On my 02 tahoe it has the popping sound from the steering shaft that i hurd is commin, is this something i should be worried about i can live with it being if thats all it will do. anyone had any problems with the steering shaft failing because of this?
popping in steering
- Thread starter zaathur
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My dad had an 04 Yukon that did that same thing for years and never had an issue beyond the 'popping'
lowflyer
TYF Newbie
I know the GM FWD cars had this problem with the steering column. The GM fix was to try regreasing the spilined slip joint of the column with their own heavy grease, or replacing it with an updated part. I don't know of, or heard of this problem in the trucks.
If it is not a column issue, it could be ball joints or tie rod ends that are popping. This would be of concern for me. Carefully inspect the suspension and steering or take it in and have someone check it out. You don't want to lose either one of those things while on the road.
Good luck and keep us posted.
If it is not a column issue, it could be ball joints or tie rod ends that are popping. This would be of concern for me. Carefully inspect the suspension and steering or take it in and have someone check it out. You don't want to lose either one of those things while on the road.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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The intermediate shaft is the cause of the problem, the current design no longer has grease in it. To answer your question though: no it will not hurt anything or break. The noise is caused by the shaft sticking and then slipping when moving. That being said, it is relatively cheap to put right.
2005yukonxl
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read the replies above...replace the intermediate shaft. common problem. popping noises and that infamous growling in the wheel when turning too...
Rock Surf
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While searching on the Youtube about this I came across this vid here and decided to try it. All it is is removing the bolt on the IMS and jacking it off a bit and it worked. Not sure how long it will last, but hopefully long enough until I have the time to put in a new IMS:
BTW 2003 Yukon SLT w/225k
BTW 2003 Yukon SLT w/225k
ScottyBoy
Full Access Member
GM used to advise that this part just be lubricated in order to solve the notorious steering shaft clunk.
I even bought the GM "kit" which included a tube a grease, some sort of special clip, and a D shaped rubber plug with a wingnut on it to get it VERY tight on the steering shaft. The plug was to hold one end COMPLETELY sealed as you forced the grease into the other end. I ended up greasing mine TWICE. I kept the kit and just bought more grease the second time. Each time I regreased it I was lucky to get about 6-8months of quiet clunk free steering until the clunks returned. About the time I was getting ready to take it off and grease it up a third time, that's when I heard that GM redesigned the steering shaft to a new "greaseless" design. So I bought one of those. Actually, I got one and got it installed for free because of my extended warranty. They didn't want to cover it at first because GM said that it just needed to be greased, so it was considered a "maintenance issue". But once GM changed the part design, then it was technically a failed part that needed to be replaced, and then that had to be covered under the terms of my warranty. But anyways, that "new" steering shaft failed miserably in about three months. I honestly don't know if it was even replaced, or if they just regreased mine and told me they installed a new one. But then once that one failed they definitely installed a new one and that one has actually been COMPLETELY clunk free for the last 9-10 years or however long it's been on there.
I even bought the GM "kit" which included a tube a grease, some sort of special clip, and a D shaped rubber plug with a wingnut on it to get it VERY tight on the steering shaft. The plug was to hold one end COMPLETELY sealed as you forced the grease into the other end. I ended up greasing mine TWICE. I kept the kit and just bought more grease the second time. Each time I regreased it I was lucky to get about 6-8months of quiet clunk free steering until the clunks returned. About the time I was getting ready to take it off and grease it up a third time, that's when I heard that GM redesigned the steering shaft to a new "greaseless" design. So I bought one of those. Actually, I got one and got it installed for free because of my extended warranty. They didn't want to cover it at first because GM said that it just needed to be greased, so it was considered a "maintenance issue". But once GM changed the part design, then it was technically a failed part that needed to be replaced, and then that had to be covered under the terms of my warranty. But anyways, that "new" steering shaft failed miserably in about three months. I honestly don't know if it was even replaced, or if they just regreased mine and told me they installed a new one. But then once that one failed they definitely installed a new one and that one has actually been COMPLETELY clunk free for the last 9-10 years or however long it's been on there.
