Vibration on 2000 Suburban

[jgl38017]

I have a 2000 Suburban with about 170,000 miles on it. I'm getting an audible clicking sound at slow speeds which increases as the vehicle speeds up and also a fairly severe vibration which becomes noticeable at about 20 mph and becomes worse as the speed increases. I thought maybe driveshaft but things seem fairly tight. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, this has gotten gradually worse over time.

Ok I figured out where the vibration was coming from...U joints in the front driveshaft are shot. Now I have another problem...I've removed the fwd u joint straps and according to the book, the driveshaft should simply slide to the rear into the transfer case so I can lower the fwd u joint but the problem is that the part of the shaft (which slides into and out of the transfer case) seems to be frozen/stuck. Do I simply beat on it with a hammer to break it loose or am I doing something wrong?

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by jgl38017

I have a 2000 Suburban with about 170,000 miles on it. I'm getting an audible clicking sound at slow speeds which increases as the vehicle speeds up and also a fairly severe vibration which becomes noticeable at about 20 mph and becomes worse as the speed increases. I thought maybe driveshaft but things seem fairly tight. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, this has gotten gradually worse over time.

Ok I figured out where the vibration was coming from...U joints in the front driveshaft are shot. Now I have another problem...I've removed the fwd u joint straps and according to the book, the driveshaft should simply slide to the rear into the transfer case so I can lower the fwd u joint but the problem is that the part of the shaft (which slides into and out of the transfer case) seems to be frozen/stuck. Do I simply beat on it with a hammer to break it loose or am I doing something wrong?

the proceedure would be to place the vehicle in neutral no loading on the shaft can be rotated. remove the transfercase rubber boot. mark all shaft parts so it goes back exactly as it came out. remove the front retainer bolts and push rearward the shaft so it can be removed. no hammering allowed..spray some wd-40 on the transfercase end and work it in/out.

if you cannot turn the shaft then it is loaded up so that should be why it will not slide out.

[jgl38017]

Tks I'll give that a try in a few hours. One other thing to mention is that the rubber boot that is supposed to be on the shaft at the transfer case is not there. Not sure if it was removed previously or has simply disintegrated over the last 13 years.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by jgl38017

Tks I'll give that a try in a few hours. One other thing to mention is that the rubber boot that is supposed to be on the shaft at the transfer case is not there. Not sure if it was removed previously or has simply disintegrated over the last 13 years.

the boot protects the splines. the shaft will on its own slide in/out when vehicle operates. the boot keeps the splines protected and the teflon grease is to be used to reduce spline wear.

spray with the wd-40 and try to loosen it up. but no hammering .

[jgl38017]

Originally Posted by j cAT

the boot protects the splines. the shaft will on its own slide in/out when vehicle operates. the boot keeps the splines protected and the teflon grease is to be used to reduce spline wear.

spray with the wd-40 and try to loosen it up. but no hammering .

OK...I have the rear of the truck on jackstands and in neutral. I've removed the straps on the fwd u joint and I still can't budge it back into the transfer case. When I pry backwards on the driveshaft, it moves but so does the transfer case almost like it's one piece. Any other ideas would be appreciated greatly.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by jgl38017

OK...I have the rear of the truck on jackstands and in neutral. I've removed the straps on the fwd u joint and I still can't budge it back into the transfer case. When I pry backwards on the driveshaft, it moves but so does the transfer case almost like it's one piece. Any other ideas would be appreciated greatly.

so you can rotate the shaft correct ? then use a pry bar at the fwd u joint and try to separate the
joint.

keep prying and spray into the transfer case spline area. it most likely got rusted badly. another rust belt mess.