Makes front end noise

Hi there,

I would start with checking the wheel bearings, the rumble you describe could well be a failing wheel bearing, check out the video below it shows the job being done on a similar car

https://youtu.be/qOAyXfPo7Z0

mark (mhpautos)

I am assuming it is not engine noise and you are sure of that. Check the lower control arm bushings as well as ball joints.

Hi there,

Best you get this looked at by a mechanic ASAP, there are a lot of things that this could be and any bad noise in the steering or suspension can be very serious indeed, have this inspected now!

Mark (mhpautos)

Wheel bearing. You can't go by sound to determine which one. You must run it in gear and jacked up, then listen with a stethoscope.

Make sure your wheel lugnuts are all tight.

If it shakes it was really bad a long time ago. Noisy and loose are not the same thing. The single biggest thing that ruins a new bearing is putting weight on it before the spindle nut is tight. To hold the wheel / axle from turning, some people install the wheel then set the tire on the ground to hold it when they tighten the nut. At that point the bearing was damaged. What works much better is sticking a punch in the cooling slots of the rotor to keep it from turning. The torque value is very high too, typically between 180 and 240 foot pounds. Don't rely on feel; use a click-type torque wrench. If you don't have to grunt when tightening the nut, it isn't tight enough.

Dont buy the chinese bearings.

Make sure the bearings are properly adjusted. Also, make sure there are no shifted belts in the tires. You may want to rotate the tires to see if the sound changes to the rear.

Try that and let me know what you find.

Joe

Those complete assemblies cost more than the older pressed-in bearings but are much easier to replace. GM has always used the bolt-on assemblies. Chrysler started on a few models in '87; now they all use that style. Ford took a long time to totally switch over but I think that's all they use now.

On most of these with the bolt-on style, you absolutely can not tell which bearing is noisy even when it sounds like it is coming from a certain corner. You have to jack it up and run it in gear, then listen next to each one with a stethoscope.

Real common for the wheel bearing to make a noise like an airplane engine. The problem is on vehicles with bolt-on style hub assemblies, it is impossible to tell which one is noisy. It can sound like the noise is coming from the right side and still be the left one that is bad. The good news is if you replace the wrong one you can put the old one on the other side.

To tell or sure which one is noisy, raise the truck so all four tires are off the ground, then run it in gear and 4wd. Listen next to each bearing with a stethoscope. You'll be able to tell the difference between the one that sounds a little noisy and the other one that is REALLY noisy.

Caradiodoc