GM Replacing Steering Shafts

I have a Chevy Silv. 2500 HD 4x4
The "tapping" felt in the steering wheel in the last 2 Chevy trucks I had has been solved!
GM had been installing Lube Packs to stop it tapping you feel when coasting around a clover leaf or coasting down hill. But that only worked for about 3 weeks.
Now take it in, and tell them you feel it.
They will replace the whole steering shaft to eliminate the problem.
Said this is a prob running through all models of gm cars and trucks.
Factory prob. Will have to wait a while for the shaft to come in though.

Is this a warranty item, or something they will do for anyone? My Warranty ran out long ago.

Thanks

Right, I have the tap but no warranty. I imagine it's just for trucks under warranty. It's common enough it should be recalled... but I bet it never is.

I read somewhere,(Maybe on this forum) there are over 100,000 on back order!
Im still waiting

Just had mine replaced under warranty after living with the problem for 15K miles. It's a big improvement. It feels like I'm driving a competely new truck.

I would recommend getting the replacement shaft even if your truck is no longer under warranty. They are able to replace it pretty quickly so they shouldn't hit you with many labor hours. You won't be sorry.

Im still waiting!

Yes, I have confirmed that this shaft is on a MASSIVE backorder accross the US. I have been waiting for almost 2 months now, and they are still waiting for the part. This issue is happening on over a million GM vehicles according to GM themselves. It is not a safety issue, and is only considered a warranty fix


Been told that the part should come in within the next month or so, but again, the dealers are sooooo backed up with this issue, it's gonna take time to get everyone fixed.

I feel it on my 03 Silverado during a turn, and it annoys me, but not much I can do about it right now... gonna have to wait.

what sort of "tapping" are you talking about/...I ahve a 99 silverado 5.3l 4x4 ext 97,000 miles and can you describe this tapping some more?/....what is the cost of the stering shaft from gm???? either retail or wholesale prices??

The tapping noise is sorta more like a popping sound that you can feel through your steering wheel. Some people say it sounds like your axle is going out, others think it is the CV joint, but it is the intermediate shaft that needs to be replaced.

Not sure about any cost, as mine is covered under the 100% parts and labor warranty. I would call up your dealer for more info...

Just discovered this forum. I'm looking for info about how close GM is to either issuing a recall or offering no-cost replacement for the defective Intermediate Shaft design that affects (I think) 2000 to 2003 Chevy trucks. It's pretty obvious from all the chatter that there are hundreds of thousands of instances of these shafts wearing out and causing the clunking noise, especially on turns. My dealer has been backordered since October 2004 on this part. He says because I didn't report it before my 36,000 mile warranty ran out, GM won't pay for the repair. Wondering if the Dept. of Transportation or other agency knows about the size of this problem.

I have a Chevy Silv. 2500 HD 4x4
The "tapping" felt in the steering wheel in the last 2 Chevy trucks I had has been solved!
GM had been installing Lube Packs to stop it tapping you feel when coasting around a clover leaf or coasting down hill. But that only worked for about 3 weeks.
Now take it in, and tell them you feel it.
They will replace the whole steering shaft to eliminate the problem.
Said this is a prob running through all models of gm cars and trucks.
Factory prob. Will have to wait a while for the shaft to come in though.
How far does this go back, i have a 94 Silverado that i replace the shaft about one yaer ago steering was loose and the dealer said the joint was not replaceable so i had to replace the shaft at 250 dollar

I had this prob. on my 1998 K-1500 4x4,
Now on the 2003 Silverado.
GM started replacing the shaft when everyone came back for grease packs 2 or 3 times like I did. i guess?
Im still waiting, 2 months and counting.....

I guess all of you guys are not so lucky.... I can probably bet you guys that let the dealership lubricate the steering shaft, that the dealership did it wrong..... When you put the plug into the steering shaft like I did when I did mine... it looks like the grease is hard to come on to the splines of the shaft.... I repeated the procedure and it didn't come all the way up to the end of the splines....I can probably bet that the dealerships just put it in like that... which makes it go away in 3 months... of course IT'S NOT LUBRICATED ALL THE WAY....grab your finger and put on some grease on the splines....and then reinstall..... If you know how to take it out yourself, take it out and cheak it... you might be surprised... I did mine after I drove over 20, 000 kilometres with the dawm clunking... and then bought the $30Canadian kit (what a ripoff, for a dawm piece of plastic and half a finger of their "special grease"), I did it myself and made sure there was lots of grease all the way up the splines.....I have driven already 18 or 19 thousand kilometres without the dawm clunking and am very pleased.... just try cheak it out , you might be surprised!

