Tahoe & Suburban The power, space, and brutal towing ability make the Tahoe and its longer sibling, the Suburban, arguably the best full size SUV's on the market today.

2013 Chevrolet Suburban
Platform: GMT 400, 800, 900

4WD Issue

Old Feb 12, 2021 | 8:43 PM
  #1  
Taho3's Avatar
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Question 4WD Issue

Hey everyone! I'm new so I hope this is the right place to post this question.

I have an 03 LT Tahoe 4WD that I have owned for a little over 4 years now, it has been a beast on winter roads and very capable on backcountry roads the entire time I have owned it and i have never had any major issues with it. A few days ago it finally started snowing where I live and the roads are quite icy and snow packed. This being the first time all year I have needed 4WD consistently I have started using it on my drive to and from work. When in high 4WD, it seems that when I accelerate, every so often (but always when accelerating) the front tires suddenly jerk to the left a bit, thereby causing me to swerve quite aggressively. As you can imagine, this can be quite dangerous in icy conditions. Does anyone have any idea what could be going wrong? There are no unusual noises, feelings, or warning notifications on the dash, any help would be greatly appreciated! (as a side note, we have been experiencing extreme winter conditions, up to -30 F so maybe something broke or has jelled up? just a thought.)

-A few notes on what I have done to the vehicle and my non professional hunch as to what could be causing some issues:

I have installed a 3in torsion lift and 3 inch spring spacers on the truck, although they have been on there for a while now with no issues. I recently replaced the shocks, however the front shocks are rated for a 3.5-6.5in lift which is bigger than the lift on the truck. When I put these on the front of the vehicle it raised it considerably and I had to re adjust the torsion bars so the truck was not squatted. When I took it in for an alignment, the guys at my shop told me that since I had done this, the camber cannot be returned to factory specs without some new components underneath, however, before this they were able to align it to factory specs even with the 3in torsion lift. My theory is that the shocks that are too big are putting too much of a strain on my OEM components underneath causing the 4WD to do something funky it has never done before. I will be replacing these shocks shortly for ones that are the proper size for my lift if for nothing else but to reduce the strain on my OEM components and cause proper tire wear.
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Old Feb 13, 2021 | 8:35 AM
  #2  
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In 4wd the drivers front tire has the most torque going to it so if spinning and it gets traction it will pull left. It's a open front diff. like a non posi. rear diff. has the most torque going to the right rear power in the front goes to the drivers side. Street vehicle can't have a locking front diff, it will never turn properly. Rear diff. has the G80 that is not a full posi. so it may be in open mode until it senses enough wheel spin so with LF and RR driving the truck it can yaw to the left.
Lifting the truck throws all the factory drivability off so things may be more noticeable now.
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