K5Enthusiast

I have a 1999 Chevy (K5) Tahoe, with a little over 122,000 miles on it, that has a very noticeable vibration when I exceed 75+ mph. It seems to lessen when I remove my foot from the gas pedal and it's not under a load. Also, it seems that, even going 50+ mph (and accelerating) it starts to vibrate. I've had a wheel alignment done, balanced tires, u-joints are good, front end checked and just had the transfer case rebuilt. I had it to my mechanic and even he is puzzled. Anyone else out there that might know what this is?

kevinkpk

You shouldn't be driving over 75. I'd have the wheel balance checked through a different source.

intheburbs

Oh, come on. How do you know he doesn't live in Wyoming or South Dakota, where some highways have a posted speed limit of 80? Or Texas where some areas are 85?

First thing I do after I've have my tires balanced is take the truck out onto an open stretch of highway and let 'er rip. Have had my Suburban, well, let's just say well over 110.

And yes, I'd also recommend rechecking the wheel balance with another place. Goodyear tried to balance my Duratracs three times with no success. I ended up going to my local Firestone and they nailed it the first time.

If you want to check this yourself, do you feel the current vibration more in your butt (rear wheels) or in your hands/the steering wheel (front wheels)? Switch the front and back tires then see if the vibration has moved. That will confirm you have a bad tire.

kevinkpk

I could say west Texas, speed limit is 85

K5Enthusiast

It feels like the whole truck is vibrating. I can see the steering wheel and dash board shaking a little. I have Good Year Silent Armour tires on it, and I was told they're hard to balance because they are such an aggressive tire. The are an E load range tire. I was thinking of having them tires checked again. To tell you the truth, I don't trust tire shops too much. They've already stripped the plastic nut covers on the hub caps of my simulators on my other K5 - probably using the impact gun - not to mention the simulators are all bent up. Also, they did the original balancing and it had an obnoxious vibration after that. Then I decided to take it to a front end alignment shop. I had the front end aligned and tires balanced. The guy there told me the one wheel was COMPLETELY out of balance. I still had the same vibration I have today - not as bad, but still annoying. Maybe I need to have it road force balanced?

73shark

Could be a shifted belt or out-of-round tire. Might try a road force balance.

K5Enthusiast

Thank you all. I guess I will try the road force balance first and keep my fingers crossed it works!

K5Enthusiast

Well, I brought my Tahoe to the dealer, had it road force balanced and found out that the two rear tires weren't balanced properly and that there were flat spots on the two rear tires - which was likely the cause of the vibration. Two new tires and a road test at 80 mph and we're good to go! And by the way, to the gent that said "he", I'm a she! Just had to bust your chops!