Chassis groaning when stopping/turning

[ylab]

Could use some help or ideas on what to lube next on my 2002 Envoy. For the past couple of weeks I've had a groan under certain conditions, usually when coming to a stop....not a nail the brakes, just a moderate stop from speed. As the stop finishes and the chassis settles, I have an annoying groan or creak as the vehicles levels (nose raises & tail lowers) back to its resting position. The groan/moan or creak is much worse when stopping over a rippled or dipped surface, when the suspension is going to have more movement.

So far, I've lubed the stabilizer bushings not once, not twice, but three different times with different types of grease. The thought arose that the poly bushings from the Hotchkis kit might not like the grease used and nobody had any of the white silicone stuff in stock locally. (Used regular old chassis grease, Mobil-1 synthetic and now some silicone based grease). There is no rattle or clunking and the end-links seem tight.

The hood hinges, rests & latch have been adjusted and lubed as well as all the doors and rear hatch. I've even tried spraying silicone onto just about every moving joint under the vehicle and the groan is still there....I think its in the front, but sometimes it sounds like from the back.

Anybody else experience something like this and could make suggestions as to what to lube/adjust next?

Thanks

[ylab]

Oops, just noticed I posted this in the SS area by accident.....can one of the moderators please move it? - Thanks

[Cmdrrjc]

nobody had any of the white silicone stuff in stock locally.

Sorry man, what I was thinking you already said. I would PM autotech on this one.

[tblazed]

For lubing the front and rear bushings, I used a thick silicone dielectric grease like you would use for spark plug boots. Very similar to the "Energy Suspension" silicone grease that came with my Hotchkis kit.


Can you get it to make the noise if you manually move the rear end up and down while its parked?

[ylab]

For lubing the front and rear bushings, I used a thick silicone dielectric grease like you would use for spark plug boots. Very similar to the "Energy Suspension" silicone grease that came with my Hotchkis kit.


Can you get it to make the noise if you manually move the rear end up and down while its parked?

Bouncing the vehicle up & down at the bumper doesn't appear to make the noise.....I only wish it did! Letting the truck crawl forward a couple of feet and then hitting the brakes will.

Seems to need the entire vehicle to settle and not bounce on one axle. - Sounds like stabilizer bar bushings to me, but there was plenty of the Mobil-1 still over the entire bushing and bar when I pulled it apart yesterday......you'd think if the grease was still between the bushing and bar there would be no noise. I went as far as to spray down the body to chassis mounts with silicone in a last ditch effort while working on it.

Didn't think about the dielectric stuff, which is silicone....hmmm, something to try next weekend if nothing else pans out. I actually contemplated giving the dealer a shot, but don't think the extended warranty will cover it....and they'll probably jump up and down saying I need to restore the suspension to stock before they'll even look.

[tblazed]

Seems if it was bushings you'd hear it when you bounce it. If it needs to be moving and braking to a stop when it does it, how hard braking to make it do it? Enough to make the trans output shaft slip joint move when everything in the drivetrain settles back after a hard brake? Maybe it needs lubing. That'd be my guess.

[Trailtoy]

I have the same thing on my 02' TB. If you get an answer let me know. I tried all those things too.

[CGK9]

Sir, Also try checking the body mounts on your TB......

[ylab]

Its not necessary to hit the brakes hard, just enough to cause the vehicle to slightly nose dive. (The noise seems to be made on the 'up swing' and not the compression). Going very slowly over an undulating surface will also result in the noise, so it doesn't appear to be brake related. Quicker motions during normal driving don't seem to produce the noise, only slow movements....which is why I believe bouncing the vehicles doesn't produce the sound.

I've hit all the body mounts with silicone on Sunday, didn't change a thing....but good thought. (Hey, I had the same thought). Also found that apparently water doesn't seem to affect it either.....its be pouring here for 2 days and having enough water splashed up to fill a small pool doesn't seem to make a difference.

I'll be sure to post a solution when I find the cause and cure for the noise.

