# S10 Problems



## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

:roll: :roll: Okay before the hashing on chevrolet this was my fault for not watching where I was going and ending up off the trail a little driving over a rock pile and hitting 2 big rocks on the underside of my truck. Now the truck has a huge vibration problem but what I can't figure out is it is completely normal and silent with just someone on the drivers side but when someone sits in the passenger seat it gets loud enough of a vibration its hard to hear the person talking to you in the passengers seat. I know that I hit the back U-joint and it is worn out but it seems like something more because the back U-joint is pretty loose but the amount of the vibration and how it acts when it only has a problem when someone sits in the passenger seat I'm just not sure what it is. Any thoughts?


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## stimmie78 (Dec 8, 2007)

never let anyone sit in the passenger seat. problem solved.


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## chet (Sep 7, 2007)

replace both u-joints and check the driveshaft for dents, they're a sign of a bent tube.
as far as the passenger vibe..... tell her to take the batteries out! If you'd do a better job, she wouldn't need that thing in the first place! And it also might help if she'd go on a diet.
carry on


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

Good lord chet.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

chet said:


> replace both u-joints and check the driveshaft for dents, they're a sign of a bent tube.
> as far as the passenger vibe...


I can agree with this part !! My GTO never had u-joint problems until my ex sister-in-law and her friend 'Arnold Ziffel' sat in the back seat... |-O-| |-O-| ......it's the extra weight !!


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

We'll the u-joints aren't really that bad, they are a little loose but not much, as I said I drove over some rocks and nocked the front and back end pretty good, I was going slow but the rocks were still pretty big. Now the vibration isn't caused by a lot of weight it is caused by any real weight on the passengers side. Also, when no one is in the passenger seat although it doesn't vibrate it does have a knocking/rattling/something loose or broken sound that happens when your going over road riffles or bumps,this sounds more to be up front or under the floor of the cab. What would you check for this, I am going to replace the u-joints but IMO what ever is knocking on the underside is what causes the truck to vibrate not the u-joints they just don't have enough give to amount to the knocking I hear when no one is in the passenger seat and definently don't have the give to cause as big of vibration as I hear when someone is in the passenger seat, what do you think I should check? (chet or anyone)


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Is it constant? or does it get louder the faster you go? If it only happens when your moving then it has to be something that is moving also, like tranny, u-joints, drive line, axels(front or back), differentials, or something in your wheels. 
What year is your s-10, is it a truck or the blazer? I had a buddy who had a 79 f-150 that shook alot and found out it had a broken coil spring on the front. Changed that and it went away.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

It does get louder the faster you go but also will have some vibration with a passenger even if your stopped and rev up the motor, but yes it does get worse the faster you go. It is a 95' truck, like I said I don't know if I hit something directly and it broke or if the bump made by the hit finished something off but it only started after hitting the bump but I have crawled under the truck a few times tried jiggling a lot of things and just can't find what's loose, like I said I think it is in front but not 100% sure on that. I also can't find where the rock hit but after driving past the same place I hit the rocks I stopped and there was some metal scraped onto the rocks and looked with the way the tire tracks were it would be on the left side where it got hit with the rock that looked like it scraped the most. I will have to crawl under again tomorrow and see but I just can't find anything loose or any dents/scrapes where the rocks hit.


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## chet (Sep 7, 2007)

the noise you are hearing is likely the rear torsion bar mount.
the older models looked like this:









I'm not sure what changed, but your 95 takes a different one and it has to come from chevy.

now about the u-joints.... ANY amount of play is unacceptable! they need to be rock solid!
also, check your tranny mount.

shoulda cashed for clunkered that one, my friend 8)


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

It isn't the torsion bar mounts I checked them, and I have had to replace them twice in the last few years so I know the the knocking sound they make, this is more of a thud sound.

As for cash for clunkers, this is still a good truck although I am very rough on it in the hills. Any thoughts on what else it could be? I don't dare drive my normal speed in the hills right now with whatever is wrong.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

How bout your motor mounts? Some times when they break it can cause an awful shake, and when you said that it does it when you are sitting and just reving the engine leads me to believe this might be it.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Ditto to what _Mr. mikevanwilder_ said. But, how about a shock absorber one1? Could it be loose...the bushing shot....bracket twisted ? Ball joint maybe ?


