Steering Growl

I have a 2000 Chevy Silverado LS 1500 4x4 truck. I have had the intermediate steering shaft replaced, and that fixed many noises that I was hearing and feeling in the steering system.



However, I still get a “growling” noise when turning left at low speeds. I thought it might be low on steering fluid, but it’s not. It gets worse as the engine compartment heats up.



Anyone else experiencing this type of issue?

I’ve read and heard about the intermediate steering shaft issue but because it isn’t a safety issue (just a light thumping noise when in slow turns) I never bothered to replace it in my '02 Tahoe 4x4.

Did you install the $200+ after-market shaft?

You don’t mention the mileage on this 8 year old.

There MAY be worn parts in the power steering pump itself or possibly a front diff/transfer case fault.

Have you ever had a transfer case problem due to (mistakenly) driving on dry pavement with the 4x4 engaged?

A possible worn wheel bearing isn’t out of the question either.

Thanks for your reply.

I actually went back to a Chevy Dealer for the shaft. It only cost $188 parts and labor.

It has around 93,000 miles on it, so I’m expecting some worn parts.

I have not had any problems (that I know of) with the front diff. or transfer case. While I was changing oil this last time I noticed that the front left axle seemed to have something oily on it, but have not seen any leaking from the diff. I’ll check the diff. fluid this weekend.

I will, also, replace the power steering fluid. It shows the proper level, but I’ll bet it’s never been replaced so it has a lot of miles on it.

I will also pull the left wheel bearing for a look see.

Is the dealers (replacement) intermediate shaft a little longer than the original?

If it isn’t, the shaft will knock again. Every body used to pump a pile of grease in to take up the slack but found they had to keep redoing it.

You can see what I mean by going to the following site, registering and after clicking into the right section, do a search on these shafts.

http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb