4wd Warning - Please Heed!

[dablonde]

Thought I'd put out this new thread as suggested by a member, j cAT, as a warning to all o you guys. Hope it helps save you some wear, tear and $.

This winter I found that when I put my '99 Burb into 4WD it made horrible noises - rubbing, squeaking, grinding, you name it. Then, even in 2WD it made this sort of grinding noise whenever I took my foot off the gas and began to coast. It had nothing to do with braking. It didn't happen when I accelerated. Some "experts" mentioned it might be something in the transfer case. I was also worried because the tranny felt like it might be slipping in some of the gears.

Here's the low down. I took it to Aamco Transmission last Thursday. They did a thorough diagnostic on it. Engine compression is superb (the Chevy block engine is a work horse no doubt). Transmission is great. Transfer case not so fine. The bearings were shot inside and gears and seals were a mess due to metal shavings. Long story short is the Michelin LT tires I had on the car wore down unevenly. I wanted to get new tires last fall, but back then I just didn't have the bucks to go out and get them. Several people told me I had enough tread on the Michelin LT's to make it through the winter so I left them as is. Problem is, it snows in the winter and you need to use 4WD. It seems the Michelins had worn down so unevenly that the front tires were about an inch smaller than the rears. Yup, you got it. I blew the transfer case because the fronts had to spin faster than the backs. The tranny is connected obviously and that's why it felt like it was slipping as well. With getting the transfer case rebuilt (don't ever get a reman - you don't know what you're getting), a new gear chain, also an oil filter gasket and oil change, it cost me $2,100. Then of course I had to go out and buy the new tires anyway or I would have blown the transfer case AGAIN. The same day I got the car back, I bought BF Goodrich Commercial T/A's according to a recommendation I had from this forum's member, J-Ri. I drove it last night and this morning in the rain. So far, I am really impressed with the BFG's. They're super quiet, cushy and talk about traction! This morning I came around one of Connecticut's notorious country road curves to find stand still traffic. I had to brake HARD. With the Michelin's (even when new), the ABS would have kicked in and I would have been sliding and crapping my pants. The BFG's stuck like glue and stopped me on a dime. There was also none of that stupid wet road spinning out when accelerating from a stop. This is the first time since I've owned the car, 150K miles back, that I didn't have to put it in Auto 4WD on wet roads. My Burb has almost 200K miles on it and it's riding like a brand new Caddy. If only I had spent the bucks back in November like I wanted to, I'd be about $2,000 richer. Check your tires, man. And ROTATE, ROTATE, ROTATE!!!

[J-Ri]

Originally Posted by dablonde

I bought BF Goodrich Commercial T/A's according to a recommendation I had from this forum's member, J-Ri. I drove it last night and this morning in the rain. So far, I am really impressed with the BFG's. They're super quiet, cushy and talk about traction!

I'm glad you like the tires. Did you get the Commercial T/As or the Commercial Traction T/As? I have the Traction, but I have heard good things about the regular ones too. Since the treadwear isn't so great on the Tractions (I hope I knew that at the time I reccomended them to you... I didn't know that when I bought them), I was considering getting a third set of BFG tires (the regualr Commercial T/As) for my truck and using the tractions only for snow.

[dablonde]

I got the Commercial T/A All Season. It's not like my Burb is a construction
vehicle or anything like that. I drive mostly highway and road, so I don't need
the heavy duty off road traction stuff. I did need the Load Range E because I
haul all the heavy musical equipment for the band. I put them to a little test
last night when the roads were still wet. There's a road by me where you have
to stop and pull out from an extremely steep incline. Even when that road is
dry, I was never able to do it without putting it in 4WD or else the back wheels
would spin out. The BFG's pulled me right out without a single slip. Awesome,
man! I'm a happy woman. Thanks again.

[spaul100]

Hi guys,
Can you offer advice on the ABS system. 2001, burb, 1500 4wd when stopping the ABS kicks in just about at one or two mph. Have replaced pads, rotors, etc. Put two new to me, front sensors on and still no difference. Did clean the corrosion down to good metal on the sensor mounting pads.
Hoping not to have to replace the ABS module. Any help appreciated. Have not checked the transmission sensor nor the codes. WHile not sure if my new code reader will even read the brake codes.

Steve Paul
Retired and still too cheap to pay for it

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by spaul100

Hi guys,
Can you offer advice on the ABS system. 2001, burb, 1500 4wd when stopping the ABS kicks in just about at one or two mph. Have replaced pads, rotors, etc. Put two new to me, front sensors on and still no difference. Did clean the corrosion down to good metal on the sensor mounting pads.
Hoping not to have to replace the ABS module. Any help appreciated. Have not checked the transmission sensor nor the codes. WHile not sure if my new code reader will even read the brake codes.

Steve Paul
Retired and still too cheap to pay for it

remove connector to abs front sensors and rotate tire should get 350-500mv ac if too low may be sensor or bearing the low side will be the bad side... this is most likely the problemn area as abs comes on at low speeds......sensor mounting pad????????


also start new posting as this posting is not ABS issue....