EI07097 - Creak, Pop, Clunk Noise, Rear Strut, Upper Mount, Suspension (Engineering Information)

Important:  If the customer did not bring their vehicle in for this issue, DO NOT proceed with this bulletin.

Some customers may comment on a creak, pop, or clunk noise coming from the rear of the vehicle.

GM Engineering is attempting to determine the root cause of concerns for clunks or noises coming from the rear suspension. GM has a need to obtain technical information from the dealer technician, during diagnosis and PRIOR to repair. As a result, this information will be used by engineering to help root-cause the customer's concern and develop/validate a field fix.

During diagnosis of the customer's concern, document the following information on the repair order.

1. What is the customer's concern? Be specific.
2. When did the customer first notice the concern?
3. Under what circumstances can the concern be duplicated?
4. Does the vehicle currently exhibit the condition?

•	YES -- Go to Step 5.

•	NO -- no further repairs are required; do not proceed with this bulletin.

5. To determine the source of the noise, install J 39570 -- Chassis Ears to the following components:

-	Rear Strut Mount

-	Trailing Arm

-	Stabilizer Link

-

Knuckle

6. Drive the vehicle to duplicate the customer's concern. Document on the repair order which side/component the noise is being emitted from.
7. Is the noise coming from either rear strut assembly (through the leads attached to the rear strut mount)?

•	YES -- Go to Step 8.

•	NO -- diagnose and repair the customer's concern according to SI. Do not proceed with this bulletin.

8. To determine which component in the strut assembly is the source of the noise, install J 39750 -- Chassis Ears to the following components:

-	Strut Mount

-

Strut

-

Spring

9. Drive the vehicle to duplicate the customer's concern. Can you determine which component is making the noise?

•	YES -- note on the repair order, which component the noise is being emitted from. Go to Step 10.

•	NO -- Go to Step 11.

Notice: The knuckle must be retained after the strut-to-knuckle bolts have been removed. Failure to observe this may cause ball joint and/or wheel drive shaft damage.

Important:  Do not disassemble the strut assembly. The complete strut assembly will be requested back through the Warranty Parts Center return process.

10. Replace the complete suspect strut assembly. Complete strut assemblies are not available through GMSPO. Order the components as listed in the Parts Information section of this bulletin to complete the repair.

Tighten
Tighten the strut to knuckle bolts and nuts to 120N·m (89 lb ft).

Tighten
Tighten the strut to body mount nuts to 45N·m (33 lb ft).

11. Return the strut assembly to the Parts Department. The Warranty Parts Center (WPC) will request the return of the strut assembly. DO NOT return the parts until the Parts Request is received. Follow the instructions in Corporate Bulletin Number 99-00-89-019C when returning the parts.

Important: If diagnosis leads to the replacement of the complete strut assembly, the following components must be ordered. Complete strut assemblies are not available through GMSPO. Parts listed below are required to replace ONE strut assembly.