Hey all, first time typing since I lost 3 fingers....not easy! Anyway whenever I hit the brakes on my truck or when I accel as soon as the weight transfers there;s a huge clunk that is driving me mad! Please help I need to know if this is serious and since my accident been outta work and hard to afford things like broken D-Maxes Thanks to all who helps out this 22yr old on the brink:help2:

Mark

Non technical - Bed is empty?
Spare tire is tight under truck?
Bumper and hitch are tight?
Exhaust is tight?

Just the obvious first.

ditto above, also is the shell tight to the rail????

anything under the rear seat.

check the jack and tools on pass side rear seat.

95% chance you need to grease the front end of your rear drive shaft. it's binding. i had the same prob in a tahoe. sounds almost like a small dog barking in a barrel? there is a special grease that chevy made for this. or... pay up and get a nickel plated splined shaft to fix permanent. otherwise, just grease once a year. i'll post a link to the tsb that a tech posted for me. just need to find it.

not quite a tsb... but you'll get the picture from this description... http://www.gmdieseltech.com/store2/cart.php?target=product&action=view&product_id=16188&category_id=268

before spending the $26 on the special grease, use an ordinary spline grease to see if it fixes it temporarily. then spend the extra dough.

by the way... i don't know if it would be much help to someone that has lost fingers, but i trained myself to type dvorak layout. it took about a month to learn, but typing is remarkably easier now. problem is that the keyboard has the wrong letters on it for me, but i don't need to see them. the funny thing is when anyone tries to hop on my computer they can't type while it is dvorak.

this also sounds like your problem.... with instructions on how to grease it...

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12964&highlight=binding+driveshaft

not quite a tsb... but you'll get the picture from this description... http://www.gmdieseltech.com/store2/cart.php?target=product&action=view&product_id=16188&category_id=268

before spending the $26 on the special grease, use an ordinary spline grease to see if it fixes it temporarily. then spend the extra dough.

by the way... i don't know if it would be much help to someone that has lost fingers, but i trained myself to type dvorak layout. it took about a month to learn, but typing is remarkably easier now. problem is that the keyboard has the wrong letters on it for me, but i don't need to see them. the funny thing is when anyone tries to hop on my computer they can't type while it is dvorak.
What ever happened to the white lead we used to use and most hardware stores carried it.

Mobil 1 grease will work just fine. I bought mine at Autozone. Later! Frank

Anyway whenever I hit the brakes on my truck or when I accel as soon as the weight transfers there;s a huge clunk that is driving me mad!
Mark
Mark;

All. I am experiancing the same issue. Just had the truck in to the dealer, he lubed the sterring splines and "tightened the crossmember" to correct the thump. Rattle from the splines is gone.. Thump is still there. I really feel it after reversing; and also feel it when releasing the brakes.

Any service fellows out there heard of this? Should I drop and lube by driveshaft?

Thanks..

Mark;

All. I am experiancing the same issue. Just had the truck in to the dealer, he lubed the sterring splines and "tightened the crossmember" to correct the thump. Rattle from the splines is gone.. Thump is still there. I really feel it after reversing; and also feel it when releasing the brakes.

Any service fellows out there heard of this? Should I drop and lube by driveshaft?

Thanks..
it's not clear exactly what the dealer did?? he fixed your steering?

yes... i think you should lube the front splines on the rear driveshaft. easy to do. should be buttery after that. let us know... almost everyone that has posted a thump / clunk on accel, this fixes it.

had my butt sensor up on max today and it is definatley in the rear and its not like a dog barking in a barrel and every thing is kept at proper tightness on a regular basis. It is definely frome the driveline and i'm looking into the spline theory for the driveshaft. Thanks for the respones you all are the reason this is the place to get advice and 911 info to help them!

Thanks again,

Mark

Never sieze also works very good for lubing the splines, much cheaper than GM's grease.

OK, I think I need to grease the rear driveshaft splines on my truck. I have read many posts regarding this issue and I am sure this is my problem, and if not it can't hurt.

