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So, you're rolling away from a stop
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sign, just creeping along at about four
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or five miles an hour, and your truck
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makes that weird clunk, squeak, or
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groan. Yeah, not exactly confidence
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inspiring. Hey folks, Tom here from Car
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Justify, and I've seen this one more
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times than I can count. In my shop, it's
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practically a weekly guest star. Now,
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noises right after a full stop at low
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speeds can come from a few different
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culprits, but the good news is most of
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them are pretty straightforward to track
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down. The trick is figuring out if it's
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coming from the brakes, the suspension,
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or even the drive line. I know that
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sounds like half the truck, but hang
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with me. We'll narrow it down. If it's
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more of a squeak or chirp, first thing
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I'd check is the brakes. At those low
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speeds, the brake pads can drag just a
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bit if they're worn unevenly or if
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there's a bit of rust on the rotors.
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It's like your truck's whispering, "Hey,
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I'm still holding on." If it goes away
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after a few stops, that's usually
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surface rust burning off. If it stays,
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could be time to clean and grease the
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caliper slide pins or maybe replace the
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pads. Now, if it's a solid clunk or
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thunk right as you start rolling, that
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can be a suspension or drive line thing.
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One classic example is worn suspension
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bushings, little rubber cushions that
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keep metal parts from smacking into each
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other. When they wear out, you get that
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low-speed thud as everything shifts. I
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had a buddy Silverado in here last week
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that sounded like it was carrying a
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bowling ball in the front end. turned
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out to be just a tired lower control arm
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bushing. Another sneaky cause, slip yolk
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binding on the drive shaft. On rear
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wheel drive trucks, when you stop, the
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drive shaft compresses a little into the
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transmission. If that slip yolk's dry or
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rusty, it'll stick, then release with a
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clunk when you roll forward. Little dab
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of the right grease in there can make it
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vanish like magic. And yes, I've seen
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folks swap entire transmissions before
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realizing it was just that. Don't forget
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wheel bearings, although at these
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speeds, they usually growl more than
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clunk. If you jack up the wheel and give
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it a wiggle side to side, there
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shouldn't be any play. If there is,
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well, there's your noise maker. Here's a
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quick way to play detective. Next time
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it happens, lightly ride the brakes as
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you roll away. If the noise changes or
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disappears, it's probably brake related.
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If it doesn't change, start thinking
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suspension or drive line. Oh, and always
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check for loose lug nuts. Sounds silly,
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but you'd be amazed how often that's the
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fix. So, to recap, brake squeaks, check
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pads, rotors, and caliper slides.
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Clunks, look at suspension bushings or
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the drive shaft slip yolk. Growls,
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inspect those wheel bearings. It's all
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about isolating the sound, one suspect
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at a time. All right, that's it from me.
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Keep your truck happy and it'll keep you
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rolling. If this helped you track down
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that mystery noise, hit that like button
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and subscribe for more driveway friendly
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car tips. and drop your own weird noise
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stories in the comments. I love hearing
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the strange stuff trucks get up to.
