2003 Silverado HD

Anyone ever have an issue with thier 2003 Silverado HD having blown transfer case or told your back end is shot? I have that model truck and it has 96,000 miles and I was having a vibration issue when driving over 45. The vibration was in the seat and not the steering wheel. That is the only indication something is wrong. There are no strange noises or anything else to indicate this truck is not running well. Infact other than this it runs great.

I brought it to a GM dealership to get diagnostics and then I brought it to a friend who is a retired mechanic but still holds his asc certification. I was told two different things and now before I have to pay out $3300 in repairs I need to be confident of the problem.

One mechanic said the back end is shot.. the other mechanic told me the transfer case is blown out. Incidently, the passenger side window regulartor and motor need to be replaced. I am not real happy about this news since the truck is only four years old.

Has anyone out there ever had issue with either problem on the 2003?? I could sure use a few thoughts on this before I make a decision on getting it fixed. Any thoughts from anyone please?

Thanks-
Jenna~

I would suggest taking it to another dealing and see what they say. By doing this it may confirm as to what is really wrong with your truck. Hope this helps.

Will

I would suggest taking it to another dealing and see what they say. By doing this it may confirm as to what is really wrong with your truck. Hope this helps.

Will

Thanks Will, I have an appt today at 2pm to do just that. I hope I get a strait answere because I just want to get this fixed asap. I was cleaning out the truck today and found my reciept for my oil change last month and I noticed they wrote on the bottom of the reciept "tailshaft on transfer case" now I have NO idea what that means and I never saw that before today. I am sure I just grabbed the slip from the guy after the oil change and stuck it in the glovebox and forgot about it. Maybe this means it could possibly be the transfer case after all? I was hoping there were others out there with a smiliar problem on this year truck but I guess not.. Thanks again Will for responding to my concern.

Jenna~

If you had found that receipt earlier you probably could have looked under the truck for something obvious. Maybe they saw something while doing your oil change. But then again they could have said something to you when they handed you the receipt instead of just making a note. Hope they find the problem for you.

Will

I had an issue similar to yours with a 2001 2500hd, same type of vibration. Took it to a dealer expecting it to be a driveshaft or transfer case issue and it turned out to be a worn out tailshaft bushing on the transfer case, pretty simple fix and it solved my vibration issue as well, so it could possibly be as simple as that so make sure and get some more opinions.
Danny-

Could this vibration happen on a non HD? I have a vibration too at 45mph. Do you remember how much the fix was? Just curious as to whether I may have the same issue.

Will

I had an issue similar to yours with a 2001 2500hd, same type of vibration. Took it to a dealer expecting it to be a driveshaft or transfer case issue and it turned out to be a worn out tailshaft bushing on the transfer case, pretty simple fix and it solved my vibration issue as well, so it could possibly be as simple as that so make sure and get some more opinions.
Danny-

Thats very intresting.. I just got back from the garage and they said it is indeed the transfer case... so I will get it fixed now. Thanks so much for everyones input! :) and did I mention this is a pretty cool site, I didnt know it existed until I was researing online about my truck issues..

Jenna~

UNBELIVEABLE!!! without going into great detail.. my blown transfer case turned out to be a bad set of new tires that I got ten months ago. Good news is transfer case and back end are in great condition. *whew* I just saved over $3300

Guess I will be heading to the place I bought my new tires from and see whats up with that.

Jenna~

Can't you run it in 4wd to check if the transfer case is messed up? Sorry, i don't know much about 4wd but that's what i would do. If it works all good then that's probably not the problem i would think.

Oh sorry Jenna, I should have read the entire thread before posting. great to hear it's just tires and not something major like a rear end or transfer case.

It just seems some tire manufacturers these days don't care about quality. Yeah, i'd return the tires or threaten a law suit if they won't take them back and give you new ones mounted and balanced. Or call the tire mfg and threaten a law suit agains them.. you'll get new ones for free asap i bet.

About your window not working correctly.. I bet money it's the switch. GM/Chevy has problems with door and window switches going bad. Both of my buddies GM's had to have all the switches replaced in both doors.. geeeesh.

About your window not working correctly.. I bet money it's the switch. GM/Chevy has problems with door and window switches going bad. Both of my buddies GM's had to have all the switches replaced in both doors.. geeeesh.

Yep! I just got that fixed too. But it was a frayed cable or something but they changed it all out and its great to have a window working again.. :) Now I'm looking for step bars because I am only 5ft small and I am tired of the climb up.. lol

Jenna~

check this site for your side steps
http://www.stylintrucks.com/Default.aspx

make sure when they balance the tire they use the lug adaptor. What this does is it alaigns the tire buy the lug holes and not the center hole. When they balance the tire by the center hole it may not by flush to the machine the way your tire is flush to the hub. therefore they will get different readings.
This more common on larger or tuck tires. Car tires are typically small enough not to be be that sensitive.

check this site for your side steps
http://www.stylintrucks.com/Default.aspx

make sure when they balance the tire they use the lug adaptor. What this does is it alaigns the tire buy the lug holes and not the center hole. When they balance the tire by the center hole it may not by flush to the machine the way your tire is flush to the hub. therefore they will get different readings.
This more common on larger or tuck tires. Car tires are typically small enough not to be be that sensitive.


Will do and thanks for the link!