Intermittent, rhythmic thumping - Matches vehicle speed

[James Montigny]

2006 Tahoe LT - 270K miles Automatic

I was driving down the interstate at 65mph last weekend and heard a thumping from the rear passenger side, I thought the truck next to me was applying engine brakes at first. Lasted maybe 20-25 seconds then went away. I took the next offramp and drove down a side road a little and felt it again, slower this time matching my speed.

I had recently had new tires installed, so I checked the lug nuts to make sure everything was tight and holding air then limped it home on backroads at 25-35mph. Felt it come and go a 4 times, every time while coasting or maintaining the same speed for a while.

Braking does not make it go away (until the vehicle is stopped), nor does forcing a downshift or accelerating. I even tried driving around with the shifter in 3 to see if it was isolated to OD. I still felt it come and go. I thought maybe it was TCC lockup misbehaving so I tried driving around while varying speeds and didn't feel it again until I was cruising around 35 again.

Does that sound like a bearing going out or a transmission issue?

 

[swathdiver]

Hub maybe? Is this a RWD or 4x4 truck?

 

[BG1988]

2006 Tahoe LT - 270K miles Automatic

I was driving down the interstate at 65mph last weekend and heard a thumping from the rear passenger side, I thought the truck next to me was applying engine brakes at first. Lasted maybe 20-25 seconds then went away. I took the next offramp and drove down a side road a little and felt it again, slower this time matching my speed.

I had recently had new tires installed, so I checked the lug nuts to make sure everything was tight and holding air then limped it home on backroads at 25-35mph. Felt it come and go a 4 times, every time while coasting or maintaining the same speed for a while.

Braking does not make it go away (until the vehicle is stopped), nor does forcing a downshift or accelerating. I even tried driving around with the shifter in 3 to see if it was isolated to OD. I still felt it come and go. I thought maybe it was TCC lockup misbehaving so I tried driving around while varying speeds and didn't feel it again until I was cruising around 35 again.

Does that sound like a bearing going out or a transmission issue?

faulty/defective tire tread separation issue or it's out of balance.. swap that tire to the front and see if it moves to the front.. mine has tread separation issue it's a matter of time before they rip them selfs apart


as you can see my tire has internal separation pumped to 40PSI you can feel the bubble inside pushing on the outre tread causing a thumping... at varies speeds
it causes the whole vehicle to vibrate violently from 70 to 83mph

 

[iamdub]

You're falling asleep or drunk and drifting over to the reflectors on the side of the road.


Seriously, though, it really sounds like a tire problem. Rotate the right rear to the front or, better yet, to the front left and see if it follows.

 

[BG1988]

You're falling asleep or drunk and drifting over to the reflectors on the side of the road.


Seriously, though, it really sounds like a tire problem. Rotate the right rear to the front or, better yet, to the front left and see if it follows.

if he moves it to the front it will make the wheel vibrate

that would mean the tire is defective or out of balance (did they balance the tire?)


he can also run his hand around the tire and look for the baby bump on the tire