Can you be a bit more detailed, where is the noise? If under the truck, suspect u-joints.

If under the hood, pull the belt for a quick test.

And, not sure what your saying in the last paragraph. You've got the rear jacked up (both wheels, your in drive and the wheels won't turn.
If the engine running, or are you trying to turn by hand?

 

noise comes from under the truck

 

Sorry. The noise originally sounded like it was coming from the front/under the cab but now I’m suspecting it from the rear and traveling up the drivetrain, seems that’s a common issue with drivetrain noises. I’m hoping it’s the u joints because that I can replace but if it’s the pinion bearing or gears then I’m in over my head due to lack of tools.

I jacked the rear end up on the diff and put stands under the axles, I turned the truck on and put it in drive so I could simulate driving and produce the sound to locate it in the air. The tires however didn’t spin, I gave it a little bit of gas but they barely moved, the e brake was off and the truck was in 2wd.

 

Sorry. The noise originally sounded like it was coming from the front/under the cab but now I’m suspecting it from the rear and traveling up the drivetrain, seems that’s a common issue with drivetrain noises. I’m hoping it’s the u joints because that I can replace but if it’s the pinion bearing or gears then I’m in over my head due to lack of tools.

I jacked the rear end up on the diff and put stands under the axles, I turned the truck on and put it in drive so I could simulate driving and produce the sound to locate it in the air. The tires however didn’t spin, I gave it a little bit of gas but they barely moved, the e brake was off and the truck was in 2wd.

I had a horrible whine 2011 silverado, almost like a tuning fork hittinf the right note. Made the truck almost embarable to drive. It was the ring and pinion gears in the rear differential. Bought new one offline and installed, no more whining. I actually bought the master kit that came with all beaings and seals.

 

Next to try is rear wheels off the ground, engine off, trans in neutral. Are you able to spin either tire? If one turns but the other doesn't, the one that doesn't is hanging up on something. If both turn freely, your problem is most likely a bad U-joint. Crawl underneath and try to turn the driveshaft. It should turn all the way around with minimal effort. If it will not, again, most likely bad U-joint.

 

Rear end noise travels to the front.
I changed my wheel bearings because I thought they were the problem.
It ended up being worn inner and outer pinion bearings.

I rebuilt it myself by replacing the bearings and crush sleeve. No special tools. Just bearing puller set loaned from a parts store.
Make sure you put the original shims in their respective positions.
Timken bearings and crush sleeve ran me about $150 plus 3 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil.

 

Ok I’ll try to spin the tires by hand next time, just weird the wouldn’t spin when it was jacked up and running in drive. I’m going to inspect the pinion bearing more closely as well. I might even try to get a video of the sound. It’s just weird, every bad pinion, u joint, transfer case etc video I have listened to sounds nothing like what I’m hearing. It’s only when I touch the gas does it make a sound.

 

I would get it figured out asap. We just had a U-joint come apart on the front driveline of a work truck at 75 mph. The truck is totaled! Ripped the transfer case clear out of the truck, tore off the tail shaft of the transmission, split the tranny case clear up to the engine block, then what was left of the driveline punched a hole through the floor of the cab. Definitely scary stuff when drivelines come apart, or when diff bearings seize up at highway speeds!

 

Something does not seen right.

Four wheels on the ground, in drive and truck moves forward.

If you Jack up the rear wheel, place in drive, at least one wheel will spin.

 

Yeah I’m not driving it until it’s figured out unless it’s to a shop. I don’t want to just start replacing everything on it, throwing money at it hoping it fixes it.

Truck drives fine, just has this loud whine when you accelerate. Neither wheel moved when I jacked the diff up and both wheels were off the ground, was in 2wd high in drive and even gave it a little bit of gas.

The sound doesn’t seem like any normal/obvious solution at least the videos I’ve seen (pinion bearing, u joint, etc).

 

Sometimes it can be something like a hood rattling in the wind.

 

It’s only when I’m touching the gas even in the slightest, going down the road at 40mph just coasting doesn’t make the sound so I’m assuming it’s drivetrain related.

 

What would cause the rear wheels to not spin freely when jacked up on the differential? I’m wondering if the 2 problems are related, almost as if jacking up the diff put strain on the driveline since it’s conpletely different than on the ground and the gears weren’t synced up, hence my whine noise and no movement in the air. Thoughts?

 

Yeah I’m not driving it until it’s figured out unless it’s to a shop. I don’t want to just start replacing everything on it, throwing money at it hoping it fixes it.

