2004 "gear whine" when in 4wd....???????

jodaanja · 03-30-2008, 06:48 PM

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just bought a 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 from a very reputable GM dealership. It has 50,000 miles on it. I noticed during the first snow storm with my new truck, that there is a very pronounced "gear whining " sound coming from either the transfercase or the front differential (can't tell which" when making medium to sharp turns in 4wd. The noise sounds much like the gear noise that you hear when backing up a standard shift truck. After further investigation, i noticed that the noise is present from about 10mph on up, during both left and right turns, and is not any more or less pronounced on dry pavement than in wet, extremely slippery snow. It sounds like a gear alignment issue that increases as I turn because the gears are loading up. So.....i took it back to the dealer because it is still under warranty. I took one of their techs for a ride, and he grinned when he heard the noise, and said, "yup, there it is...heard it many times.....almost all these trucks with the manual shifted transfercase make that noise". He said he had personally taken apart 4 trucks, and never found anything to fix. Of course, my "Bull#$%^" flag went up....after all, they would have to eat the parts and labor on this one. So My reply was " I'll be happy if you would show me another 2004 that makes this noise." He said no problem. He brought me to theirr used truck lot which had 6 2004's just like mine, all in a row, shiny, and for sale. He said which one do you want to drive? I picked one out, we drove it, and it made THE EXACT SAME NOISE !! Not quite as loud, but never the less, the same noise. He said that If I wanted them to, they would take my truck apart, and look for the problem, but he guaranteed that he would not be able to find anything. I declined, and they entered my complaint into their system, and said they would honor the warranty if something actually broke, even after the warranty expired, since I complained about the noise while the truck was under warranty. So, I would like to know if any of you owners of (around) 2004 4x4 trucks with manually shifted transfercases have this same noise??? Thanks in advance for responding..

mud_stud74 · 03-30-2008, 09:26 PM

if i were you i would put that royal purple in it asap. it has adaptive molicules that help repair the worn parts.

75K30 · 03-31-2008, 01:32 AM

I do not feel that you have much of a problem. The gears in the t-case are straight cut gears, and are going to be noisy when they turn.
Many T cases suffer form this.

gmctrucks · 03-31-2008, 04:01 AM

It's going to be fine with the 4x4er's we have had they all make noise take it 4x4ing and break in those gears right drive it like a 4x4. Good luck! Welcome to the club your going to meet a lot of cool people here I see that 75K30 already chimed in he's one member that has made a good impact in this club. Yeah 75K30 he's my hero im for real he knows his stuff.

03-30-2008, 06:48 PM	#1
jodaanja Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3	2004 "gear whine" when in 4wd....??????? As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just bought a 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 from a very reputable GM dealership. It has 50,000 miles on it. I noticed during the first snow storm with my new truck, that there is a very pronounced "gear whining " sound coming from either the transfercase or the front differential (can't tell which" when making medium to sharp turns in 4wd. The noise sounds much like the gear noise that you hear when backing up a standard shift truck. After further investigation, i noticed that the noise is present from about 10mph on up, during both left and right turns, and is not any more or less pronounced on dry pavement than in wet, extremely slippery snow. It sounds like a gear alignment issue that increases as I turn because the gears are loading up. So.....i took it back to the dealer because it is still under warranty. I took one of their techs for a ride, and he grinned when he heard the noise, and said, "yup, there it is...heard it many times.....almost all these trucks with the manual shifted transfercase make that noise". He said he had personally taken apart 4 trucks, and never found anything to fix. Of course, my "Bull#$%^" flag went up....after all, they would have to eat the parts and labor on this one. So My reply was " I'll be happy if you would show me another 2004 that makes this noise." He said no problem. He brought me to theirr used truck lot which had 6 2004's just like mine, all in a row, shiny, and for sale. He said which one do you want to drive? I picked one out, we drove it, and it made THE EXACT SAME NOISE !! Not quite as loud, but never the less, the same noise. He said that If I wanted them to, they would take my truck apart, and look for the problem, but he guaranteed that he would not be able to find anything. I declined, and they entered my complaint into their system, and said they would honor the warranty if something actually broke, even after the warranty expired, since I complained about the noise while the truck was under warranty. So, I would like to know if any of you owners of (around) 2004 4x4 trucks with manually shifted transfercases have this same noise??? Thanks in advance for responding..

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03-30-2008, 09:26 PM	#2
mud_stud74 Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Des Moines Posts: 8	if i were you i would put that royal purple in it asap. it has adaptive molicules that help repair the worn parts.

03-31-2008, 01:32 AM	#3
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,992	I do not feel that you have much of a problem. The gears in the t-case are straight cut gears, and are going to be noisy when they turn. Many T cases suffer form this.

03-31-2008, 04:01 AM	#4
gmctrucks Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Houston,Texas Posts: 4,035	It's going to be fine with the 4x4er's we have had they all make noise take it 4x4ing and break in those gears right drive it like a 4x4. Good luck! Welcome to the club your going to meet a lot of cool people here I see that 75K30 already chimed in he's one member that has made a good impact in this club. Yeah 75K30 he's my hero im for real he knows his stuff.