see the Service Manager looking too happy when he sees me walking back through the door should the new balancing not work!!  Up to now, however, they have been magnificent with their help.

Thanks!

[exserviceguy]

Hi YMM,
We may be dealing with 2 different problems here; a vibration which is felt and a noise which is heard.  If its wheel related have your shop check the runout both lateral and vertical on the rim while it is attached to the vehicle.  If they don't have the equipment or knowledge to do it, get it to another shop.  GM will post a maximum tolerance for your rims.  It is possible that a curb hit or pothole collision has bent a rim or an axle hub and all the balancing in the world will not help.
The other possibility is a seized or seizing u joint on the rear driveshaft.  Easy to check once the driveshaft is removed.
The best tool for difficult to find vibrations is a vibration analzyer which uses a g force sensor to measure and record the frequency and strength of the vibration.  Then with specialized software the vibration can be narrowed down to a specific part.

[YMM]

Hi,

Am going this week to have a road force balance done which will check both the lateral and vertical runout and, from what I gather, is very accurate.  I think the sound is more the result of the vibration as it comes from the cavernous rear of the Yukon.

The u-joints have been checked and passed.

Failing that I will then try the vibration analysis.

Cheers!

[articsteve]

Failing all those things maybe your drive shaft (not the Ujoints) has lost some of it's weights or has just become warped.  I've heard of guys having to replace the drive shafts in late model GMC and Chey 1/2 tons.

Again, I would  try the factory spare one wheel at a time.

[mrthompson]

Rear diff going south?   

[barrie1]

If you are not picking up the vibration thru the steering wheel I think its fairly safe to think its on the rear of your truck where this problem is occuring. Thats kinda why you are feeling it in the seat instead of the wheel. Are the back U-joints greasable? If so make sure they well lubed and take it on all sides as fozen bearings will give you a strange effect in the alignment of the driveshaft and possible problems as well. Next best is to have these tires examined very closely for weight problems. If they have replaced them twice already then it could be a 3rd bad tire. Usually Gooderich produce a great tire but even the best can have a problem every now and then. 

[bigjayzway]

Could also be rear seals, and bearings.
Jay

[barrie1]

Usually if its a rear seal then they start to leak thru the hub and you will have oil dripping down the wheel and the wheel bearings usually sound like a glass full of allies rattling when they go, there are exceptions to this but overall these are the signs of these problems. I still suspect a 3rd tire is bad.