beasticles

Hi All - I am new to the forum and to Chevys in general, having previously owned Jeeps and Mercedes only. I sold my 2000 Jeep XJ Cherokee recently and bought a nice 2003 black Z71 Suburban 1500 (5.3L Vortec) with 165,000 miles on Craigslist for a fairly good price. The seller was buying a home and let it go for lower than the market rate. It needs some TLC and and a maintenance overhaul, which I am in the process of doing now. Some of things on the list include replacing all of the fluids (diffs, trans, coolant, oil, transfer cases, etc.), new power steering pump pulley, idler pulley and belt... the list goes on. I am a fairly inclined shade tree mechanic and am looking to learn more about the GMT-800 mechanics and more complex suspension and drivetrain than the XJs and TJs I am used to.

The prior owner (PO) was running 17" aftermarket chrome rims with about bald tires, which I replaced immediately with a nice pair of 6 lug 17" rims and tires off of a 2011 GMC Yukon. They look great. However, after swapping the wheels out I have noticed a faint ticking noise that increases in frequency with as I accelerate. It's driving me mad.

After doing some searching online I read that perhaps the wheels weren't seated right, the lugs weren't torqued properly, or there is a nail in my tire. Last night I dismounted and remounted all of the wheels, and used my torque wrench to torque down the wheels to spec (140 ft lbs) in a two stage, criss-cross pattern. I would do one wheel at a time, and drive to see if it changed anything each time, to see if I could pinpoint a specific wheel - no dice - the noise was unchanged. I also closely inspected the inner part of the wheels for scratching to see if perhaps a wheel weight was rubbing against the caliper or another part of the hub - but there were none and there appeared to be plenty of clearance.

Just to make sure this wasn't transmission or engine noise, I turned the car off in neutral and let it roll down a hill - the clicking noise was unchanged - which leads me to believe it is definitely the wheels. It also doesn't change when turning or driving straight, which makes me think it isn't a bad wheel hub, but maybe it is something getting hit by the driveshaft?

This weekend I will probably mount back up the old wheels and see if the noise goes away, but I am certain it is just something simple that I am missing.

Any ideas? Suggestions would be much appreciated!

Scotiapilot

Does clicking go away when brakes are applied?
Clicking coming from front or back?


Could also be cv joints or bearings

beasticles

Thanks for the quick response, Scotia. The clicking does not go away when brakes are applied. Having to work by myself (I am smarter than to ask my wife to come out in sub-freezing temps while I drive down the block and have her pinpoint the noise), I believe it is coming from the rear of the vehicle but I can't really say with certainty unfortunately.

I thought about CV joints or bearings as well. When I swap back on the old wheels this weekend I will know for sure if it is wheel related at all I suppose (wish I didn't have to do it but oh well). It definitely looks like the front wheel hubs have been replaced as the dust caps on the hub are noticeably bent from having been popped off with a screw driver previously. They may still be due for replacement soon anyway.

intheburbs

Have you checked the tire treads? Something stuck in one of them? Rock, nail, screw, etc.

Only other option is to jack up each corner of the truck and spin each wheel.

beasticles

Thanks for the feedback - last night after remounting each wheel and freezing my a$$ off (it was about 24* out) I went inside and did some more reading. The nail in the tire makes a lot of sense. I went out and checked the tires but didn't see anything, but I plan to try again in daylight by taking each tire off and doing a complete inspection.

73shark

Might check the parking brake and the rotors.

beasticles

Thanks but check what on them exactly? I already double checked to make sure the dust shields are not contacting the rotors.

Scotiapilot

Ill add one more thing.....do your wheels have center caps? If they are at all loose they may also cause a bit of noise.


That's all I have except the cv abd bearing noise.....lots of hard metal makes odd noises when it get super cold.......super cold to me is anything below 60 (hello from Phoenix LOL)

beasticles

As a matter of fact I am glad you brought that up (center caps). Since these are GMC wheels, I sourced some used Chevy center caps from eBay and popped them in. They seem to fit pretty tightly, but they didn't have the same flanges in the back as the GMC ones, and so were a bit tricky to get in. None of them seem loose per se, but one in the back rear tire does look a little "off" to me. Why would this be making noise though? That is definitely something I will check this weekend, probably by removing the caps and seeing if it makes a difference.

73shark

While you are checking the center caps, check to see if there's a small rock or other particle captured in the center of the wheel that might cause the clicking sound.