Yup I need more help.....

Ok so I still need some help...

I have a 1990 K2500 350 auto.......................

I have been able so far to fix all the things I have found wrong but there is one I just cant find....

So here is what I have done so far maybe this will lead someone to a idea of what is wrong...If I can remember everything....

1..I swapped the tail gate,rear bumper and trailer hitch..

2..I swapped the front bumper,grill and hood..

3.. I swapped the front diff.,axles,shocks,rotors,hub or wheel bearing.

4.. I swapped rear ends,shocks.

5.. I installed a stereo, 4 speakers and a sub, Then found and fixed a key off drain..The key off drain also had the right rear tail light acting funny but that is fixed now also..

6.. I replaced the starter, fixed the tranny dipstick,fixed leaks in tranny lines..

7..Installed a tranny cooler.

Ok so some time around here I start driving it on short trips to the dump and so on..I find that I have a tearable rattle under the truck..Kinda high pitched log chain dragging on the ground type of sound.. So now we conclude it is coming from the front right or passenger side..I get to looking and...

1..I found the stabilizer end link loose so I replace with a new one.Still got the rattle...

2.. I zip tie anything that looks like it might rattle..Still got the rattle and it is getting worse...

3.. I noticed a shinny line on the top of the idler arm and yup it was loose so I replaced with a new one..Yup you guessed it I still have the rattle..

4.. I had the wheel off and can't find any play in the bearing..

Now if this was a stick I would be thinking throw out bearing so Is there anything in the transfer case or tranny that may sound the same??

Speed does not matter or if in 4 wheel drive or not. The only thing that affects the rattle is if I hit a bump and that leads me back to something loose..

I guess I am hoping for a one in a million hey I had that and all I had to do was??????????????????????

Anyway thanks for all the help thus far............

Have you checked the wear on the lower ball joints?

Yes and they seem to be fine...

Are you sure it is coming from the wheel and not a loose clamp on the exhaust or a broken hanger?

Are you sure it is coming from the wheel and not a loose clamp on the exhaust or a broken hanger?


Not sure where it is coming from but I did check the hangers and clamps..

Thanks!!!

Rear leaf spring shackles?

If you have a two-piece driveshaft with a center support bearing, the bearing and damper may be shot. Milder cases sound like a bad wheel bearing but sounds like it is coming from under the truck cab. But if the rubber damper is bad it might be making the driveshaft loose...which is probably destroying the middle u-joint in the process.

You'll likely have to have the new bearing pressed on by a shop, but if they offer it you might consider having the shaft balance-checked. If you replace it yourself, make sure you match mark the shaft halves, yokes, etc.
Hope this helps!

One piece drive shaft in this thing...

I think it is the lower ball joint on the pass side...I have a new one on it's way in the mail.....

I will post when I get it fixed....

Only other thing I can think of is that the catalytic converter heat shield is loose due to some failed spot welds.

I vote for the loose cat heat shield. Had one on my CAPRICE that drove me nuts. Pop rivets are a cheap fix however.

MY $.02 WORTH

Thanks for the input but I see no heat shield on the cat?? Just the cat so where would it be located, at on top I would guess....

I don't know if the catalytic converter has been mentioned yet, but they can break apart indide and make a terrible rattle, Try rapping the bottom of it.
Bob B

I have and it seems really solid...

I found the pass side lower ball joint to have a little wiggle room so I ordered a new one..Will try to install tomorrow and I will report back....

Just another thought on your mystery rattle. You mentioned that you changed out the shocks. Were they new? I have had a shock absorber rattle somtimes during cold weather. Gas filled are the worst offenders IMO. Warm weather the noise disappears.

Another culprit could be a bad body to frame mount/bushings etc.

If the truck has rack & pinion steering check the inner tie rods (ball & socket) to see if it/they are loose. The sound they make is more of a clunking thud.

HOPE THIS HELPS NOT HINDER

I just replaced inners outters idler arm and pitman.. Truck handles a lot better but rattle is still there...

Loose torque converter bolts maybe?

nope.. I removed the tranny to check the flywheel and all that was fine....

Is the sound any different (tone/pitch/frequency) with a load in the back?

No nothing seems to change it except for hitting a bump and all that does is stop it for a moment...I found a little play in lower ball joint and I just got back with the press so I will be changing that out today to see if it helps any...

I'm starting to think it is the hub bearing..The one on the truck when I got it was shot so I took one off my parts truck..It was fine on the parts truck ran it for years but I think it may be because it came from the driver side and I put it on the pass side..I'm thinking that the running the bearring in the opposite direction then it was use to may have loosened it up or something....

Once the ball joint is in I will get it lined up and let the shop try to find the rattle...

Thanks..........

Ok so I changed out the upper and lower ball joints on the pass side today...

As I was tearing it down I stopped after I removed the rotor and spun the hub...There it was that sound that I have been hunting so I listened real close and it sounded like it came from the axle shaft...So I went on tearing it down and when I pulled the shaft I heard it again..It was the outside cv joint the boot is good but there is something rattling around in there.....

So I installed the new upper and lower ball joints and swapped out the axle for a spare I had and took off for a ride..What do you know my rattle was all gone and it handles like a new truck again....

Thanks to all the folks you helped me out on this one...