I had the lub kit done 30,000 miles ago succesfully fixing the prob. They also installes a foam or rubber vibration cover over my shaft which i havent heard anyone mention on this thread...jj

I have an 03 Silverado that has a bad vibration when I turn. I have 50,000 miles but it has been doing it sometime.

Is this part easy to fix for a do-it-yourselfer?

Maybe we all should buy Fords?

> Is this part easy to fix for a do-it-yourselfer?

From what I've read, there's a temporary fix that's definitely doable if you're a decent shade-tree mechanic, but I wouldn't call it easy. It involves repacking the lubricant in the shaft housing.

If you take to your GM/Chevy dealer, they'll want to charge you about $120 for a replacement shaft and labor to install. I wrote to Chevy and asked them to install it as a warranty repair (even though '03 Silverado was about 15K miles beyond warranty) because it's a known defect. They politely declined to do so.

Meanwhile, I was calling my local Chevy dealer every few weeks and asking if the steering shaft replacement had been reclassified as a free after-warranty repair.

Finally, I decided to take it in and bear the cost of having the thing replace. Lo and behold, when I picked up my truck, the invoice said $0.00.

Good luck!

mine was replaced at about 30,000 km

I am glad ya'll brought this up again . I have been trying to chase down this feeling in the steering wheel . You have givin me the arrow pointing in the right direction . I just put biiger tires on this past weekend and do not notice it as much . Rob

So by replacing this new steering shaft the problem will be solved forever?

If yes,

Please provide us with the part number.



Thanking you

Hey guys, it's me again!

Well just turned 35,000 miles on the 2003 HD Silverado
and ohhh... 1 or 1 1/2 years into the new replaced steering shaft Im back to the normal poping , clicking and tapping away .
And now this time it's as worse than it has ever been before! (The 3 times prior)
Also the "groaning" sound at the top of the steering collum is back!
I expect a truck to feel solid, not like i'm driving a put-put boat.
Back to GM we go, will advise as to what they say.

So by replacing this new steering shaft the problem will be solved forever?

If yes,

Please provide us with the part number.



Thanking you
Mine's back again , seems like a year to year thing. Like clockwork!

Went to the GM dearlership today and they sold me that grease kit everyone is talking about for $15.00. I removed the steering shaft and perfromed the service and it seems to have worked. We'll see how long it last. I'm not all that skilled on working on cars, but this I did this and it took me 17 mins.

If you can change a shock absorber on your car, you can do this. Just two bolts and slide the shaft through the fire wall and remove. Follow the instructions that comes with kit.

Email me, maybe I can help

Installing the new shaft would be just as easy if you could get your hands on one.

I had mine replaced a year ago, and brought it back last week with the same problem, and they lubed it. It didn't solve the problem, so I'm taking it back again.

Anyone know what's the warranty period on repairs?

GM did the "lube pack" for mine twice, then waited maybe 8 months to get the shaft in, however they didn't call me about it, I called them.
They Replaced the shaft last year and now it's back and worse than ever.
cheers.

Hi Sparrbg,
Does the lube fix the groaning also?
Bob B


QUOTE=sparrbq]Hey guys, it's me again!

Well just turned 35,000 miles on the 2003 HD Silverado
and ohhh... 1 or 1 1/2 years into the new replaced steering shaft Im back to the normal poping , clicking and tapping away .
And now this time it's as worse than it has ever been before! (The 3 times prior)
Also the "groaning" sound at the top of the steering collum is back!
I expect a truck to feel solid, not like i'm driving a put-put boat.
Back to GM we go, will advise as to what they say.[/QUOTE]

anyone tried this

1999-05 shaft assembly - all models includes vibration reducer 937
$239.79

http://www.borgeson.com/TruckProductChevy.htm

Hi Sparrbg,
Does the lube fix the groaning also?
Bob B


QUOTE=sparrbq]Hey guys, it's me again!