Truck drives fine, just has this loud whine when you accelerate. Neither wheel moved when I jacked the diff up and both wheels were off the ground, was in 2wd high in drive and even gave it a little bit of gas.

The sound doesn’t seem like any normal/obvious solution at least the videos I’ve seen (pinion bearing, u joint, etc).

It could be your alternator. It could be grounding on your intake boot clamp that’s what was happening to mine. If it’s like an electrical whine... if it sounds like a metal screech then I honestly don’t know. I just had to turn the clamp around some so the screw wasn’t right next to the alternator.

 

 

Did you happen to take a look if the driveshaft was spinning? when you did the wheels in the air test

 

Is this truck auto 4wd?,dont do that test,all 4 wheels off the ground,or on a lift

 

 

I don't know why your wheels won't turn with rear jacked up,
You said you supported the weight with blocks/stands under the rear axle housing, if so, you didn't change the ride height.

So, set that aside for a little while.

Try this.....
Go to same section of road/street where you have heard the noise.
Get truck up to 40, and flip into neutral
Pedal the gas in a manner that would cause the noise
Report back

 

It’s more of a gear metal whine when I accelerate, when I let off and decelerate for a second it almost turns into a grinding sound, then it’s silent if I’m not on the gas.

I didn’t look to see if the driveshaft was spinning, I don’t believe anything was. I was giving it a little gas and was by myself so I couldn’t look at the same time.

So on a 4wd truck, I can’t jack up the rear wheels only and in 2wd high spin the back tires in drive? I don’t have jack stands big enough to jack the truck all the way off the ground.

I put the truck in neutral and revved it, slowly increased the throttle while going 40-50mph, no sound. Parked revving produced no sound either. It’s only when I’m physically driving in drive and pressing the accelerator. Even if I barely tap the accelerator for a split second, it will whine up then grind down for a few seconds then back to quiet as long as I’m not back on the accelerator. It’s definitely linked to the throttle when under load.

Thanks for all the help, hopefully I can figure this out this weekend, I’ll try to post a video of the sound.

 

Do you have a chain driven transfer case or gear drive?

Ted

 

No idea, I just bought the truck, not even sure how to tell? I will be going over there tomorrow.

Also, my ABS light is on and when I engage the parking brake, the parking brake light flashes on the dash. Maybe that could be the reason why my rear wheels didn’t spin and the whine noise, the parking brake could be engaged? Never seen the blinking parking brake light before, brake fluid level is fine.

 

Here’s a video on YouTube

I jacked the rear up, spun the tires and I hear a different noise coming from the front driveshaft which is spinning, the truck is in 2 wheel high but apparently that’s normal. Maybe try to change the u joints in the front driveshaft then? There definitely is a noise coming from there. Also it’s a steel front, aluminum rear (one piece) is that factory? Guess I’ll try to change the u joints hopefully with a C clamp since I don’t have a u joint tool.

 

Removed the front driveshaft but I can’t get the old u joints out, what’s the secret? I rented a u joint tool but no help.

 

They are held in with plastic, you need to melt the plastic.

Why do you think they need to be changed?

Going back a few posts, you had the rear jacked up and you say the front driveshaft was turning.

Assuming the front diff is OK, the reason the shaft turns is due to the passenger side axle being 2 piece; and in 2WD the 2 halves are not connected together

 

Saw that now on a video, frustrating! I’ll torch them out tomorrow hopefully.

When I spun the rear tires in the air, the front driveshaft was spinning and it was noisy, felt sloppy too.

I’m not following you on your last sentence. From what I’ve read, the front driveshaft is supposed to turn with the rear wheels but it was very noisy. I’m not sure this will fix the problem but we’ll hopefully see tomorrow.

 

So I’m installing a new u joint and the u joint is either too long or my driveshaft is too narrow because I can’t get both clips in. I have tried a moog 235 and 534G. The u joint is about 1/8” or so too wide to fit both clips in. I’m about to order a whole new driveshaft.

 

Got it all back together, U joint I got has a hole and screw but no fitting to inject grease, does it need grease? The truck still makes the noise. I jacked up the rear and accelerated to 30mph and heard the noise from the rear of the truck. Only the back right tire spun. I think I’m going to take it to a drivetrain/transmission shop Tuesday.

 

The U-joint definitely needs the zerk fitting and lubing. Have you checked the diff lube? I would yank the cover and clean/inspect it and refill with 75W-90.

Ted