A couple months ago, my '03 GMC Sportside (reg. cab 1/2 ton) developed a creak during sharp steering. At that time, the truck had only about 10K miles.
The dealership identified this as an "intermediate shaft" issue & applied a little custom-fit grease kit. The mechanic said it was pretty common on late model Chevy/GMC pickups & showed me a decent-size box full of used lube kits (which looked sorta like syringes).
The creaking went away, but after 3 weeks of wet weather it seems to be coming back. I've only put about 5K miles on it since the service.
Questions:
(1) Is this problem as common as the mechanic suggested?
(2) Should I *demand* they replace rather than lube? Or is the part design flawed (i.e. is a new shaft would be equally likely to go creaky)?
(3) Should I learn how to apply the lube kit as insurance for when the warranty expires? Are the kits available except at dealerships?
Joe