Drivetrain noise?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Gerbil21

TYF Newbie
Joined
Nov 17, 2016
Posts
20
Reaction score
7
07 yukon 4x4 161k, got a bad gear howl kind of noise on right turns and a wind up noise while braking.

The background story all fluids have been changed and the front diff never looked bad, I also drive this truck hard everyday. A few months ago ive noticed the inboard boot was torn on the pass side cv I wrote it off to repair later, started to notice a slight hum/vibration noise from the front at 25mph exact and would go away past it, also noticed a slight metallic noise on right turns at hwy speeds, again write these off as the cv.

Fast forward to now, upwards of 120 driving to work as pretty much everyday, music was up so must of missed any noise however I come out of work and the truck sounds like it has a backing plate mangled up, found a pretty bad pass side hub and a gritty sounding driver side hub. Both replaced with timken, diff fluid changes too, looked like new not much on magnet.

Sounded much better but Wind up sound was present on right turns, week later sounded as bad as before, replaced with moog hubs, windup. Sound present and also howl on right turns, replaced driver side hub again with carquest and still same noise, no noise when turning front diff, driver side axle stub bearing looked and felt fine no wear on axle stub either

I'm lost rn and it snowed hard so work is limited now, I'm guessing it is the front diff but I'm not sure any help is appreciated

https://youtu.be/N6-wgXMBO5I
 

OR VietVet

Multnomah Falls
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
Posts
19,250
Reaction score
31,678
Location
Willamette Valley
Welcome to the forum from Oregon and for finally posting after 4+ years.

That sure sounds like a gear noise but have no idea why it only happens when turning right. At that point you are loading the left front. Someone else will chime in. I would look at that diff fluid and TC fluid.
 

Doubeleive

Wes
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Posts
23,707
Reaction score
34,653
Location
Stockton, Ca.
rear axle bearings and/or pinion gear and/or rear end. you already replaced the front, when you turn the rear axle moves too, take a rear wheel off, unbolt the brake caliper and push/pull on the rear axle it should only move a tiny bit (as far as I know), but regardless I have had the pinion gear sound just like that and rear wheel bearing. also check your universal joints
another thing to check is grab the driveline right where it enters the rear diff (where the pinion is) and try to wiggle it, if there is play the pinion is probably worn, another sign would be grease being slung all over in the pinion area.

**I suppose it could still be the front but since you already fixed that it makes it less likely.
 
OP
OP
G

Gerbil21

TYF Newbie
Joined
Nov 17, 2016
Posts
20
Reaction score
7
Welcome to the forum from Oregon and for finally posting after 4+ years.

That sure sounds like a gear noise but have no idea why it only happens when turning right. At that point you are loading the left front. Someone else will chime in. I would look at that diff fluid and TC fluid.

Lol yea it's been a while also My guess was one of the preload adjusters went bad but idk, driver side looked fine
 
OP
OP
G

Gerbil21

TYF Newbie
Joined
Nov 17, 2016
Posts
20
Reaction score
7
rear axle bearings and/or pinion gear and/or rear end. you already replaced the front, when you turn the rear axle moves too, take a rear wheel off, unbolt the brake caliper and push/pull on the rear axle it should only move a tiny bit (as far as I know), but regardless I have had the pinion gear sound just like that and rear wheel bearing. also check your universal joints
another thing to check is grab the driveline right where it enters the rear diff (where the pinion is) and try to wiggle it, if there is play the pinion is probably worn, another sign would be grease being slung all over in the pinion area.

**I suppose it could still be the front but since you already fixed that it makes it less likely.

Rear wheel bearings and seals were replaced when I got the truck around 2yrs ago, new c clips aswell, rear u joints had a bit of play from when I checked them before all this but nothing crazy all u joints are original also rear pinion was making noise from before but again nothing crazy and seemed to always be independent to the noises I've had before also it wasn't that loud, my 05 z71 was def louder and didn't have the rest of these problems. I got to recheck the rear pinion tho
 
OP
OP
G

Gerbil21

TYF Newbie
Joined
Nov 17, 2016
Posts
20
Reaction score
7
One thing I forgot to mention was torque specs. Especially the spindle nut for 4x4s. If you do not torque to manufacturer's specs you will wear out the hubs prematurely.

Everything was torqued correct everytime so idk
 
OP
OP
G

Gerbil21

TYF Newbie
Joined
Nov 17, 2016
Posts
20
Reaction score
7
Also one other thing I've noticed is the front driveshaft on the tc side has some up and down play and noise not sure how normal that is, 4wd still works fine.

 

Doubeleive

Wes
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Posts
23,707
Reaction score
34,653
Location
Stockton, Ca.
Also one other thing I've noticed is the front driveshaft on the tc side has some up and down play and noise not sure how normal that is, 4wd still works fine.

sometimes these sounds can be really hard to pin down, if you are going to try and pinpoint it then you might want a set of chassis ears
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Steelman-E...348224?hash=item3b532a3fc0:g:8bUAAOSwPbBfymbG
these trucks have a tendency to "throw sound" I have had mine up on 4 jack stands in 4wd in gear running and got under it and swore up and down the sound was coming from the transmission but nope it was the rear end.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
129,206
Posts
1,812,128
Members
92,306
Latest member
Juju14
Top