Well just turned 35,000 miles on the 2003 HD Silverado
and ohhh... 1 or 1 1/2 years into the new replaced steering shaft Im back to the normal poping , clicking and tapping away .
And now this time it's as worse than it has ever been before! (The 3 times prior)
Also the "groaning" sound at the top of the steering collum is back!
I expect a truck to feel solid, not like i'm driving a put-put boat.
Back to GM we go, will advise as to what they say.[/QUOTE]
All 3 times they worked on it the "groaning" sound was gone but slowly returned.
I had a 1998 k-1500 4x4 and It had the same prob -w- the vibration in the shaft and the "groan" sound.
Also knew of 2 other people that had same problem.
Now were years down the road and they havent improved on it?

...
Now were years down the road and they havent improved on it?[/QUOTE]

That would cost $$! GM sucks.

anyone tried this

1999-05 shaft assembly - all models includes vibration reducer 937
$239.79

http://www.borgeson.com/TruckProductChevy.htm


When I told them their lube job didn't fix the problem, the service manager said he had heard they were possibly engineering a replacement, then got back to me and said no. I told him have a nice life.

I just ordered the Borgeson with vibration reducer, which will be installed by my local independent mechanic. I'll report back once it's in.

When I told them their lube job didn't fix the problem, the service manager said he had heard they were possibly engineering a replacement, then got back to me and said no. I told him have a nice life.

I just ordered the Borgeson with vibration reducer, which will be installed by my local independent mechanic. I'll report back once it's in.

Well the Borgeson went in today and it feels nice and smooth! No more grinding or vibrations. Time will tell how it ages, but it comes with a 5 year warranty so I have high hopes that this is a permanent solution.

I took my dad's '04 GMC Z71 Crewcab to town and noticed the "popping feel" coming through the steering wheel. I dismissed it as a CV joint problem and told him about it, who in turn said I tore it up from that one 40 mi trip. Anyways, after having read this thread and another in the Chevy section I believe, I agree with the majority. It has roughly 15-20k miles on it and has only recently started doing this. It does it on straight or curvy roads and at slow or high speeds. I will be badgering him to contact our local dealer to have it checked. And for the ones that want to know the cost of a replacement intermediate shaft, I checked on jegs.com and they list for about $190-200. And it should be a relatively simple install, if you are good with your hands at least.

When replacing or lubricating the steering shaft, be sure to NOT let the steering wheel rotate from the position that it is currently in.

Rotation of the steering wheel can cause the clockspring assembly in the ABS system to set itself too tight and when the wheel is turned in normal driving, the spring can snap, disabling the ABS system. The clockspring assembly lists for $163.98 retail and requires disassembly of the steering column inside the cabin.

Ask me how I know.

Sometimes it costs money to save money, huh? Bet it never happens again!

T

My 2004 Silverado is in the shop today for the steering shaft. Twice replaced and once lubed and it is still making noise. The lube lasted about 2 months. We'll see if today it will be fixed. The servise advisor told me that GM was not replacing anymore shafts, just lubing them. Isn't that great.:screwy:

feb

They just replaced my shaft while I had the truck in for oil/tranny change at 30,000. I'll post if I start having the problem again. When I was telling the service guy about the pop, I didn't even complete the sentence before he said, "We'll replace that shaft this morning while we have your truck." My truck is a 2004 2500HD CC SB 4x4 6.0L.

Just curious if this problem is a 4 x 4 problem? I know several people such as myself with 4 x 2 Silverados, and none of us have noticed what you're describing. All of ours are either 2003 or 2004 trucks.

Where exactly are you greeseing it a friend has one. GM put in a new shaft but the problem is back.

It's a common problem with BOTH two wheel and four wheel drives. It is also a problem in some GM cars, mostly noticed in the Grand Prix', Bonnevilles and Impalas.

The kit from GM costs around $14.00 and includes instructions on removal of the shaft as well as lubricating procedure. The grease is applied to the splines that allow the shaft to telescope into itself.

About a 20-30 minute procedure.

T

Thanks for your information.