SOLVED! 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (Grinding Noise @ Right Front)

[mrrsm]

EDIT:

Even though I got Very Lucky in Diagnosing and Solving THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM... The number of things that can go "Bang and Bump and Grind" under our vehicles is HUGE... So Please.... Start with viewing Drew's @MAY03LT "One Over The World" Suspension Noise Diagnostic Video to get a better overview and understanding of what YOUR specific problem might be.... whether it is a Bad Wheel Hib Bearing... or it turns out to be something else:

My son just called me to explain that the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4.8L-4L60E he borrowed from me while waiting for the 2002 TB gets sorted out with the '04 Donor Motor ...is "...Acting Up," He explained that when driving between 30 and 40 MPH... He can hear, "...a terrible grinding noise...like 'Metal on Metal' in the Front Passenger Side area of the Truck."

He has had the vehicle since just before my back Surgery in April of 2015...and while I did put on Brand New Tires (described in the "Spun Stud" Post)... I really paid little attention to the condition of brakes since I was incapable of driving the damned thing at that time. I am guessing that with his "Heavy Foot" on both the Gas and the Brakes... that perhaps the material on the Brake Pad has worn down enough to just fall off and leave the underlying Metal Bracket to drag along on the surface of the disk... but I won't know what is what until I pick him up this evening.

I had not thought about this until just now... but this will be the first time that I will be driving the Silverado since I bought it... and would appreciate some input from anybody that has had a similar "noisy grinding" experience. I will drive out to his work site at 11:00 PM this evening and let him use his Mother's Nissan Altima ...and then I'd like to "baby" the truck back home here without towing it... if possible. If this is can be anything other than a loose or separated Brake Pad... I'd like some input from others with a similar experience on what else the problem might be. I have not as yet had the chance to even open the hood on this vehicle... so if there is something else I need to be aware of... I'd appreciate knowing of other's experiences here before I head out there tonight. TIA -=Bob=-

 

[Mounce]

Likely brakes or wheel bearing. Both are an easy fix.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Brakes-pads, calipers, rotor
Wheel bearing/Hub


Hell...its likely just worn pads as the pad sure does not have to "fall out" to cause a metal on metal grinding.

 

[Mooseman]

If pressing on the brakes makes more of the noise, then it's a sure sign it's the brakes. Otherwise could be the wheel hub. Another possibility is a rusted or bent dust shield rubbing on the rotor.

 

[mrrsm]

Jesus Palomino... @Mounce... The BEARING-HUB ASSEMBLY... I didn’t even think about it and would not have unless you mentioned it here, so Thanks, Man! And Yes... It makes perfect sense that it would be Growling & Grinding if it has rusted and worn away badly inside.

@Mooseman ... I’ll do that diagnostic you suggest B4 I get too far down the road... Fortunately... the Pharmaceutical Supply Company my son works for is way out in an Industrial Complex where the roadways are wide and there is very little traffic at around 11 PM to Midnight.

I found three videos of Later Model 4WD versions ...and some of them show the need to remove a PITA Set Screw Fastener holding on the Rotors... Will I need the NAPA Impact Driver a T-30 Torx Bit for my 2003 Silverado 2 Wheel Drive? Will I need any specific Parts or OTHER Special Pullers or Tools that NAPA or Autozone Sells that will make Quicker Work of this Repair? At least now I know what I’m in for.

Thanks again, Gentlemen!

I grabbed a few Vidz that I hope are relevant to this Make-Model-Year:

LOL... Take a CLOSE Look at the first few minutes of this First Video...am I CRAZY...? or is everything BACKWARDS... ? LOOK AT THE WORD 'MICHELIN' AND HOW THE DOOD IS LOOSENING THE FASTENERS ...TO THE RIGHTY-TIGHTY DIRECTION...WTF? LOL... I THOUGHT I WAS LOSING IT THERE FOR A MINUTE...

 

[Mounce]

Best of my knowledge there is a torx bolt or two on the caliper bracket. Been a few years since I done the brakes on our 03 that is now totaled.

 

[mrrsm]

Okay...when I pick up the New Hub... I'll grab a set of Torx Bits, too. This does not have to be done on both sides... does it? Although... it WOULD make sense to do both sides if I did not have to get the truck returned to him... right away.

 

[mrrsm]

Going with this flavor of Front Wheel Hub Assembly:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CF41SU/?tag=gmtnation-20

 

[Mooseman]

They should be fine. Haven't heard anything bad about Moogs.

 

[Mounce]

Does not have to be done in pairs either. Brakes yes, hubs nah.

 

[mrrsm]

Okay... Just pulled up in the driveway and even with a Big Flash-Light and some help from, "La Luna Del Cacciatore" (A Hunter's Moon)... checking things out further will have to wait for the Light of Day. On the 15 Mile drive home... I noticed no pulling towards the passenger side and the brakes were solid, responsive and even. All Engine and Accessory Components were nominal and there is no hesitation during shifting up and down the gears...and the engine is likewise very peppy and responsive (76,000 Miles Mobil1 & K&N Oil Filters every 3,000 Miles).

At certain times when the body was rolling left and right from the Angular Momentum of turns and immediately afterwards around 40-45 MPH...I heard what sounded like Somebody was Pounding on the Wheel Cover or the Fender Well metal or bracketing...and then it slowly cycled downwards as the vehicle was coming to a stop indicating the noise was connected to something in rotation.. But occasionally...there would be like 2 or 3 rapid "Bangs" and then nothing. There really was no consistent pattern to the sound and I have never heard anything like it before this evening. There was nothing that sounded like raspy bearing races or any grinding or gnashing sounds and once again this is a 2 Wheel Drive Truck...so gear box and drive shaft issues are not involved.

