Hello everyone,

First of all great site. All info is greatly appreciated.
I have a 2004 Suburban Z71. Everytime there is a large dip in the road I hear the suspension complain. Or if I drive over a speed bump the same noise. I will try to describe the sound the best I can. as the vehicle's rear suspension contracts to absorb the dip or bump on the road there is a HEEE sound and as the suspensioon then expands to level itself there is a Haaahh sound. HEEHAAAH!
I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. The sound is striclty in the rear suspension. I is very annoying at highway speeds and especially on long road trips. Also it happens evrytime there is a dip and bump in the road.

Thank you, and keep up the great site!

Hi lexum300,

This is something the dealer can nail down pretty quickly, but if you want to give it a shot yourself, it's not too hard to nail these things down.

I would start with the swaybar mounts and end links. Firstly, make sure all appear appropriately tightened. With the little spray tube installed, spray the 2 end links and the 2 mounts liberally and see if this makes any improvement. If that doesn't help, I would try the shock mounts next.

I think those two items would be the most likely candidates, unless you have a considerable fastener torque problem with one of the various components. If the above doesn't solve the problem , I'd let the dealer take it from there.

Welcome!

Welcome to the forum. I recall hearing that noise before also. On our Tahoe, it turns out to be the rear shocks making the noise. If it persists, might want to have the dealer check it out.

Thank you for the reply,

I have been to 2 different dealers. My dealership has lubed and greased all joints twice, and can't find a problem. They hear the noise but don't have a solution.
Another dealer said it was normal for the Z71 package. I don't buy the "normal on Z71" comment.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again.

Hi Lexum,

I'm not sure what the dealer meant by greasing all joints, but it's clear they did not hit the sway bar or shock mount.

This is NOT normal nor acceptable. The key is, they have an obligation to escalate the problem to full resolution, but you need to be persistant with them. Sometimes, they need to be guided a bit, but the bottom-line is, unless there's a glaring problem elsewhere, the problem is very likely the two items we suggested. You can confirm this yourself quite simply in 10 minutes with a can of silicon. If the noise is reduced, or goes away all together, you nailed it.

Once you locate the squeak, you can then disassemble, inspect, clean or replace, lube and reinstall at the proper torque for a long term resolution. Better yet, show the service writer where the problem is, and have them fix it.

This is not a common problem, so do not let them off the hook.

Just curious, is there any fluid on the shock bodies? It may have leaked fluid, worth checking...

~Matt

On ours, the shocks didn't leak, but it was due to the rubber bushing squawking on one of the rear shocks. It turned out to be the bushing on the bottom shock mount. It would just make a single squawk when the shock was compressed.

After I did the aftermarket antisways on my 'rado, I had to relube all of the bushings with a marine grade grease (reholube) because the silicon lube that was in the kit wasn't adequate for the polyurethane bushings. Polyurethane is notorious for making a lot of rubbing noises. The noise associated with the sway bar pivot bushings was a squawk every time it moved.

If not one of the other sugguestions mentioned earlier, you might check for this:
My last rig was an '03 Avalanche... it had the dreaded suspension noise. It that case, it turned out to be the e-brake cables. I found this noise by laying underneath the rig and pushing up on the spare tire and trying to isolate the squeak's location. Both the driver and passenger side cables are secured together on the driver's side, just ahead of the rear axle by a purpose-built calble guide. There is a similar guide on the pass side below the frame, near the rear-pass shock. For whatever reason, the material used for the cable housing squeaked as it rubbed the metal cable guides when the suspension cycled. I wiped these areas off, and sprayed some silicone spray on the cable housing(s). This worked great, but after some miles (and additional road grunge) they required another 'service'. Takes all of 5 minutes. Hope this helps you out... Cheers.

Thx Montana,

Yes, that dreaded e-brake cable rears it's head in many ways~!

Something in the rear end of our '04 squealed/squeaked over bumps or ripples in the road after about the first few weeks, then it stopped after more driving. Hasn't had the noise since, I think.

I have a 2003 Z71 burb and have simliar issues. I have recently repalced shocks and still have sound coming from rear suspension. Just wondering if it's anything to worry about.

Thanks

Todd

Yep gotta lean towards what everybody else has already pointed out ..... except mine was up front. They did the shaft lube for me and put some clear gel from a small tube around my shocks bushings.

Youve got a horse in your truck.

Talk about an old post, 2006

i know heh, i have been looking at posts for squeeky suspension. came across this and giggled a lil. got new keys and now i got a annoying squeak coming from under my truck.. the squeaks get more annoying durring normal driving but stop (somewhat) on larger bumps... so far havent found anything