Okay so i've had this noise since i bought the truck...rotational like a tire. I never have had a vehicle with oversized(31") tires before and it was safetied so i figured it was a normal noise. Then i raise my tire pressure from 30ish to 35psi as i do with all my vehicles. Now i have a vibration over 110kms per hour on the highway. Mess with pressures, can't get vibration to go away. Put practically new spare up on left front, no change, put it to right front and vibration almost goes away...sound remains. Get alignment done as tires on front wearing more on inside, replace left upper ball joint and pitman arm at that time. Front tires diagnosed as bad, back okay. Order two new tires...week goes buy, noise gets louder. Buy two new tires, put on back...move existing back up to front. Figure noise would go away with bad tires but no change. No more vibration but noise remains.

It's not a metalic or screechy, squeaky noise... just low and rotational.

I've had ujoints suggested... not sure how to check. There is play in the front driveshaft, as in i can turn it slightly in either direction...rear doesn't move... is that normal? Anything else to check?

I can record the noise tomorrow if that would help

thanks

 

Does the noise change pitch when you turn?

I am thinking hub bearings or cv shaft.

One other thing to eliminate, get up to speed and make sure your the onlyone on the road, put it in nuetral and see if the noise stops or does it still change with vehicle speed?

 

The noise does not change pitch when i turn. It only changes with speed.

I can try the neutral thing later today.

EDIT: How do I test the hub bearings and cv shaft?

 

To test the hub bearings jack it up and try to rock the tire in the 6 to 12 direction. If it moves, loose bearing.

About the only check for Cv axles is to see if the boot has a tear/hole in it. If so most of the grease will be all over the bottom of the truck, but not always.

Another option is too find a reputable alignment shop and get a free front end inspection. They will give you a quote on cost of repairs if they find anything. I doubt the qoute will specify which side needs the work done on it, so ask before you leave.

 

Sounds like a bad wheel bearing in the hub assembly

 

I jacked up both sides last night and checked for wheel play, 6 to 12 and 3 to 9. Nothing. I do hear the odd pop when turning slowly in parking lots... but when i went for the alignment last week they checked all the suspension components and wouldnt' do the alignment until i replaced the left front upper ball joint and pitman arm...so i assume that means all the other suspension parts are fine or they would have told me to replace them as well(or should i say offer to replace them at my cost ).

I think i'm going to record it and post tonight so you can hear it. I'll check for tears in the cv boot and excess grease tonight when i get home.

As for the bearing would i hear anything if i just spun the wheel manually while jacked up? I did that on the passenger side as quickly as i could and i heard nothing.

 

Look forward to hearing it.

You generally wont be able to hear abad bearing by spinning the tire by hand, unless it was totallywasted and practically falling apart. Generally with a badhub bearing assemble you will hear a change in noise when you trun the vehicle at speed. Like if you where to drive at 55 or so and sea-saw teh wheel back and forth.Simlar to a quick lane change at highway speeds. The worsethe bearing gets, the less speedneeded to make the noise.

Popping noise in turns, side streets, is typically aball joint, which you already mentioned needs replacing. The noise you hear could be due tothe worn ball joint, not typically,however worn parts can do strange things.

 

I dont' think it's a bearing then because it doesn't change when i turn at any speed.

here's a clip... i apologize for the crappy audio, it almost sounds like the rumble of a nice v8

http://www.kwfbody.com/images/noisyblazer.AVI

Oh, and i checked out the cv(at least what i think they are) and boots look good, newish actually and I dont' see grease anywhere it shouldn't be.

 

Is the sound on one side? Also, does it disappear when you engage 4HI from 2HI and then return in 2HI? I haven't listened to the sound yet, but I have a feeling something will be lost in translation.

Is the sound sporadic or are you always hearing it now?

 

It's not obvious from the sound whether it's one side or not. I 'think' it's from the passenger front but that's really just a guess. There is a slight vibration felt by the passenger's feet from that corner too.

I havent' tried in and out of 4wheel drive.

The noise is constant. The only times i dont' hear it seem to be hard cornering to the right...so i'm really suspecting a bearing now.

The alignment of the truck seems to have regressed... the steering wheel is once again off and the dirvers front wheel seems to have shifted with negative camber now.

As it turns out i have had a stroke of luck..the shop that did the alignment is looking at it for free. Turns out their mechanic that did the alignment(who has been fired for various reasons) left a wrench and socket attached to my upper control arm and the shop manager agreed with me that it was an unacceptable safety issue and they're working diligently today to make it right

I should know what the noise is today and if they're willing to fix it i'll let them... otherwise i'll probably do it over the weekend..but i'm very confident it's a bearing that went bad due to the tire vibration and misalignment.

EDIT: Well the shop just called. They claim everything was tight so other than doing another alignment for free i'm on my own. The right front bearing is the big problem behind the noise but the other side has play as does the upper right ball joint now. Man this stuff goes fast! So i have to replace those parts first(their quote was 1400$) and then they'll do a fee alignment. What a money pit i've gotten myself into.