Just picked up my '04 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax/Allison last March & started noticing this symptom maybe 2-3 months ago.

At first I mainly noticed it when cornering - feels like there's a "clunk" in the steering linkage - play in ball joints or something. While I don't think it's getting drastically worse, I'm noticing it now while going straight over bumpy pavement & can event hear it with the radio off & windows up (just a "thunk" sound from the steering column area, you can feel it in the wheel as well).

My first truck was a '98 Dakota & it had a similar symptom, but the ball joints were good in that one - so it was just the nature of the truck. The Sierra is my 2nd truck - is this normal or something I should be concerned about?

Anyone else experience the same thing?

do a search :duh:

Mmmmm.... search. Right. Got it.

2nd question: what KTM you ride?



do a search :duh:

inte,

I have the same thing going on in my truck but hadn't given it much thought untill you said somthing. I have had problems with the stealer and i'm not looking forward to going back to them unless its really important.

When the road is bumpy is when I notice it so I thought it was normal. let me know what you find out.

Richard

Same here on my 04, I've always wondered if it was normal so lets us know what you find out.:beerchug:

Talked with my local dealer, he indicated a steering shaft may need to be replaced, also said most of the time the problem can be "greased out". From the conversation with him, it's a known problem.

2004 EC/SB

BTW, try this link www.gmdieseltech.com (http://www.gmdieseltech.com) I got this link from another thread, here is a product that may cure that clunk/bump.



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520 sx in the garage and 450 exc on the way, also dying for a duke 990 and the new 650 supermoto as far as KTMs go. Greasing out the problem works with these shafts but only for a short while, as short as a few days. I had my intermediate steering shaft replaced last friday and the problem is fixed, for now. Most replacement shafts are on backorder for quite a while as there is a high demand for them. On wed I was told that mine was on backorder and it would take 4-5 weeks to get one. One magically appeared when I got there Fri morning. lucky me.

The new shafts work for a while...from what I read...they are the same shaft.

Mine was replaced at 20k and the clunk is starting to come back at 40k.

I am going to try using some good quality grease on the replacement shaft and see how long that last.

For all who wanted to know what I found out ... first off I have to point out jmg343's suggestion - a search yielded a GREAT deal of information on this. I found out it is a very common problem - common to the point the part itself is backordered. There's a TBS related to this (#00-02-35-003E, July 20, 2004 ... GMCSID posted it somewhere, but I can't remember where right now...).

I called the dealer & described the problem - no hesitation, the guy knew exactly what was up. They're going to lube the shaft in the meantime while the replaced "intermediate steering shaft assembly" is ordered. There's a several-week nationwide backorder on these things due to this problem. From some accounts (do the search - you'll see) the "lube job" on the shaft is as good a fix as replacing the shaft itself. People seem to be having mixed results with either fix & many indicate the problem returns later regardless.

Either way, I'm taking the truck in tomorrow & going to have the lube done & the replacement part ordered - I'll post an update with what happens.

I took my truck in to the dealer this morning - have to say it was a really good experience. The service tech new exactly what was going on (though that's a further indication it's a widespready problem I suppose...) & I noticed he wrote in the description that the symptom is noticable "when turning left". I didn't say that. When asked about it, he said that's the most common way the issue is described & it helps to flag the techs as to what's wrong.

They didn't even have to test drive it - just pulled the shaft & saw the problem & ACTUALLY HAD THE NEW ONE IN STOCK! NO BACKORDER! :)

One interesteing note, this particular dealer's service bay noticed in some cases the older shafts work better. They'll pull the new part & actually do a visual/physical inspection to check that it has enough (more) tolerance than the stock part (in my case the replacement part was better). Whichever part works better, they'll grease up & reinstall. That may explain some of the mixed reviews of the fix I read here on the site.

I've only put 20 miles on the thing, but so far so good. Noticed the difference immediately - feels like it's brand new again. Have to wait & see if it lasts...

The service writer even noticed why my tailgate has been loose since I bought the truck (rubber gromets installed backwards from the factory) :duh:

I was apprehensive about going back to the dealer as I had an alignment done there not to long ago & they tried to sell me on getting all four wheels .... of my truck .... aligned.

This visit helped restore my faith in the place ... guess it depends a lot on the service writer you get.