Rotational whine noise 2005 Z71 Tahoe

[chris.ncfb]

For the past few weeks I am hearing a whine that is hard to detect. It definitely gets faster as the tahoe gets faster so I know it is in the drivetrain. You can hear it at low speeds as well as higher speeds and then it is a higher frequency. I thought it was a tire but I am afraid it may be a bearing in the differential. I have jacked up the front and checked the front two wheel hub assemblies. There is absolutely no play in them. I am wondering if I should take the pan off the differential and look around for some wear. Any advice on finding this would be great.

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[cmc76]

what about the rear? similar method and you can see if you have play in the axle bearing.

 

[Sasquatch]

I have had wheel bearings go bad that had zero play in them. You can`t really tell by rotating the tire but you can feel how chunky it feels when you spin it by hand when you remove it.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I have had wheel bearings go bad that had zero play in them. You can`t really tell by rotating the tire but you can feel how chunky it feels when you spin it by hand when you remove it.

Take the wheel off and spin the rotor, or better yet, yank the caliper, too and spin the hub. You'll feel if it's grinding at all.

 

[rockola1971]

Rear bearing of Transfer Case fits your symptom too. What year is your Tahoe? Have you checked your fluid level in the transfer case lately? Is the tail off the transfer case wet?

 

[dantheman]

I have had wheel bearings go bad that had zero play in them. You can`t really tell by rotating the tire but you can feel how chunky it feels when you spin it by hand when you remove it.

same here. i had a oscillation noise at highway speeds but the bearing seemed to test ok with traditional tests. once i said screw it and ordered one i pulled it off and could feel how clunky the bearing was. replaced it and noise gone.

 

[jaywoo65]

I'm gonna be a dumbass here probably. Can you hear the whine sitting still? If you rev it in park does the whine increase? My stereo makes a whine that the pitch increases as the engine RPMs increase. Just a thought.

 

[rockola1971]

I'm gonna be a dumbass here probably. Can you hear the whine sitting still? If you rev it in park does the whine increase? My stereo makes a whine that the pitch increases as the engine RPMs increase. Just a thought.

HAHAHAHA Thats noise induced by your alternator. Actual cause could be the alternator itself, within your radio head unit, ground missing, dirty, broken.

 

[jaywoo65]

HAHAHAHA Thats noise induced by your alternator. Actual cause could be the alternator itself, within your radio head unit, ground missing, dirty, broken.

Yep, I know. I was wondering if that was the cause of the original poster's whine.

 

[chris.ncfb]

Update: it is not the rear wheel bearing. I jacked the truck up and put in drive. Sounded like the right rear bearing was gone. I tore it down yesterday and the bearing was fine. I went ahead and replaced it since I was that far into it. I drove it a while and did the touch test. Seems a little warm on output shaft of transfer case. Pretty sure that is responsible for the noise. There is a little play in the driveshaft. My question now is, do I replace the bearing or the transfer case? I am gonna drain the fluid out of it one night this week and check it out.

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[chris.ncfb]

Rear bearing of Transfer Case fits your symptom too. What year is your Tahoe? Have you checked your fluid level in the transfer case lately? Is the tail off the transfer case wet?

I believe this is what the problem is. What is the best way to repair?

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[dantheman]

i havent seen the 4wd trucks, is the rear driveshaft bolted on and the slip yoke in the middle or does it have a slip yoke that goes into the tcase?

if its bolted in id see if taking the rear driveshaft out and putting it in 4hi still makes the noise.

 

[chris.ncfb]

I'm gonna be a dumbass here probably. Can you hear the whine sitting still? If you rev it in park does the whine increase? My stereo makes a whine that the pitch increases as the engine RPMs increase. Just a thought.

It only does it in motion. I had the stereo whine too. I had some kind of filter put in that made it better then I bypassed the bose amp and ran my rear speakers directly through my head unit and it worked like a charm. No more stereo whine.

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[chris.ncfb]

i havent seen the 4wd trucks, is the rear driveshaft bolted on and the slip yoke in the middle or does it have a slip yoke that goes into the tcase?

if its bolted in id see if taking the rear driveshaft out and putting it in 4hi still makes the noise.

I haven't tried that yet. I am draining the transfer case tonight to see if there is anything in the fluid. I believe it goes straight into the tc.

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[rockola1971]

I haven't tried that yet. I am draining the transfer case tonight to see if there is anything in the fluid. I believe it goes straight into the tc.

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You probably wont find any evidence in the fluid. The bearing is a needle bearing and they dont typically shed much metal during failure until they terminally fail and come apart.

 

[chris.ncfb]

I believe this is the one that is giving me trouble. Would this type show up better than the needle bearing in the fluid?

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[rockola1971]

I believe this is the one that is giving me trouble. Would this type show up better than the needle bearing in the fluid?

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Not unless the cage come apart. Those typically make a loud grinding noise when they go bad. The needle bearing is the in the tail section of the rear housing of the transfer case. The only way to change it out is to remove the transfer case and remove the rear half to get to the need bearing. Its marked rear output bearing.
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums...sfer Case/NP246/NP246CaseHalf_zps1b8c5c35.png