I posted this early in the day but I guess it didn`t take.
Does anyone know when the new shafts will be available ? Parts Mgr. told me today he had no idea and that there were about a million on order and that another grease job is stiil the only "fix" at this time. Any of you Techs know anything different ?

still on back order and they make noise too...

no idea when they will be avail.

I took mine a couple of months ago to be greased. They told me that weren't greasing them anymore just replacing them. Mine was replaced and no rattle so far. BUT NOW!! everyonce in awhile I get rubbing sound coming from my steering wheel ( I think ). It doesn't do it all the time but I think it's starting to happen more often. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this.
Thanks
Billy

Jomar if you are mechanically inclined why don't you try greasing it yourself? I don't recommend the GM kit because it doesn't come with enough grease in it. I cleaned mine with brake cleaner and filled with Mobil 1 synthetic grease. That was several months ago. I don't know if it was a permanent fix. Too soon to tell. Later! Frank

I get the rubbing sound ever now and then when I am at a complete stop and turn left. Has been doing it for 3 years. I ask Dmaxallitech about it one time and he said his did it too, but did not know what caused it.

The new shafts are not any better than the old ones... I speak from experience...

Hey Frank, you`ve been reading my mind. I was looking at a tube of Amsoil syn. lube in my shop and just wondering......... Hadn`t heard of anyone doing it themselves and thought it might require a special fitting on the tube of grease. So lookout shaft out you come. Thanks Frank,

Jomar, I did mine and it did not last... Just telling you.. I also had a new shaft installed and it is not any better than it was before...

Question to dmaxallitech: I didn`t intend to make 2 posting on the same subject, but after 1 1/2 hrs. and the first one was not on the forum, I thought I had done something wrong so I posted another one. For future reference, how long does it take for a posting to show up on the page ?

Is or was there a recall on this problem?? My steering clunks like crazy!! My buddy with a PSD makes fun of the Dmax whenever he gets the chance! (I know get new friends)LOL. I would love to get this problem fixed, would it be considered part of the drivetrain (fingers crossed) as my warranty has long come and gone. Thanks.

Russ

Man I am new to this site, posted a moisture in fuel question, and now I see this article, this site is great. Anyway kept complaining to my wife and buddy with new duramax that something feels funny with my steering, like a rattle through the steering wheel. They always just ignore me cause I always sense these things, but whala. Anyway should I take it to the dealer....

Signed my baby... 02 duramax with 14k.

Man I am new to this site, posted a moisture in fuel question, and now I see this article, this site is great. Anyway kept complaining to my wife and buddy with new duramax that something feels funny with my steering, like a rattle through the steering wheel. They always just ignore me cause I always sense these things, but whala. Anyway should I take it to the dealer....

Signed my baby... 02 duramax with 14k.
rd69ss Welcome to The Diesel Place, this forum is unlike no other. The wealth of knowledge these guys have about our trucks is unbeleivable(sp)lol. Once again, Welcome!!

Can someone please post what's involved in greasing the shaft, (noise just started on my 04 D/A at 10K) Ive been out of the flat rate scene for about 12 years, and don't want to do unecessary work. Thanks

http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3325

Here is the thread you are asking about. It and others just like it are in the Do it yourself part of the forum...

I lubed mine a while back...I used heavy axle grease...I have not had a "clunk" since shortly after the grease had a chance to work in...it has been over a year.

I'm going to wait it out a little as lubing the shaft isn't the permanent fix. After my dealer has done a few replacements, I'll take mine in.

Silver Bullet :

What grease did you use ? Brand, ect.

Is this really that big of a deal? :eek: Mine does this as well, but it does not seem to slow it down much. :rolleyes: I had a equipment trailer behind it yesterday with a skid steerer loaded up, it pulls just fine. ):h

I know, I know - it's a $48,000 truck....... I look at it like this, as long as the rumble is not going to cause a steering failure, I will look at it when it warms up again.

Is or was there a recall on this problem?? My steering clunks like crazy!! My buddy with a PSD makes fun of the Dmax whenever he gets the chance! (I know get new friends)LOL. I would love to get this problem fixed, would it be considered part of the drivetrain (fingers crossed) as my warranty has long come and gone. Thanks.

Russ

I've got a 03 and it klunks pretty good at just short of 15k mkiles. Going to lube it tomorrow if the weather is nice. I'm not goiong to use the kit. I have a good chassis grease thats extra tacky, real thick and real resistant to poumding out.You might talk to your dealer and see if he will stand behind the truck because the steering shaft problem appears to be a design problem.

Bill

Well I am going to redo mine again tomorrow and see if I can get some improvement.. Tired of all the rattling and not waiting on the dealer anymore..

The new shafts are not any better than the old ones... I speak from experience...

Dealer first replaced the bearing, after several lubes did not work. The bearing
replacement did not help. Next.........

I had the shaft replaced over a year ago and some 30,000 miles since........ It worked
and I've had no further problems.

Love this truck! :ro)

Jomar,
I am not sure as I am at work and grease is at home...it a HD wheel bearing grease...the kinda that comes in can that looks like a Planter's peanut can. It took 1-2 weeks for the grease to work in since it is much heavier than the stuff that comes in the lube kit.

I got te idea from a Chevy shop foreman in the Dallas area...he said that is what his techs were doing because it was working better than the stuff from the lube kit.

I redid mine today with some heavy duty tractor grease. The rattles stopped and no more noise. So we will see how long this one lasts....Hopefully for a while...

Does anyone know if the new steering shaft can be lubed(I am hoping)---seeing how I have the new one----which is turning out not to be a permanent fix?

Silver Bullet: Thanks again. I have some Sta-Lube in the green cans that I have used for years on my 5er wheel bearings. It`s the heavyest I`ve found. It`s the heavyest I can find since Texaco quit making Marfax # 1. I`ve got at least a dozen types of greases, so maybe I`ll mix them all together and use that. Just kiddin!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Its appearing that you guys are finding other types of grease, thats good. I have looked at some Schaeffers 238 and 274 and I think they will work very well. As for the rubbing noise that I had in my truck while turning, I ended up replacing the gear box for it. Was gonna do just the bearing but one of our genious techs figured out how to break the tool and I got sick of waiting for the new tool to show. New gear box installed and viola! Another thing to make sure off is that your dont clean off the outside of the shaft when pushing it back through the firewall boot. There is a thin layer of grease here and that will keep it from dry rubbing on the firewall boot causing a noise.

Had a little time of my own today so I took that rattling momma shaft out and greased it. I checked the instructions I got off this web and things worked out just fine. I pulled the shaft up all the way,got as much of the old grease out as I could and there wasn`t a lot in there even though it had been to the dealer`s twice and was greased, then cleaned the exposed part of the shaft. I then pumped some heavy Sta-Lube Drum Brake Wheel Bearing Grease into the housing and while pushing the shaft back into the housing about 1/2 inch at a time, I forced grease in around the shaft until the shaft was all the way in. I then cleaned all the greased off that had been forced out of the housing and then took out some more to make room for the " U " shaped spacer. Installed in reverse order, test drove it, and No rattle. The instructions say something about a stopper. Where is it? Also I might add that for the DIY the instructions don`t mention that at the engine compartment end you turn the bolt head to take out the bolt and under the dash you turn the nut Don`t try turning the wrong one-- you ain`t gonna make no headway. I say this because I had bad light and was holding a small flash light in my mouth while laying on my back under the dash. I used to be able to crawl around under the dash like a snake, but them days are gone.