front end noise

hello all...

my girlfriend has a 2000 chevy s-10 blazer... its 4wd, auto ... v-6... the normal. has approx 70,000 miles on it.

the problem

sometimes when you are driving around in town, or going down the highway, and you hit a bump just right, you get a GOD awful clang/crunch/bang (i can't describe it) from the passenger side front wheel area... i've looked underneath it, checked the bolts to make sure everything's tight... i'm a fairly experienced backyard mechanic and this one has me stumped. the vehicle is in otherwise excellent shape and this is quite discouraging.

any help would be greatly apprecieated.

thanks in advance.
jake

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=302656

My jedi in trining is doing well..

Almost TOOOO well....;)

sorry guys, that's not it... i took the whole damn thing apart, followed the video ... all the directions on the website... it wasn't loose to begin /w ... and it still makes the noise... any OTHER ideas ?

Did you install the washers?

yeah, i took it all apart and looked at it again ... put the washers in, but i drove it and it never made a peep for me... she drives it and says it does it ... wtf... i don't know ...we both work this week, don't have much time to work on it... i'll be driving it tomorrow. i'll re-post and let ya know... thanks!

yeah, i took it all apart and looked at it again ... put the washers in, but i drove it and it never made a peep for me... she drives it and says it does it ... wtf... i don't know ...we both work this week, don't have much time to work on it... i'll be driving it tomorrow. i'll re-post and let ya know... thanks!

I would go for an extensive drive with her to find the noise out.

Ever greased your front end?

On a 4x4 there is 10-11 grease fitting in the front end to fill with grease.

alright, we went for about a 50 mile drive today ....

somethings definately wrong ...

it doesn't seem to be brought on by anything... but when it made the noise for me today ... it lasted nearly 3 seconds, and i thought something was going to fall off... wtf ??? its difficult to pinpoint where its coming from because its so loud.... i heard it once, it came from the front, heard it again, came from the rear ( so it sounded like) ... i'm really baffled here.... i guess i can go over to my dad's and take the grease gun to it. it drives like a dream no matter what sound it makes, and runs perfectly... what it sounds like to me, (The best way to describe it) is the ABS pump kicking in, in my dad's 2000 full size chevy pickup, it has hydraulic brakes, not vaccuum. they're run off the power steering pump. the sound my girlfriend's blazer makes sounds just like that pump kicking in, only like 10x louder, and crunchier... at random

Were you braking when these noise happened?

Also, here are the greasing locations:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=344505

as a matter of fact, i was ... ever so slightly, i was turning onto a highway on-ramp. that's when it made the very long noise, but, it will do it if you're not braking.

Better clean your front hub speed sensors.

This could be the ABS kicking in.

Also, you might want to check that the front diff is not trying to semi-engage.

i was going to say ... it almost sounds like Gears crunching!!! i know the 4wd has probably never been used, would it help to cycle it thru all the ranges and modes, off road ... etc ? cuz it sounds like gears crunching...!

oh and btw, you've provided a tremendous amount of help... let me know

No problem bud, that is what we are here for.

I would cycle through al of the settings to make sure it is not stuck somewhere in between 4x4 and 2x4.

Are you sure the noise is coming from the front?

its so difficult to pinpoint sometimes, because its so loud, sometimes it sounds like its coming from the transfer case, sometimes it sounds like its coming from the front end, and you almost always feel the vibration in the floorboard. well i'm off to work ... i'll check back when i get home

jake

alright, here's the skinny.

things have taken a turn for the worse...

i cycled it thru auto 4wd, 2hi, 4hi, 4lo ... etc unlashing the drivetrain so it would shift quickly... it goes into all the modes fine, but ... its noisy as hell. if you leave it in 2wd and jump on it, and i mean floor it, it crunches and rattles bad... 4hi, same thing ... 4lo ... sounds like something's gonna come apart.

its gotten to the point where you can hear shit rattling around in 2wd around town...

i've heard in other forums and random gm enthusiasts that the auto 4wd system and transfer case combo they used sucked... because the switches malfunctioned and fuck up the t-cases. my girlfriends aunt has a 99 blazer LS with the same problem awhile back... turned out to be the switch.

but i think we're way beyond that now... the fuel mileage never suffered and it always runs like a top ... but i'm not a fan of the highway gear ratios... makes it a slug around town for its size.

we turned it into the shop ... hopefully they can tell us something cuz i don't have the time or paitence to tear it apart to find out what's wrong ....

input anybody ?

thanks,
jake

Take it to a mechanic ASAP.

That or risk have the transfer case coming apart and binding solid and killing you.

i guess we'll find out the damage tomorrow or the next day.

another question... 70k miles and never a serviced t-case or axle... i've never owned a 4wd, what's the maintenance intervals and does that auto4wd capable case require special fluid and or care ? i know regular ones use just plain old atf fluid or gear oil.

i was concerned about some of the fluids... the engine is in great shape ... goes oil change to oil change no problem, but she got it used and we're not sure otherwise.

no offense, but give me a fwd import anyday ...

again, any input ?

thanks in advance.

The t-case and the front and rear differentials should be drained and refilled every 60k.

Transfer case takes tranny fluid.

Front and rear diff's take 80w90 gear oil.

alright... that helps. if they can't figure shit out then looks like i'll have to tackle it myself to get what needs to be done done. thanks for all of your help... i'll post as soon as we get word from the shop.

talk to ya soon...
jake

I have the same year and all. I just started hearing the same thing in the front passanger side to, a couple weeks ago. I'll have to show this to my hubby so maybe he can check the washer thing. all I could think of was more $$$ going into fixing this. Thanks guys.

well we got word from the shop today.

turns out its really nothing severe....

the way it was explained to me is like this

the e-brake was somehow out of adjustment, and the shoes were grabbing just enough (all the time) and the hardware was loose enough to chatter and clatter around in the drums... creating the terrible noises, but somehow i could never pinpoint where the noises were coming from.

so, the god awful vibration was the e-brake cable transmitting chatter back to the petal from the shoes, that's why it was so loud.... this is a 1st if i've ever heard it ... i don't understand why it was acting like it was at all...

oh well...

any input guys .. ?

jake