Clunk and Squeak

fire24resque · 06-17-2009, 12:00 PM

2001 Silverado 1500 4wd 116,000 miles.

At very low speeds (10 and under I'd say) I have a "squeak" that I can only describe as a sqweege (sp?) being run over a wet window. It sounds like it's coming from the front end but we all know how sounds can be thrown. It does it brakes on or off... accelerating or not. Any ideas? U-joint maybe?

Second to this (and hopefully related) at the same speeds here and there I'll hear a "ka-klunk ka-klunk ka-klunk etc.." as I'm coasting along. Possibly U-Joint again?

I thought about a caliper hanging up and making the pad drag but they seem to be wearing pretty evenly and no visible signs there (haven't removed the wheel yet either).

The U-Joints were replaced at 45k but through my own laziness I never really greased them often, so I'm wondering if thats the problem all around. Anything else you guys can think of that would cause the above sounds so I have a few places to start looking?

Thanks

pgun67 · 06-17-2009, 05:10 PM

Might want to check the wheel bearings as mine went out around that mileage. Jack up the truck and then grab the tire and see if it has movement in and out, top and bottom, and side to side. If so, wheel bearing unit may need replacement.

toddman67 · 06-17-2009, 06:44 PM

Jack the truck up (rear) and see if you can duplicate the sound through the drive line while running it in gear.
Also as the prveious poster recommended, check front wheel bearings. They may not show side to side - top to bottom wear, however if you remove the wheel, you may find the hubs very hard to turn by hand which would indicate a dry bearing. Not Good!

kahjdh · 06-19-2009, 08:41 PM

Slip yoke

ukrkoz · 06-21-2009, 10:46 PM

1. definitely not a slip yoke, i know that like back of my hand.
2. u-joints will be heard from behind and below your buttocks, not from the front. i just had mine replaced. symptoms: 1. hanging at take off, like as if drivetrain locks, then goes bang! 2. shimmy at take off 3. finally, grinding noise from the area above mentioned.

squeal in the front..... gosh, bearings, brakes splash shield, drivebelt roller...
does it do it moving or in P too? if it's only when moving, then it has to be something that moves when truck takes off. not much really of those except wheels turning on bearings.

fire24resque · 06-24-2009, 02:53 PM

Ok I figured it out and somewhat temporarily fixed it.

The "clunk clunk clunk" I was getting at a coast was caused by the front brake pads having about 1/16" of side to side movement in them. I have no idea why but even with those stainless slider plates in there, there's a little bit of room for the pad to jiggle around. That paired with what I think is a "sticky" caliper piston not retracting and slightly dragging the pad, the noise was the pad clanking back and forth. I cleaned it all up and lubricated the slide points, I shimmed them out just a hair and it seemed to get rid of it. Next is to replace the calipers, anyone have any good suggestions as a brand to get? The "squeaking squeal" was part of the piston hanging up, when I had the truck jacked up and spun the wheel by hand at the very end of the revolution I'd hear it, think it was the pad again.

Thanks for all your help!

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