I took my son back to his family apartment and he will make other transportation arrangements while I play "Truck Detective" tomorrow and get to the bottom of the matter. I picked up the Moog Bearing Hub earlier this evening...so if it turns out to be that component... I'll immediately affect the repair. Thanks for all of the help and ideas Folks...Gotta "Hit The Pit"...

 

[mrrsm]

Okay... In orders of operation

1. I “Followed the Bouncing Ball” on the Highlights of The Hub-Bearing Unit R&R Youtube Videos.

40. Done. The Test Drive was completely successful in proving that whatever was causing the “Banging” racket has been stopped..

@Mounce was right on the money: The Front Right Hub-Bearing Unit was clicking and crackling inside when spun by hand, but without the added weight of the truck and the dynamics of driving to create the harmonics, I could NOT duplicate the problem. Nonetheless, replacing the Hub Assembly with the Pricey Moog Hub comes with the added Peace of Mind of completely eliminating it from any other issues that might need addressing.

As far as the Right Front Brake Pads were involved... There was more "Meat" on them than inside of a "Triple Beef Whopper"... and just as "evenly distributed, too... so that ruled out Bad Brake Pads Rubbing. And for the second Spot On thing to be concerned with as suggested by @Mounce ... the Two Brake Calliper Stainless Steel Slide Pin Fasteners require a T-55 3/8" Torx Tool NOT a T-50 frequently recommended by Popular Prejudice as the Tool of Choice.

I only wound up getting the Right Flavor of this Damned Tool because the Counterman at Autozone was watching me struggle to look over their well-stocked Tool Rack and instead of me having to buy the Torx Tools individually... he quickly rifled me out a Duralast Black Metal 5 Bit T Set that had some Odd sized ones like T-42 and T-47 that you might think would never get used... but in this case, at $14.00 for the High Carbon Parkerized Steel Torx Bit Set, it turned out to be a very helpful and inexpensive choice. So I'd suggest getting these for your future projects based upon my empirical proof that THESE Odd Sized Torx Bits will come in VERY handy some day!

With the source of the “Banging” gone... a Brand New Problem has morphed involving hearing additional sounds from the Right Rear that are suspicious for a Misaligned or Stuck Caliper that is apparently causing a “Metal on Metal” Rubbing and the Oscillating Disc Sound will be the next place I look to get everything done ASAP. This will happen before the end of the coming weekend.

In the meantime I want to give an Honorable Mention for the use of Red-Line CV-2 Synthetic Red High Pressure Grease as it worked out great to refresh the suspension components with Zerk Fittings and gave me a chance of confirming that all of the Containment Boots were still intact on each Ball Joint and Friction Points fed by the stuff... and not get completely dried out inside.

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Line-80402-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000CPAEJA?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000CPAEJA

That’s-a-Wrap... Thanks again for the help... and Oh.... I almost forgot to mention that after hearing @Mounce ‘s voice in my head asking me:

“About those Specs and what-not you needed... Bobby... Did it occur to you that you might find the answers by just opening up the Glove Box and...Yeah... See that Thick Booklet in there? Yeah... The one with the Blue Cover... That’s Right...Well Mr. Smarty-Pants... Why don’t you just..."

RTFOM...?

Uhhhh... Okay! And Yup... Who knew that the 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 2WD Pick Up Truck Requires 140 Ft. Lbs. (190 Nms) of Torque in a stellated pattern to secure the Wheels and Tires to the Vehicle? Not me ... But anyway... I DID read the stuff out of the Manual and used that information and a Half Dozen Brand New Acorn Nuts to replace the Old, Beat Up ones and test out my New Digital Torque Angle Meter – Torque Wrench and a Huge Breaker Bar.

I took some images of those Manual Pages to post here and... since there were no other immediate sources for these DATA at hand... I’m sharing what I found. I need to make the point that whoever put that wheel on before... HUGELY over-torqued several of the Lug Nuts and it took FOREVER to get them to back off using a Strong Impact Wrench (1/2" Drive Electric).

One important last suggestion... It is NOT absolutely necessary to jack up more than one wheel for this particular repair since nothing bilateral is being worked on and the additional "tilt will make seeing things a bit easier. When the Wheel is finally put back on and all of the Lug Nuts are lightly tightened and the centre of the Wheel Hub is stuffed inside...instead of having to remove the Jack Stand and Lower the Vehicle to the ground to be able to resist the Torque being imparted... just slide in one of your Wheel Ramps after Jacking the Truck up just a bit higher...and then pull the Jack stand and lower the Truck down on the Ramp.

Now you can Tighten to your Heart's Content and get a perfect opportunity to slip a large section of cardboard under the body and have plenty of safe room to continue to poke around down under the Truck to "See What's What?" and spare the time and energy of having to Jack up the Truck all over again and re-set the Jack Stands for Safety Reasons. If it all looks good...all you need to do is "Pull the Big HF Rubber Wheel Chocks and start up the Truck to glide down the ramp and take the "15 MPH Test:



SPECIAL NOTE:

The Red Blobs on the Hub Studs is Lok-Tite GEL... NOT Globs of the Redline Grease I used to "Plump Up" the Suspension Ball Joint Lubrication.

 

[littleblazer]

Glad you got it fixed. When. The hub sounded like that on the escalade I could literally move the tire on the hub and see that it was shot.