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Creaking K5

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climbingmadman2000

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Jul 20, 2004
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Location
Menlo Park, CA
I've got a 73 that I just spent a day in Hollister Hills SVRA with. Lots of fun, but the thing was noisy...even minor articulation caused creaks, groans, and a couple of loud BANGs! What's causing this? Worn bushings? Worn weatherstrip? Worse?

How hard is it to replace suspension bushings...is this something I should hold off until I'm ready to do a lift?
 
Could be a combination of things . I popped the spot weld on the rocker area where the bedsides meet there , flexing my truck /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
I've got the same thing with my '73. Even the articulation created when I go off the curb (6") causes some uncomfortable creaks, quiet bangs, and groans. The PO was a POS as far as wrenching goes. It looks like when my K5 was repainted, he took all the body panels off to do it, I dont think it went back together exactly like it should have. I also have some suspension issues that I hope will clear up when I go with 3" ford 57" springs, new shocks, whatnot. Anyway, I'm interested to see what others have to say about this.
 
my 87 blazer makes some weird noises and is pretty loud while flexing. I figure its just worn bushings and body mounts. I dont worry too much about just grease everything up real good and maybe check your ball joints and what not for the loud pops and bangs. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
Thanks, next time I'm under it I'll try to get at everything with a grease gun. I did have it lubed recently, so hopefully the noises aren't coming from the steering gear. I do know the fiberglass top is partly the culprit...just old. I'd love to pull the top off and go wheeling with it, to see the difference.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I thought the same thing with my 72, it creaked like hell so I took off the hard top and got a soft top. Took it out again and it creaks a LITTLE less, but still loud as hell. It seems to me though that the tailgate is the source of the most noise, so I'm going to try and fix that first.
 
I did a little off roading in my 72 K5 I had years ago with the roof off--once!--I thought it sounded bad with the roof on,all my patchwork on the floors and cab mounts were flexing and buckling under my feet with the roof on--after the roof was off,I went back to the sandpits and wheeled some more--it sounded much worse,and I actually could feel the body bending!--when I went to get out,the door would no longer open!(good thing the roof was off!)--now I know why many of the trucks people build for off roading have no doors or 1/2 doors!.Took me about a day to get my doors to open and shut normally again!. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
The old Chilton's manual that came with my truck says that a little grease around the tailgate parts will help reduce some "dreadful groans"
 
I just went wheeling this weekend in my 75. Top on. The trail was not difficult but it was rocky as hell. Not rubicon size boulders, just lots of rocks on the trail. My 75 made more creaks groans and pops than it ever has. most of this was climbing in 4hi-granny lo all the way up so speeds were low. I could hear the floor making an "oil can" type pop, the windows rattled in the tracks, the top popped and the gate creaked like an old man getting out of bed in the morning.

Outside of a full cage (which is in the plans) not much to do to fix it. Let's put it this way, the body flexed enough to have one of the bolts on the top (at the windshield header) back all the way out and land in my lap within 50 ft of the end of the trail. Plus my passenger side window fell out of it's rear track it got shook so bad.

I know for sure the top is not coming off until I get a cage and fix the A-piller on the driver's side. Some A$$hat PO put a 1/2" hole in it to put a moveable spotlight (like cops have). The light is long gone, but the hole is still there with a crack that runs around 75% of the a-piller /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.

I'm planning on line-x or duraback liner for the interior of the tub and that might calm the popping too.
 
If anyone knows the answer, I'd love to hear it. My 83 creaks and pops with just small articulation, like driving one side up on the curb or something. My best guess is it's the leaf springs trying to slide across each other, but I can't prove it. Every now and then I try to soak the thinks down with lube, but I'm not sure if it's helping any.
 
Ditto... my 72 creaks alot just going off a curb. I have done all kinds of things to fix it, but none have helped. I have replaced the bushings (beat to hell), greased between the springs, andded teflon plates between the springs, tightend all the body mounts, but not greasing the tail gate.

I do have some rot at the tailgate, and the rockers are not attached at the bottom edge.

My truck has a soft top and full cage- and still flexes (dents in the doors from the cage)

lets hear some other ideas?
 
All Blazers do it. My 72 flexed so hard that neither door opened ever again, the dash bezel rings popped off and the windshield cracked. My 89 pops the roof everytime, big ol' THONGGGG sound in every hole, I have pics somewhere of the flex dents on the cab roof in deep holes or big rocks. They are all a bit flexy. Taking the top off makes them even flexier. Mounts and bushings can help, but older GM's are just noisy on the trail.
 
my 89 dose it to it was funny as hell watchin my GF jump out of the seat when the roof went off like a gunshot!!!!!!
/forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif oh well the roof is coming off this next summer so that should fix it /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 
I have never heard creaks from the body of my pickup like I hear from a Blazer every time I'm on the trail.
 
my '73 pops and makes all sorts of noises just driving to work. Thought it was just the bondo and rust falling out. /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gifpieces of the wood bed wouldn't make them sounds. Since the body mount under the drivers floorboard isn't there much more the door sometimes even tries to come unlatched when going over little hills. /forums/images/graemlins/1zhelp.gif
 
Slapping a lift on your truck will cure a good portion of the noises. At least the ones caused by worn leaf spring bushings. In the mean time, check that all your bolts are tight, to include suspension and steering and make sure everything is greased. Check around your steering box for cracks, as flexing can make the metal on each side of the crack to "click" against eachother. Pay special attention to you sway bar bushings is you have a sway bar installed. Even if all of your bushings look ok, they may be dry inside causing them to creak. Go buy a can of white lithium grease and spray it on all the bushings and let them soak for awhile. Take her out for some frame tweaking again and respray when you get home. Them grease alone will probably solve 80% of your creaks. Just reapply when they come back until you get some new bushings.
 
Good idea. I know at least one of the swaybar bushing mounts is cracked...I'm going to spend some time underneath it in a couple weeks and I'll try the lithium grease route.

The PO LOVED this truck...I bought it almost completely stock and the guy kept meticulous track of everything he'd done, including a new GM Goodwrench 350, rb trans, rb rear axle, and at some point he's replaced almost everything else including all the smog components, etc etc. I'm a little surprised he didn't do all the rubber bushings, mounts, etc.

I'm the second owner after 31 years. Love the old iron...

I was just reading the thread about how much people have spent on their rigs and have decided that perhaps patience and persistence is better than impertinently buying all new parts all the time /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 
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