1998 Suburban K1500 4wd problem

Hello there,

I am a new owner of a beautiful 1998 Suburban, have a problem and need help - as there aren't any Chevy dealers here in Slovakia :D

The car runs without any Problems as long as in 2wd mode. No noise, no nothing, just enjoying the ride... The switching into 4hi or 4lo as itself also runs without any problems, blinks 3 or 4 times and it is engaged. The real problem is, when I try to move the car from a stopped position. The front axle acts like I would have my parking brake on, the car needs power to become moving, after it reaches about 10 km/h everyhing is fine and the car is driveable without any problems. During the acceleration until 10 km/h the front and rear wheels somehow slip for 1 or 2 seconds. All of this is mostly noticeable when steering to the left or right from a stopped position. When switching to 4auto and starting from a stopped position, the car sometimes nearly "jumps" does a very fast movement to the front and stops afterwards when trying to accelerate.

Can anybody tell me where to look and what might be the problem ? I am very helpfull for ANY hints as there is NONE Chevrolet dealer or service in the whole country :-)

Thank you.

Reply to
etiennesk
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Reply to
Chevrolet

IT kinda sounds like it has a different axle ratio in front and rear. It is possible that someone replace the rfront or rear drive axle and did not match up the axle ratios. Look in the glove box for a code like GU6, GT4 or GT5 and then jack up rear axle and see how many turns of driveshaft it takes to turn wheels one revolution. It is either that or the front drive axle is damaged internally

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Reply to
SnoMan

Can anybody tell me where to look and what might be the problem ? I am >>> very helpful for ANY hints as there is NONE Chevrolet dealer or >>> service in the whole country :-) Are you on pavement by any chance? You will get jerking motions unless the ground is soft enough for slippage as the wheels have to travel at different speeds while turning.

Reply to
DAvid Norris

Not realy that much with a GM IFS front axle because it has CV's in front axle that removes the jerking and whipping caused by ujoints (which are not constant velocity in a a turn) in a solid front axle. All you will get a a bit of bind and overall drag in a turn for differences in rolling radiuses but no whipping. If axle ratios are different thought it will really act funning in 4x4 striaght or turning.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Reply to
SnoMan

Well, if it is normal, I am not so worried anymore.

But... the question is, why when I turn on the 4x4 auto function (on dry pavement) the whole car strangely accelerates ? The whole car acts like if I would give full gas and full brake at the same time..

SnoMan nap=EDsal(a):

Reply to
etiennesk

But... the question is, why when I turn on the 4x4 auto function (on dry pavement) the whole car strangely accelerates ? The whole car acts like if I would give full gas and full brake at the same time..

It's not designed to be used in 4x4 on dry pavement. It's called driveline binding. By doing that you will damage driveline parts. It's a 4x4 system made for low traction roads / surfaces. It's not like a AWD car, its' a heavy duty American truck.

Reply to
Repairman

Very ggod point. It is not AWD fulltime 4wd with a differentail between front and rear axle and it is not meant to be in 4x4 drive on dry pavement. THere is a lot of misconceptions out there on proper use of 4x4. Back in 70's they have fulltime 4x4 drive system in trucks that tolerated 4wd in dry pavement while modern system do not and they are not really heavy duty either compared to trucks of old, just not AWD because I have a old 78 J20 Jeep truck that has fulltime AWD and it is very heavy duty too.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Reply to
SnoMan

He specifically mentioned the "auto4hi" function...which is in fact designed to be used on dry pavement. You will not get driveline binding on dry pavement when in the auto4hi position.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

Didn't see that, I stand corrected. If it's all stock it looks like T case issues.

Reply to
Repairman

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