Hello everyone, a new guy here.
I have scoured threads for something similar to the issue that I'm having, but haven't found a thread that goes as far as I've needed to go.
2011 Tahoe LTZ 4WD - 175,000 miles
I changed the driver side upper control arm back in August because there was a bit of vibration in the steering wheel and I did the wiggle test on the wheel and found some play in the upper ball joint. Replaced with an OEM from Autozone and the replacement went ok, but it was tricky getting the two bolts in the back maneuvered around the coil. I marked the locations of the 4 cam pieces and took pics so I could line everything as close as I could when done. Torqued the bolts after getting the wheel back on and on the ground using a "pre-loading technique" video from Youtube.
**The real issue** After the upper control arm was replaced we started having some noise from the front end (kind of sounded like road noise from the tires, but more of a hum or droning sound). I made some minor tweaks to the control arm bolt cam locations but it didn't help so we took it to get an alignment done. Numbers from the read-out weren't but a couple of degrees out of tolerance at the most but the adjusted to within spec and still the noise persists. There is a slight vibration in the steering wheel and the floor board at your feet, but nothing alarming.
The front tires have plenty of tread left and are evenly worn, but I have swapped the front to back to see if it made any difference and it did not. I did have to replace the wheel hub assemblies (driver and passenger) back in 2020 and we've driven less than 20,000 highway miles in that time.
One interesting thing to note* the noise is present when driving straight or turning right(doesn't get worse when turning), but if we turn left the noise completely goes away (also goes away if we go over a bump on the highway like at a bridge joint while the weight of the vehicle is suspended). The left turn can even be a slight jerk when driving straight on the highway and the noise still goes away. Back in September the noise was really only heard when going 60+ mph, but now can be heard 20+ mph very clearly and the vibrations have grown more slightly more intense. There is no mechanical grinding or anything knocking, but occasionally we can hear a quick ticking(not constant and it sounds like its under the steering column from the driver seat.
I pulled the wheel hub on the drivers side to check and it had a good bit of grease pushed outside the seal (more that I thought was normal) and when spinning I could hear the bearings knock together a little so I replaced that guy again, but the noise is still there.
My question to all you experts is what else can I check and perhaps how do I check it?
My list of what to check next:
CV axle on drivers side
passenger side wheel hub & axle
Are there any steering components I should also be looking into? I do most of my own repairs, but am not a mechanic and have not worked on this area before so any input is appreciated.
Thanks!
I have scoured threads for something similar to the issue that I'm having, but haven't found a thread that goes as far as I've needed to go.
2011 Tahoe LTZ 4WD - 175,000 miles
I changed the driver side upper control arm back in August because there was a bit of vibration in the steering wheel and I did the wiggle test on the wheel and found some play in the upper ball joint. Replaced with an OEM from Autozone and the replacement went ok, but it was tricky getting the two bolts in the back maneuvered around the coil. I marked the locations of the 4 cam pieces and took pics so I could line everything as close as I could when done. Torqued the bolts after getting the wheel back on and on the ground using a "pre-loading technique" video from Youtube.
**The real issue** After the upper control arm was replaced we started having some noise from the front end (kind of sounded like road noise from the tires, but more of a hum or droning sound). I made some minor tweaks to the control arm bolt cam locations but it didn't help so we took it to get an alignment done. Numbers from the read-out weren't but a couple of degrees out of tolerance at the most but the adjusted to within spec and still the noise persists. There is a slight vibration in the steering wheel and the floor board at your feet, but nothing alarming.
The front tires have plenty of tread left and are evenly worn, but I have swapped the front to back to see if it made any difference and it did not. I did have to replace the wheel hub assemblies (driver and passenger) back in 2020 and we've driven less than 20,000 highway miles in that time.
One interesting thing to note* the noise is present when driving straight or turning right(doesn't get worse when turning), but if we turn left the noise completely goes away (also goes away if we go over a bump on the highway like at a bridge joint while the weight of the vehicle is suspended). The left turn can even be a slight jerk when driving straight on the highway and the noise still goes away. Back in September the noise was really only heard when going 60+ mph, but now can be heard 20+ mph very clearly and the vibrations have grown more slightly more intense. There is no mechanical grinding or anything knocking, but occasionally we can hear a quick ticking(not constant and it sounds like its under the steering column from the driver seat.
I pulled the wheel hub on the drivers side to check and it had a good bit of grease pushed outside the seal (more that I thought was normal) and when spinning I could hear the bearings knock together a little so I replaced that guy again, but the noise is still there.
My question to all you experts is what else can I check and perhaps how do I check it?
My list of what to check next:
CV axle on drivers side
passenger side wheel hub & axle
Are there any steering components I should also be looking into? I do most of my own repairs, but am not a mechanic and have not worked on this area before so any input is appreciated.
Thanks!