Odd sounds most noticeable in reverse
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1
From: Washington
Odd sounds most noticeable in reverse
I have a 2004 H2 with 127,000 miles, it is unlifted to my knowledge and has slightly larger than stock wheels and tires but they dont rub. I’m not having problems making the wheels turn. The steering pump doesn’t seem to be making any out of the ordinary noise, and the “service 4wd light” (unlike one of the others I had test drove when I bought this a year ago) has never showed nor have I ever had problems engaging the other 4wd settings.
The problems I am have are (1) when I put it into reverse it kind of clunks, not sure if it’s common or not. (2) when I’m turning in reverse it starts to make these odd grinding and vibrating noises up front. I only notice it in reverse and it’s at certain seemingly random steering angles. (3) when I’m in drive and make sharp turns at low speeds I sometimes get some squeaking from the front end.
I took it down to les schwab a couple days ago and they did their free inspection and said all the front suspension components are fine. When I took it to a different les schwab around 4,000 miles ago they said the idler arm (I think) showed a little signs of wear but that it’ll be fine for a while and won’t need to be replaced any time soon.
When I went to the Chevy dealership the service advisor said it could be anything from the front drive shaft, transfer case, front differential, U-joint, a bearing or some other kind of joint, who knows. But that it’d likely take many hours just to diagnose this thing.
Any one have any ideas of where I should look or what sounds I should look for or tell tale signs of ________ being the problem like a leak?
After a a year of constant problems I’m not about to put $500+ into an inspection just to find out it’s a $4500 repair. At that point I’d just go get a RangeRover like I wanted in the first place. I really appreciate any help, I really do love the vehicle but want to try to figure this out without relying on a dealership that asked me “is it 4wd?”
The problems I am have are (1) when I put it into reverse it kind of clunks, not sure if it’s common or not. (2) when I’m turning in reverse it starts to make these odd grinding and vibrating noises up front. I only notice it in reverse and it’s at certain seemingly random steering angles. (3) when I’m in drive and make sharp turns at low speeds I sometimes get some squeaking from the front end.
I took it down to les schwab a couple days ago and they did their free inspection and said all the front suspension components are fine. When I took it to a different les schwab around 4,000 miles ago they said the idler arm (I think) showed a little signs of wear but that it’ll be fine for a while and won’t need to be replaced any time soon.
When I went to the Chevy dealership the service advisor said it could be anything from the front drive shaft, transfer case, front differential, U-joint, a bearing or some other kind of joint, who knows. But that it’d likely take many hours just to diagnose this thing.
Any one have any ideas of where I should look or what sounds I should look for or tell tale signs of ________ being the problem like a leak?
After a a year of constant problems I’m not about to put $500+ into an inspection just to find out it’s a $4500 repair. At that point I’d just go get a RangeRover like I wanted in the first place. I really appreciate any help, I really do love the vehicle but want to try to figure this out without relying on a dealership that asked me “is it 4wd?”
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,320
From: SC
If you think a Range Rover might have less problems you are mistaken. Also fixing things on the H2 will seem dirt cheap in comparison to fixing things on a Range Rover....
A slight clunk when changing between reverse and forward is not necessarily an issue on most any larger vehicle as the slip yoke is going to move in and out of the transfer case a bit. Some slight grinding sorts of feeling is also not uncommon in an AWD vehicle either as you have limited slip components driving all 4 wheels all the time. In certain scenarios it might be more noticeable.
Coming from a non-awd vehicle it might seem like something could be wrong. However it could very well be a u-joint or bearing or something. Regardless unless it is the transmission or transfer case then whatever it might be is likely not to be terribly expensive. You might be best to just leave it be if it is not something that is causing constant issues or noises.
One thing that is very important on any AWD vehicle is the tires. All tires must be the same size and have roughly the same amounts of wear. If one tire is worn significantly less than another you will have gear components trying to turns at different speeds. This is why when turning at lower speeds some noise is expected since the wheels to the inside of the turn are wanting to rotate less than the ones on the outside.
Anyways a couple of GM dealer service notices...
Some owners of light duty trucks equipped with automatic transmissions may comment that the vehicle exhibits a clunk noise when shifting between Park and Drive, Park and Reverse, or Drive and Reverse. Similarly, owners of vehicles equipped with automatic or manual transmissions may comment that the vehicle exhibits a clunk noise while driving when the accelerator is quickly depressed and then released.
Whenever there are two or more gears interacting with one another, there must be a certain amount of clearance between those gears in order for the gears to operate properly. This clearance or freeplay (also known as lash) can translate into a clunk noise whenever the gear is loaded and unloaded quickly, or whenever the direction of rotation is reversed. The more gears you have in a system, the more freeplay the total system will have.
The clunk noise that owners sometimes hear may be the result of a buildup of freeplay (lash) between the components in the driveline.