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## hyperduc (Sep 18, 2009)

Start with the easiest fix first, make sure the tires are balanced. Then visually inspect all of the suspension components, if your u joints are bad or close to bad fix them for hell sakes, especially if you going to keep the truck (or continue to defend chevy).

Shock failure wouldnt cause vibration with additional passenger weight, instead I suggest you check your springs, a broken one would put the frame on the axle and could cause the type of symptom your talking about.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

The shock absorber bushings were both shot, I replaced one but didn't check the other until today and it is shot too, of course I'll replace it, as well as the u-joints, but I found the true problem today while really pushing on things under the truck. The thud I am hearing is the transmission hitting the underside of the cab, now I know this may be a stupid question but would this mean the tranny mount is wore out? But it moves up and down some and I guess when the truck is thrown off balance with a passenger it puts something on an angle with what ever is loose and puts things on a bind. Is there anything else that might need to be replaced other than the tranny mount? Looking at it, it dosen't appear to be that bad but things are moving up and down a little.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

> now I know this may be a stupid question but would this mean the tranny mount is wore out?


Could you just tighten those bolts one 1 ? I'm sure if they've been loose for awhile the mount may be worn out and beat up a bit.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Actually just looking under it again with a flashlight I noticed another thing, there is only one bolt left on each side of the tranny mount bar, the tranny mount only has a little flexability, maybe if I get some bolts in the cross bar I can tighten them down a bit, switch the shock absorber bushing and the u-joints and everything will be fine and dandy again, and maybe I need to stop going 20mph on roads with constant rocks.

**Also the tranny mount bar is kinda on a slanted angle but the mount looks to be positioned right, should it be flat down or have a slight angle to it naturally the 2nd bolt hold on the right I can't see where it is in the frame but there is a second bolt hole, messing around I caught the one on the drivers side as it fell out and hit me in the face. Oh well guess that's what 200,000 of rough riding dose.


Chaser (or anyone) would this cause the bad vibration I am having, I know it is causing the thud because jiggling the tranny slightly up and down it hits the cab and that is the thud I can hear, guess I better stop with the mountain roads for a couple days tell its fixed.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Sounds like a clean one owner. The tranny mount should have very little play in it, they are pretty cheap for this vehicle and usually carry a lifetime warranty (at least they are from AZ, probably aren't any in your neck of the woods). There are always at least two bolts. Could that cause the vibration? I would not think so, but when you combine with a shocks just slapping all over and dragging a driveline, possibly. The tranny mount being shot usually only shows up with slack in the letting off of the gas quickly or in dropping the hammer-any abrupt change in the driveline speed. Does that cover all of your issues?


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

We'll after looking harder I can see more of what happened. When I hit the rock pile, I can see 2 fair dents on the front of the exhaust pipes, which would have continued on and hit the next low item which was the tranny cross bar which I'm sure they slammed into and put a hurt on the tranny mount. The mount has enough play that lying underneath the truck I can jiggle the tranny a little and enough to make a knocking sound (the one I hear inside) with the tranny knocking against the body slightly. As I said on the crossbar it only has one bolt on each side and the passengers side looks like it has been that way for a while like the bolt may be sheared off, because on the inside underneath there is only one bolt going into the frame, but on the outside looking in the holes where the crossbar bolts to the frame there are 2 bolts, or at least one hole bolt and one half bolt with nuts. And yes I do need to definitely put a new bushing in the shock absorber on the passenger side (already did drivers side). Guess it might be time to fix the S10 and be a little more gentle with it.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Muffler bearings !!! I didn't even think of that... :shock: 

So we add up all the noises, most of which were covered here....

Shocks
Shock bushings
Exhaust
Exhaust brackets
Tranny mount & bolts
Could lead to motor mount problems
U-joint
Possible drive-line & yoke damage
Tranny cross member & bolts

Wow One 1 !!! That's a few maintenance issues...


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Kerry, 
You left one off, those worn muffler bearings usually result in excess blinker fluid usage; you better get a whole 5 gallon container of the blinker fluid, I will bet that the whole reservoir is dry by now.


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