If you are around 30000, that would be quite a coincedence. My truck is at 30836, and my buddies truck is at 34XXX.

Hey Oddball, sorry I've not followed this thread lately.

The problems I had with my truck was from not changing the oil properly.

I had a rubbing noise just like a lot of you have, so I decided to save some money and do it myself.

The GM oil is $35 per quart. Mobile 1 oil is $10 per quart. The parts department said that Mobile 1 oil was just fine to use.

When you look in the owners manual, it tells you NOT to add friction modifyer on the quadrasteer rearend. It also says what GM oil to use.

I found out after I changed the oil and drove the truck for about 2,000 miles that the reason they say not to add friction modifyer in the manual is because the modifyer is already in the quadrasteer GM oil.

I didn't add it because of what the owners manual said, and that caused the damage to my truck. It had about 43,000 miles on it when the noise started, and about 47,000 miles when I changed the oil. The noise got worse the next day from not having the modifyer in it.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the updates, added some mileage figures...

DaveCS, I need your help. My truck is STILL at the dealer (after 3 weeks) and they claim that the parts are not available to rebuild my axle. The warranty company wants to replace it with another axle they found, which is extremely rusted out. They didn't even dissasemble the axle to see what's wrong. All they know is that is makes a lot of noise when turning. Needless to say, I'm NOT happy about all this right now.

In reading your post, it seems that your dealer was able to solve the problem in just a matter of days. On Friday, my truck will have been in the shop a total of 45 days for all the troubles with this axle problem.

I need the phone number of your dealer so that I can call them and get the scoop for my dealer. Otherwise, the VIN might work if they can pull service history from GM.

Thanks for all the input from all of you with similiar problems. Here's the rest of the details for your spreadsheet...

2002 GMC Sierra Denali
First groaning noise occurred after a long roadtrip - about 14 hours of straight driving. The truck had 40k miles on when this happened.

Due to military travels, I racked another 5k on before having the axle repaired. The dealer/warranty company replaced the axle with a new/used replacement. The problem went away for 2k miles and then came back with a vengence. The truck now has 47k on it and is currently axleless!

Trip,

Call and talk to the service manager and set up an appointment with the regional mangager, or better yet get the regional manager's phone number from the service manager and tell him of your ordeal.

Or you could always call the Chevy customer assistance number at (800) 222-1020. (I have no idea why I know that number).

You gotta start bitching - it's the squeeky wheel that gets oiled.

Good luck.


Edit: Oddball, you can add 55,000 miles to your chart when my rear end started making noise, (and it didn't even have Mexican that night).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SS Crew,

Here's a brand new one at $1500, plus shipping...hope this helps...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Quadrasteer-Rear-End-Dif...dZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

Updates...

Crew, LOL

Trip, sorry it took so long to respond. I missed your post. That is a real shame that the dealer has had your truck that long. As you can see in the spread sheet Alan and I have both had
part number 15115915 installed.

The Dealer is Green Chevrolet in Peoria IL. You want to speak to Ken Johnson, the service manager, for the red team. The number is 309-691-1152.

Another thing you may want to note is that when these parts go bad, oil and grease gets on the parking brake pads and drums. They do not work as well afterwards and the grease collects brake dust and debris, which can cause some residual noise until the pads and rotor are cleaned or replaced.

On a side note, I have been digging up some info on this rear differential. Through connections at GM, other internet forums, and personal experience, I am learning about the clutches in the differential. It seems that the differential may be what is called a hydrolock, which is made by Dana. It is my understanding that these diffs were first used in a Jeep vehicle. It is my belief that with QS, our trucks are exceeding the specified differential speed. GM has tried to up the spec by using SPECIAL fluid, but as we are all experiencing, the fluid brakes down after time OR the slightest bit of contamination and we get the dreaded clutch chatter. It is my belief once you hear this noise, that some wear has been inflicted on the differential. Changing the oil a couple times will help flush out the contaminate, but it will take a while for the clutches to reach a quite wear pattern again.

My two cents: this is the wrong diff for our application.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DAVECS2,

Trip,
If your dealer ship is serious about getting to the bottom of your problem, they could have the oil analyzed. This should indicate weather the shavings are from the clutch pack of the hard parts in the differential. If it is the clutch pack, I would seriously look into them granting you an exemption, and go out and by an aftermarket differential. If they would of let you do this the first time the insurance company could of saved thousands.

Alan they guy I spoke of in previous messages was granted an exemption for his nerf bars. After the third time of taking his truck in for rusted nerf bars, they told him to go pick out a stainless steel set, and they would pay for them and install them.

Thanks for the information, all. I have forwarded the info to my dealer and I'll keep you posted on this debacle.

I finally have my truck back, in the shop from October 21st - December 3rd. Final analysis was that there was nothing wrong besides the dealer servicing the axle without friction modifier when they replaced the axle the first time.

After I refused the rusted out replacement axle they found for the swap, they shipped my noisy axle to Detroit for a rebuild where a "specialty" shop looked at it and told them there was nothing wrong. Refusing to accept their opinion they shipped it to another shop in California per the warranty suppliers request. The shop in California said that the clutches were stuck together from the lack of friction modifier and that there was no other abnormal wear anywhere. The clutches were not worn they were just stuck together.

As far as the metal shavings... The servicing companies in Detroit and California both agreed that the small shavings were normal since it was a brand new axle. They did end up replacing the ring and pinion per my request since there was a small howl developing. The howl was probably due to the improper lube. In fact the servicing company stated that it probably could have been resolved in a day by flushing the axle, filling it with the proper lube, and driving it in circles for a couple turns.

The bottom line is to be sure you service your axle with the proper lube and do it often. It appears from this thread that we have all seen this problem occuring around 35-40k so it would probably be safe to say you should service it every 30k. I was not happy that it took so long to repair my truck, especially since it was the dealers fault in the first place. Nontheless, I feel better knowing that two different shops came to the conclusion that there was no damage because of it.

Thanks for all your inputs!

Trip, glad to hear you got your baby back and working properly!

I'd be curious what shop in Detroit said nothing was wrong. Please let me know, you don't have to bash them, just say not recommended. (Or PM me).

Anyway, updated spreadsheet...

Well i am glad you got your problem resolved Trip. Unfortuneately for all of us, I think you are correct about having to change the fluid often and regularly with the correct formula.

I have posted my opinion about, why I think this is happening in this post.

http://quadrasteerclub.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/573102732/m/823100458

http://www.denalitrucks.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2549

I think the axle is strong, I just think GM picked the wrong LSD for this application, and the cold hard truth is, we will have to pay for it later on down the road.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DAVECS2,

had the same problem with my 03 denali. pulled the rear rack and inspected. clutch pack posi, added 3 tubes gm posi additive and gm 75-90synthetic axle lube, drove in reverse turning both ways and forward both ways two or three times in a big open area over a period of a week. PROBLEM CURED!

This is Davecs2's friend Alan. My situation is interesting in the respects that my truck had been silent for approx 34k miles. Wanting to "prevent" any future issues with the rear end, during a warranty work visit at the Chevrolet dealership I told them to perform all the fluid changes on my truck. Not even a week later my rear end started makin a groaning noise with a shuttering vibration in turns. Come to find out one of the mechanics had put the rear diff fluid for an american axle. Took the dealer a few days to order and get the proper rear diff fluid in for the axle and after replacing it luckily the rear end is completely silent now. I'll have to go for a ride in DaveSC2's truck at lunch or something to see what's goin on with continued noises.