01 Yukon shakes/vibrates at highway speed

[TWITCH101]

Just like the title says my yukon shakes and vibrates on the highway. It rides smooth as glass at anything under 45mph but as soon as I get on the highway and kick the speed up to 55 or higher its like everything vibrates....Its enough that I can look over at the passenger seat and see it vibrating....Now don't get it misunderstood, I don't think its anything dangerous it has been bugging the hell outa me though. It's the only yukon I have ever owned or driven so I don't know what to expect as far as ride goes but what I can say is that I drive my fathers single cab sierra and it has nowhere near the amount of vibration that my Kon does so I feel there is an issue somewhere.

Also, I'm running cooper zeon 33s....I had stocks on before the coopers...It did the same thing with the stocks as it does with the 33s....but it is a little more prominent with the larger tires.

Anyone have any ideas???....I think it may be a driveshaft out of balance or the front end may have worn out bushings or something to that extent but I can't be certain......

Also, I had the front end aligned and wheels balanced about 2 months ago and it didn't fix the problem.

 

[WoldD90]

1. Rotate your tires front to rear to see if the vibration moves to the back.
2. Check your lug nuts to make sure they are tight.
3. Check to see if the hubs or wheel bearings are loose.
4. Climb under the truck and see if you can shake the drive shaft, the u-joints could be bad. If you have over 120k on the truck, replace the u-joints.
5. Check your tie/track rods ends, they could be going bad.
6. Check and make sure your control arms bushings are good and the nuts are tight. I had a problem like this on my Land Rover and the nut was loose.

 

[erikrichard]

Sounds like tire(s) out of balance.

 

[TWITCH101]

how do I check the hubs or wheel bearings? never crawled under the yukon to try and check it out before?

I think the u-joints may be a possibility as the truck has about 160k on it and I doubt the previous owner has replaced them.....Do I try to twist the shaft or just shake it and check for slack in any direction?

Tie/track rod ends? don't even know where to start.

Will I be able to check the bushings visibly?

 

[UBILLN]

take your tires down to 30 psi and see if it still does it. I run 30 psi in mine because that was the recommended inflation with the 2005 ESV I just had before it with the same size tires... Smooth as a caddy now. Too much air pressure in itself will ruin your ride.

 

[TWITCH101]

I'll try it one day soon

 

[DenaliAK]

It's most likely not a balance issue if it did it with other tires before AND he just had a balance AND alignment....geesh, people. Read the whole post.

I'd follow WoldD90's advice and check everything. If you don't know how, take it in to a mechanic and ask for an estimate. They will tell you what's wrong with it, then you can decide how to go about fixing it. Estimates are generally free.

 

[TWITCH101]

thanks AK I'll give that a try.

 

[04gibbstahoe]

U-joints?

 

[TWITCH101]

^^ thats a possibility.....I think its going to be a mechanical issue more so than a balance issue....

 

[NJTaho]

It's most likely not a balance issue if it did it with other tires before AND he just had a balance AND alignment....geesh, people. Read the whole post.

I'd follow WoldD90's advice and check everything. If you don't know how, take it in to a mechanic and ask for an estimate. They will tell you what's wrong with it, then you can decide how to go about fixing it. Estimates are generally free.

Well Said Sir, Well said

 

[UBILLN]

knowing the problems with our rides it usually turns out to be idler arm and pitman arm issues but... down downplay the negative effects of too much tire pressure. I went to get my oil changed the other day and forgot to tell the morons there NOT to mess with the air pressure in the tires and the idiots pumped them up to what it says on the side of the tire which says like 36 psi, and of course when i get home and checked them because it felt like a buckboard wagon(shaking and all), they read 38 psi each tire. Dropped them down to 30 psi and it rides like a caddy again.

 

[TWITCH101]

Went to replace brake pads today and found a sever issue. Whoever pulled the calipers last time cross threaded a bolt that holds the caliper to the mount. End result was that the caliper was at an angle on the rotor. it made my pads look horrible and not to mention made them wear ridiculously uneven. going to finish taping the threads on this side and check the others for the same problem. maybe this will fix the vibration. just keeping updated I guess.