Awful Noise From Rear

[kafreeman]

Made a long road trip last week and noticed what seemed to be a quiet squeaking type noise from the rear of the 2012 Suburban when there was a bump in the road.

Put the windows down and some point and it was severely load outside of the vehicle.

Stopping, and restarting the vehicle stopped the noise for about an hour, but then it slowly returned.

The pattern persisted for fuel and bathroom stops, any time the vehicle was turned off and turned back on the squeak stopped about about an hour then slowly returned until it was severely loud and occured on every small bump in the road.

I am thinking the shocks have gone, but what else should I check for? I dont see any obvious points of contact between suspension points and the body of the vehicle.

The noise is VERY loud.... echoing off buildings when driving through sections of town.

 

[iamdub]

My guess is that it's metal-on-metal and that the two contacting pieces are really close to each other and they contact when they expand from heat. The fact that it goes away for as long as an hour after stopping leads me away from an exhaust pipe issue. I'm thinking something on the axle (bent backing plate/dust shield?) or otherwise in the driveline (dry U-joints?).

 

[swathdiver]

Rear wheel bearing or pinion bearing? Check for axle tube leaks on the offending side.

 

[kafreeman]

Slid under today and noticed a polished area on the driveshaft. Looks like it has rubbed on the fuel tank heat shield.

Why this would take an hour to occur on the highway after a fuel stop? Maybe the combination of old / original shocks in the rear caused enough suspension travel for the contact to occur.

 

[Doubeleive]

Slid under today and noticed a polished area on the driveshaft. Looks like it has rubbed on the fuel tank heat shield.

Why this would take an hour to occur on the highway after a fuel stop? Maybe the combination of old / original shocks in the rear caused enough suspension travel for the contact to occur.

probably not possible to happen due to worn shocks, sounds more like the heat shield around the gas tank is bent, there should be a good 4 inches of space at any point, maybe if one of the gas tank straps broke and the tank was dropped and pushed the heat shield out it could happen but the gas tank is otherwise attached to the body and the drive line wont move side to side unless the rear axle was completely broken off from the body

post up a picture of where it is rubbing

 

[kafreeman]

probably not possible to happen due to worn shocks, sounds more like the heat shield around the gas tank is bent, there should be a good 4 inches of space at any point, maybe if one of the gas tank straps broke and the tank was dropped and pushed the heat shield out it could happen but the gas tank is otherwise attached to the body and the drive line wont move side to side unless the rear axle was completely broken off from the body

post up a picture of where it is rubbing

I couldn't fit a finger between it, bent it up towards the body. This is the clearance now.

Possible something happened in the body shop while getting hail repaired.

 

[Doubeleive]

Def looks bent it should be nice and straight like this

 

[09Tahoe4Now]

Looks bent as if someone drove over something perhaps...or as previously stated the tank has released placing pressure on the heat shield in that specific areas. Either way not good. Have you attempted to place it on jack stands, place the car in drive and watch the shaft spin to gather further information? Initially I was in swartdivers camp since I’d had a similar problem. Good luck with further diagnosis.

 

[avalonandl]

That shaft has a severe worn spot.

 

[swathdiver]

I couldn't fit a finger between it, bent it up towards the body. This is the clearance now.

Possible something happened in the body shop while getting hail repaired. View attachment 227266 View attachment 227267

Take it out and see if it's bent. If not, take it to a driveline or truck shop that does driveshafts and ask them to balance it. If the tube is bent, use that sticker to order a new one or have the driveline shop put a new tube on it. If there vibration while driving, it's going to damage the rear differential and transmission/transfer case if you keep driving it.