[tahawus84]

the nosie is from the front swaybar brushings, cant lube them really and they are cheap to change. good luck

[ylab]

Well, I re-greased with telflon grease used by Ford in their anti-squeak kit....my brother's a Ford master-tech and had a couple of tubes on hand. Still groans, but I now know its not the stabilizer bushings. Had my brother under the truck while I turned the wheel hard left/right and found we can duplicate the noise turning the wheel back and fourth near the hard-right position......he could feel a vibration with the noise felt at the lower control arm bushings on the passenger side, where it bolts to the frame. (Just about directly behind the stabilizer mount on that side).

Guess I call the dealer in the AM and setup a service call, as my brother feels I'll either need new control arm bushings or a new control arm. (If they're not serviceable). Pretty sad they would fail with less than 29k on the odomenter. Only good part is, I'll probably get a 'free' alignment out of it.....guess I better remount the factory wheels before going.

Guess that extended warranty is going to come in handy!

[Trailtoy]

I just got my TB back from the dealership. It cost me 18.37 in labor costs to have them grease up the joints. Its only been three day and no squeak...
Larry

[lowered envoy]

What joints did they lube?
Thanks.Chris.

[ylab]

Well, after waiting for 3 hours at the dealer.....show up on time at 8:30 and they promptly park my Envoy at the curb for nearly 2 1/2 hours, at which point I requested my keys back. (Amazingly they must be psychic and pulled the truck into the garage as I was requesting the keys indicating I'd go to another dealer).

After spraying bushings with silicone and driving to see if they noise changes, they confirmed my brother's diagnosis that its the lower control arm bushings....which get this, they don't service and need to order an entire bracket complete with pre-installed bushings. (Tech indicated the bracket links the control arm to the frame). Sure glad I don't need to pay for that, which I'm sure costs a pretty penny. - But I will get a free alignment out of it, since replacing the bracket requires an alignment afterwards.

[APDMC6008]

Hmmm. Some of your symptoms sound like my truck...it's an odd noise. Does anyone know if there are any aftermarket replacement parts that can be greased or whatnot?

[toytooii]

My 2002 TB has the same noise and under the same conditions. (by the way, that was a great description...it's a tough one to relay in words). Definitly sounds like rubber on metal and is intermittent. Started at around 50K. Has anyone confirmed it's the lower control arm bushings?

[2002BlkLTZ]

Ylab or anyone else have any more info on this? I've got nearly an identical problem. Ylab when you got it fixed under warranty did you see what the total damage was before the warranty paid? I've got an extended warranty, but it's not through GM, and I'm wondering if they'd cover this. I will be attempting to isolate where the noise is coming from in the next week or so if I can find the time.

[toytooii]

I spoke to the dealer Service Manager today about it. As soon as I described the sound and conditions his immediate response was, "it's the lower control arm brackets (the bushings are part of the bracket)". He seemed pretty familiar with the condition and told me they're seeing a lot of it in the Suburbans as well. Anyway, it goes in next week for a look-see (also leaky cv boots!) and then a fight with the extended service contract people to get it fixed !

[2002driver]

try the hood stops...twist them a bit and close hood...make sure that hood is even with fenders. that might stop the rattles.

[Str8blazin]

I have the exact same problem with the lower passemger side control arm bushings. The funny thing about my problem is that it only starts squeaking in the fall. The last two years I have had them squeak and both years it happened from around October to late February or so. All I do is ocasionally spray them with wd-40 during them months. I guess the humidity or something to do with the temperature affects when it squeaks??

[baardaap]

I ‘am also experiencing this problem, so I stopped at the local GM dealer, unfortunately they were not familiar with the complaint, so I decide to wait and see if I can find and eliminate it myself.
It looks like a “season related problem” to me just like Str8blazin mentioned, let’s see if the WD-40 will solve this very annoying squeak.
Any additional information will be most welcome…………:thx

[ylab]

Spray one area at a time with the WD-40, starting with one side of the lower control arm bushings. Take it for a spin, if it cures the noise, you've isolated the culprit......basically what the tech did with mine. If it is the control arm bushings, expect to spend some time replacing the bracket and have an alignment setup immediately afterwards.

I can't tell what the cost was, the dealer I used simply puts the words 'Warranty' where the price would be on each line, so no way to know.

[HardWork]

i've been having this problem for the longest, dealer said its gonna cost me around 1200 to get fixed. Im bringing it in next week, as much as i dont want to pay, i cant stand the noise. i'm moving down south to atlanta soon and i want my tb running as good as can be.