Crossmember Removal to Track Noise

[Blk00ss]

We have a 2005 Tahoe 2wd. Does anyone know if I can remove the crossmemeber (below oil pan) and simply back out of my driveway just to try and diagnose a noise? Will there be any ill effects of me removing it and putting tires on the ground and simply backing up slowly? I know its probably a stupid question, and I don't believe it will hurt anything just backing up a few feet, but thought I should ask just to make sure

 

[mattbta]

I doubt it would hurt anything, but don't take my word.

That said, I have observed mysterious noises when the bolts for that crossmember weren't torqued properly (too loose).

 

[Blk00ss]

I doubt it would hurt anything, but don't take my word.

That said, I have observed mysterious noises when the bolts for that crossmember weren't torqued properly (too loose).

So my son has taken this vehicle over. Its in great shape, but we have this loud creaking noise (metal to metal) but almost like an old barn door type noise. I've been all through the front end, We've replaced lots of parts (not because of this noise), I've got new wheel bearings, greased everything etc and it still makes the noise. And I found a post of someone on the Escalade forums talking about an identical issue that actually had a TSB (don't recall the number) at one time. But I did have that crossmemeber down back in January when I did the oil pan gasket and pickup tube O ring. So my thining was remove it, back up a few feet, and we'll know whether or not its that.

It attaches to the frame, so I *think* it would be fine. but would love someone to confirm if possible.

 

[mattbta]

Maybe first, make sure the bolts are fully torqued ( ). However, Service Information has conflicting values -- in the oil pan install section, they state 74 lb ft, but in a TSB for noises, it is listed at 89 lb ft. In the TSB, it's also stated that 2005 already has crossmember holes enlarged.

 

[Blk00ss]

Maybe first, make sure the bolts are fully torqued ( ). However, Service Information has conflicting values -- in the oil pan install section, they state 74 lb ft, but in a TSB for noises, it is listed at 89 lb ft. In the TSB, it's also stated that 2005 already has crossmember holes enlarged.

Thanks. I saw the 89ft lbs as well. I realize the holes are suposedly enlarged for 2005, but I was wondering if it had something to do with the rubberized coating that seemed to be on the hardware and memeber itself when I removed the crossmember. Naturally, much of it came off when removing the nuts and bolts.

 

[mb1500]

Buy some silicone spray and soak it down then do your test. If the noise is gone you’ve got an area to focus.

 

[Doubeleive]

without risking the possibility of the engine expanding the frame there, you could just loosen the bolts up a lot and try it that way, just pure speculation.
I had a similar problem once, unexplained noise and after multiple, multiple, multiple times of trying to find it one time while it was up on a lift I noticed the left lower control arm bolt hole had a shiny part above it (like it had been moving up/down and made bare metal appear) so we pulled the nut off and the lower control arm bolt hole on the frame had become elongated (egg shape), so we found a really big thick washer and welded it on the frame because there was no other fix and the bolt still had enough room for the nut, worked out great and it was never a problem again even at 324k when I sold it.
my point is to check everything in the area, it could be more than just the cross member, which I had that checked on mine as well the typical fix for that is to remove the bolts and lottery them back on there randomly and re-torque.
another thing that will make noises is the sway bar bushings, take off the D bushings grease well inside and put them back on.

 

[Blk00ss]

without risking the possibility of the engine expanding the frame there, you could just loosen the bolts up a lot and try it that way, just pure speculation.
I had a similar problem once, unexplained noise and after multiple, multiple, multiple times of trying to find it one time while it was up on a lift I noticed the left lower control arm bolt hole had a shiny part above it (like it had been moving up/down and made bare metal appear) so we pulled the nut off and the lower control arm bolt hole on the frame had become elongated (egg shape), so we found a really big thick washer and welded it on the frame because there was no other fix and the bolt still had enough room for the nut, worked out great and it was never a problem again even at 324k when I sold it.
my point is to check everything in the area, it could be more than just the cross member, which I had that checked on mine as well the typical fix for that is to remove the bolts and lottery them back on there randomly and re-torque.
another thing that will make noises is the sway bar bushings, take off the D bushings grease well inside and put them back on.

Yeah, we're definitely considering everything. I've replaced tie rod ends (which helped a ton with tightening up the steering), replaced shocks with Bilstein shocks, replaced sway bar end links and bushings, haven't done sway bar bushings yet, but that is next even though they actually look really good and still have their shape. They've also been lubricated. Everything that has a grease zerk has been greased, everything that doesn't has been greased manually. I've checked everything, multiple times, I have sprayed everything mutliple times with silicone spray just to see if the sound would get quieter or go away temporarily. It doesn't. I've also wondered if maybe its the body mounts because the sound does seem to fade when we've had rain and the undercarriage has gotten wet. Of course, that may also point towards the cross member issue as well.

 

[Doubeleive]

Yeah, we're definitely considering everything. I've replaced tie rod ends (which helped a ton with tightening up the steering), replaced shocks with Bilstein shocks, replaced sway bar end links and bushings, haven't done sway bar bushings yet, but that is next even though they actually look really good and still have their shape. They've also been lubricated. Everything that has a grease zerk has been greased, everything that doesn't has been greased manually. I've checked everything, multiple times, I have sprayed everything mutliple times with silicone spray just to see if the sound would get quieter or go away temporarily. It doesn't. I've also wondered if maybe its the body mounts because the sound does seem to fade when we've had rain and the undercarriage has gotten wet. Of course, that may also point towards the cross member issue as well.

ya that's pretty typical when it would rain then mine would start making noise again and most of the time it was the sway bar bushings

 

[Blk00ss]

ya that's pretty typical when it would rain then mine would start making noise again and most of the time it was the sway bar bushings

Was your sway bar bushing noise at low speed? Ours is literally if you back out and or pull forward in our driveway. Very very low speed