I work in the parts dept. on the service tech side. I have been here about 6 years and believe me you hit it on the head. GM has had problems with strg shafts on Impalas, Silverados, Avalanche, Malibu, Monte Carlo's and Cavaliers. That covers about all of them. There seemed to be a design flaw allowing all the lubricant in the shaft to escape. GM decided to use lube kits to refill them. Nothing but a band aid. They finally started replacing all shafts with the steering "bump" or rattle and off to backorder land we went. There was such a large demand that it took most dealers 2 months to get a shaft in for a customer. I have seen about every bulletin or campaign or recall Chevy has had in the last 6 years. There has been a problem with bearings in the steering gear on most malibus, cavaliers and some W body cars. I definitely would recommend "bugging" my service advisor to no end especially since its under warranty.

Sometimes you can get an advisor or technician that is clueless about working on vehicles or knowledge about certain problems with vehicles. Getting it documented is the first step so there is a history of the problem.

 

Jackpot........ Your just the guy I have been looking for. Should one assume you have access to service manuals? I know I know. One should never assume....

It took me 2 months to get my ISS replacement as well. It's been a pretty major problem for GM.

TVW

 

Yes there is a bulletin on the ISS on the Monte. If you feel the clunk or bump take it to get it checked.[sm=drlove.gif][sm=icon_ladiesman.gif]

 

I dont have access to manuals since they've gone computer oriented. They use whats called SI and can refer to it with symptoms a vehicle may have. It sometimes points to a bulletin or campaign but the techs usually have access to this info via password. I can get my man to look up a possible problem every now and then.[sm=pcwhack.gif]

 

FD, I've already had a first AND second opinion on this car. The first opinion seemed like they didnt want to get the car fixed, even though they heard the popping. Initially, they DID say it was in the cradle/suspension, and applied some kind of sealant to it. After I told them the problem persisted, they told me it was normal slack from an aluminum part, which has me skeptical. The second opinion I got admitted that they never heard the noise before, but after looking at the mounts and the cradles of the suspension especially, they couldnt figure out the problem because everything was cool. They even called a GM technical assistance hotline for mechanics and they told the dealership that it was normal. I've had too many people tell me (including other Monte Carlo owners such as y'all) that something's wrong. Is there anyway, you could give me a third opinion from the GM technical service, because both dealerships don't want to work on it again until I have some hardcore evidence thats somethings broken.

 

The first thing I would check is the engine cradle bushings. Rule that out first. [sm=signs003.gif]

 

After that, check the ISS and make sure its got grease. What about exhaust hangars or pipe?[sm=yeahsmile.gif]

 

well with my experiance ive had one pith a popping noise and there is a technical service bulletin where the tech will use a suringe deal and soak the welds aluminum engine craddle with loc-tite . i can look up the tsb number at work. like i said ive only had one and it was actually on the impala but they have the same style of craddle from what i can see, and that took care of the problem. dont ask me how it works but it does. ill fill you in 4/7/05. as far as the intermidiate shaft that would be something that the driver would feel in the steering and not the floor. and the pssenger would not feel it either.

 

here is the number for ya. 1381072. if your mechanic put this into the gm si2000 program under document search this number will bring up the tsb. good luck.

 

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Are you a GM tech Chevy_jj??

Very interesting indeed. Sounds like more of a patch to me. If the welds make that kind of noise, dampening the knocking pop noise with loctite seems like a short-term fix. Could you perhaps get us some more technical info on this one?

Is it the weld itself that makes the noise? Is the purpose of the loctite to fill cracks in the welds?

Could there be a warping problem with the aluminum cradle?

TVW