So, how do I do it? Sounds simple enough, remove the drive shaft, pull out the splines and grease. However, never having removed the drive shaft I am at a lost. I crawled around under there and did not see a real easy way to get things apart. Maybe someone could run a play by play to help the mechanically challenged folks? Thanks a lot.

Greg

OK, I think I need to grease the rear driveshaft splines on my truck. I have read many posts regarding this issue and I am sure this is my problem, and if not it can't hurt.

So, how do I do it? Sounds simple enough, remove the drive shaft, pull out the splines and grease. However, never having removed the drive shaft I am at a lost. I crawled around under there and did not see a real easy way to get things apart. Maybe someone could run a play by play to help the mechanically challenged folks? Thanks a lot.

Greg
here is a cut n paste from another post:

Pull the driveshaft out and also unbolt the center carrier bearing (2 piece driveshaft)from the frame. Carefully undo the front clamp holding the boot on (2 piece driveshaft). scribe a mark on the 2 opposing shafts for location (clocking of u-joints) pull apart and smear grease on the splines inside and outside. re-align the scribs and put the splined shafts back together. squeeze the clamp tight (you can buy the clamp squeezer at any auto part store). Put some grease on the inside splines of the front yoke and reinstall just like removal....http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gif

followed by:

You can just take the rear u-joint loose, remove the clamp and slide the rear half of the shaft out. You do NOT have to take the center bearing down.

Just Had My 3500 To The Dealer With The Same Problem. I Had A 2500 Gmc That Did The Same Thing. Both Trucks Had The Center Section Of The Drive Shaft Replaced Under Warranty With A Nickle Composite Unit. They Had A Bulletin On It.

had the same drive shaft spline "thunk" on our 3500 ... while still under warranty took it to the dealership every few thousand miles, the'd grease it and it would be fine for a while ... last time I took it in the warranty was almost up and I told them unless they were willing to continue greasing it for free after the warranty was up, for them to stop messing around and fix it ... they replaced the drive shaft(s) and she's run fine for the last 50,000+ miles


Jim

anyone know a great place to find aftermarket driveshafts that are a better design andd one peice?

Ok, I was under the truck again today. I have the one piece rear drive shaft. I can see the clamps on the rear u-joint and that seems fairly straight forward. Once that is off, can I just slide the front out of the yoke? I am not sure how the boot would come off or even if it has to? If I can in fact slide this thing out, how heavy is it? I don't want to pull it out and have a hard time getting it back in. Please forgive my ignorance. Thanks.

Just Had My 3500 To The Dealer With The Same Problem. I Had A 2500 Gmc That Did The Same Thing. Both Trucks Had The Center Section Of The Drive Shaft Replaced Under Warranty With A Nickle Composite Unit. They Had A Bulletin On It.
Anyone have that bulletin number handy?

Thanx, best prepared when I revisit the dealer.. again..

Here's The Bullitin Number I Used With My Dealer:01-04-17-004. It Was Dated 2001

Here's The Bullitin Number I Used With My Dealer:01-04-17-004. It Was Dated 2001
staz - thanks for the bulletin #. i did not have that before. i searched the forum with that number and found the tsb in the tsb section.

it was dated '01. it called for a replacement of spline yoke into a nickel plated one. this upset me because 3 years ago i complained to the dealer about this sound, and they said it's normal... but now i see the tsb and it says to replace!

i just agreed to sell my 2000 tahoe, but i still have it. i took it to the dealer this morning, 2 years out of warranty. i told them that i complained of this noise while in warranty, and that i just found the tsb dated '01 (printed out from dp forum). i told them that i wanted them to replace it now on warranty. they kept saying... i had to talk to the manager, and i was ready to throw down the gauntlet. i'm not normally a complainer, but i was prepared to tell them that this will make the difference of losing a customer with 3 chevys and more in the future. i did not have to go that far, but they finally agreed to replace it based on a 'one time goodwill' event :ro) . hopefully, this will fix the problem forever for the new buyer.

so, i guess what i'm saying is... go to the dealer and be assertive. this is a problem that chevy is very aware of, and probably should have been recalled.