For example, the potential for a driveline clunk would be greater in a 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicle than a 2-wheel drive vehicle. This is because in addition to the freeplay from the rear axle gears, the universal joints, and the transmission (common to both vehicles), the 4-wheel drive transfer case gears (and their associated clearances) add additional freeplay to the driveline.
In service, dealers are discouraged from attempting to repair driveline clunk conditions for the following reasons:
• Comments of driveline clunk are almost never the result of one individual component with excessive lash, but rather the result of the added affect of freeplay (or lash) present in all of the driveline components. Because all of the components in the driveline have a certain amount of lash by design, changing driveline components may not result in a satisfactory lash reduction.
• While some owners may find the clunk noise objectionable, this will not adversely affect durability or performance.
AWD systems are intended for use in high and low traction situations without operator input. These systems will generally be quieter on high traction surfaces than a similar 4WD used in 4HI or 4LO. However, these systems will generally make more noise than a similar 2WD vehicle simply because there are more parts rotating and more gear sets interfacing. Once again, these systems may make more noise in turns, and in some situations you may be able to feel the system operating, even on high traction surfaces. Additionally, you may feel transfer case operation in on-demand AWD systems. These systems generally react to a speed difference between the front and rear axle and it may be possible to detect this by hearing a noise, or actually feeling the engagement of the system.
A slight clunk when changing between reverse and forward is not necessarily an issue on most any larger vehicle as the slip yoke is going to move in and out of the transfer case a bit. Some slight grinding sorts of feeling is also not uncommon in an AWD vehicle either as you have limited slip components driving all 4 wheels all the time. In certain scenarios it might be more noticeable.
Coming from a non-awd vehicle it might seem like something could be wrong. However it could very well be a u-joint or bearing or something. Regardless unless it is the transmission or transfer case then whatever it might be is likely not to be terribly expensive. You might be best to just leave it be if it is not something that is causing constant issues or noises.
One thing that is very important on any AWD vehicle is the tires. All tires must be the same size and have roughly the same amounts of wear. If one tire is worn significantly less than another you will have gear components trying to turns at different speeds. This is why when turning at lower speeds some noise is expected since the wheels to the inside of the turn are wanting to rotate less than the ones on the outside.
Anyways a couple of GM dealer service notices...
Some owners of light duty trucks equipped with automatic transmissions may comment that the vehicle exhibits a clunk noise when shifting between Park and Drive, Park and Reverse, or Drive and Reverse. Similarly, owners of vehicles equipped with automatic or manual transmissions may comment that the vehicle exhibits a clunk noise while driving when the accelerator is quickly depressed and then released.
Whenever there are two or more gears interacting with one another, there must be a certain amount of clearance between those gears in order for the gears to operate properly. This clearance or freeplay (also known as lash) can translate into a clunk noise whenever the gear is loaded and unloaded quickly, or whenever the direction of rotation is reversed. The more gears you have in a system, the more freeplay the total system will have.
The clunk noise that owners sometimes hear may be the result of a buildup of freeplay (lash) between the components in the driveline.
For example, the potential for a driveline clunk would be greater in a 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicle than a 2-wheel drive vehicle. This is because in addition to the freeplay from the rear axle gears, the universal joints, and the transmission (common to both vehicles), the 4-wheel drive transfer case gears (and their associated clearances) add additional freeplay to the driveline.
In service, dealers are discouraged from attempting to repair driveline clunk conditions for the following reasons:
• Comments of driveline clunk are almost never the result of one individual component with excessive lash, but rather the result of the added affect of freeplay (or lash) present in all of the driveline components. Because all of the components in the driveline have a certain amount of lash by design, changing driveline components may not result in a satisfactory lash reduction.
• While some owners may find the clunk noise objectionable, this will not adversely affect durability or performance.
AWD systems are intended for use in high and low traction situations without operator input. These systems will generally be quieter on high traction surfaces than a similar 4WD used in 4HI or 4LO. However, these systems will generally make more noise than a similar 2WD vehicle simply because there are more parts rotating and more gear sets interfacing. Once again, these systems may make more noise in turns, and in some situations you may be able to feel the system operating, even on high traction surfaces. Additionally, you may feel transfer case operation in on-demand AWD systems. These systems generally react to a speed difference between the front and rear axle and it may be possible to detect this by hearing a noise, or actually feeling the engagement of the system.
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 198
From: Coconut Creek, Florida
I have a 2004 H2 with 167K, on it since new at 4, shifting into reverse creates some strange noises, even today, when I haul our boat, it has some squeaks, I have a rattle that no one can seem to find, just waiting to see it fall off some wear, so I know what it is....
I change oil every 7k with Mobil 1, fully syn, the only issue I have is with left and right bearing hubs, going bad, but that's because I run over size tires, yearly wheel Alignment finds those...
Just remember your driving a truck, a Fancy one at that.....
I change oil every 7k with Mobil 1, fully syn, the only issue I have is with left and right bearing hubs, going bad, but that's because I run over size tires, yearly wheel Alignment finds those...
Just remember your driving a truck, a Fancy one at that.....
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