GMC Truck Owners please read

[Silver350]

Mods please leave this thread in general chat I want everyone too see this and Im not sure if everyone will see it in the GM Section expecally those that may have an answer on this issue

Long story short

My friends father passed away not too long ago. My friend gave me a really good price on the truck that I am not to sure I can turn away.

How ever when I drove the truck and when he drove it too we both though that the steering didnt feel right. When you drove down the street it seemed like there was a dead spot when driving straight. Meaning you could turn the wheel slightly with out the truck responding. But the truck still drives perfect. I was wondering if others have a GMC does your truck do this as well?

More truck info

2003 GMC Sierra Extended cab Short box 2wd

[LIZMO]

Nick's (93 chevy) truck seems to do that along with his friends suburban and his moms suburban (98 suburban and a 2000 Suburban) but his friend said something is wrong with it.

[nitrous]

Probably needs new pitman and idler arms.

[PonyKiller87]

Probably needs new pitman and idler arms.

I agree, not to terrible of a job to do either as long as you have air tools and the correct pickle fork.

[WickedSix]

idler arm has been very common in that suspension for a long time....give the frontend a shake-down and check for excessive movement in the steering linkage

[KRAUSED]

if its like the typhoon could be idler,pitman,gear box,steering shaft...I work on alot of these gm trucks at work and have seen alot of steering shaft play from all these parts common problem simple fixes all of them

[CATNHAT]

I went from an 05 Ford F-150 to an 07 Yukon Denali XL and that was the very first thing I noticed when I test drove it. Straight ahead driving seemed to provide no feedback through the steering wheel??

I have no explanantion, I just got used to it.

[BAD LS1]

Intermediate steering shaft im betting... Plagues every GMT 800.

[Breecher_7]

Intermediate steering shaft im betting... Plagues every GMT 800.

Usually if its the ISS it is going to make a clunking sound.

I can give you a link to a permanent fix for this that actually works but you need to be a member of the board.

Dieselplace.com

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192072

[Ricky Bobby]

congrats on dennis' truck scott :thumbsup

[Silver350]

Thanks for the input everyone. Hopefully it wont be too expensive to fix just wanted to get an idea what I may be getting myself into.



congrats on dennis' truck scott :thumbsup

Not like Im getting the truck for free. Just hope I can sell my car for what I owe on it. It will probably be up on craigslist and the boards in the next month or so.

[brotherbenn83]

If you need it fixed, give a PM. I have a friend who has a shop in his backyard in East Troy and we do all kinds of car stuff there. We are both GM and ASE certified, he is GM World Class (all GM and ASE certs)

[ffvetteman]

My 98 Chevy full size does that too. I have replaced the full front suspension including the idler arm and pitman arm and the steering box.

I did not replace the steering shaft yet, but I'm not sure that replacing it will fix it. It is the only thing left to replace.

It is annoying though.

[brotherbenn83]

Like mentioned above, steering shafts will more often just give you an annoying clunk rather than slop in the steering.

[Silver350]

Thanks Brotherbenn83. Ill keep you in mind. Might be hard for me because I live and work in West Allis.

I dont recall ever hearing a clunking noise. Im going to mention it to my father he has an 02 gmc so maybe his truck does it also.

[A B4C Z]

Sounds like the steering gear to me.

[wrath]

Since it's 2wd it should have rack and pinion steering. Entirely different animal driving it down the road than one with a steering gear. It'll likely have the variable ratio/speed sensitive one in it if it's not a W/T which will make it even more irritating.

If you've got it up on jackstands and you wiggle the steering wheel back and forth... and the steering knuckles turn then there isn't much you can do about it.