Help Request - Front End Vibration/Hum

[anotherrunner83]

i did let the truck coast, in neutral a few times to verify this, my noise is constant. coasting does not change the noise. hard acceleration the noise will lessen and right turns/curves that cause a little body roll will lessen/stop the noise.

 

[NuclearN8]

this sucks man. I hate to see anyone just throw money at a fix, hoping it works.... ugh. Do you have the luxury of just driving it until something breaks? Or at least gets worse so it easier to diagnose?...

 

[anotherrunner83]

this sucks man. I hate to see anyone just throw money at a fix, hoping it works.... ugh. Do you have the luxury of just driving it until something breaks? Or at least gets worse so it easier to diagnose?...

you're telling me! your thought above is exactly why i drove it to work today. it's either going to mystically go away, or it's going to get worse and show it's ugly little head and i'll be able to find it. the fear i have with this is that if a wheel bearing fails, it could be very ugly. it's not pulling one way or another, so i don't think i'm on the verge of that failure yet, plus, there are two bearings in there.

 

[nevada]

you're telling me! your thought above is exactly why i drove it to work today. it's either going to mystically go away, or it's going to get worse and show it's ugly little head and i'll be able to find it. the fear i have with this is that if a wheel bearing fails, it could be very ugly. it's not pulling one way or another, so i don't think i'm on the verge of that failure yet, plus, there are two bearings in there.

it will start making a lot more noise before that happens. they wont just fall off. also, the rotor/caliper bracket will contain things a bit if it gets really bad.

if its a concern, just jack if up and shake the tire occasionally. it will get very loose long before it comes apart.

 

[anotherrunner83]

not worried about it falling off, more worried about it locking up. if it falls off, i have a whole other list of problems

 

[Greydog]

Right rear bearing unloading and the sound lessens?

Have you tried cruising down the highway at say 65 and let off the gas and carefully sway the chassis left and right ?

This was how I diagnosed my rear bearing after the fronts were replaced and similar sound was still there (different speed)

My fronts made noise in the 40-50 range and the rear bearing made noise in the 60 plus range.

 

[anotherrunner83]

i drove this sucker over 1500 miles down to Gulf Shores and back. The noise was there pretty much the whole way down and the whole way back. Was there at nearly every speed. The only time I notice it go away is on nice sweeping right hand turns where I can get some body roll. Slow maneuvers where the body doesn't roll doesn't change anything. As soon as I start rolling all the way to 80 mph, I have this hum. It does get louder the faster you go. Around 30 mph it's enough to cause something in the dash to rattle. It's. Great. FUN.

 

[anotherrunner83]

whomp whomp whomp whomp...sh!t is annoying as all get out. couldn't take it anymore. ordered another hub assembly last night. will post back when i get it changed out. pretty confident this is the culprit. hate seeing my truck down like this.

 

[Guitarplaya39]

By your description, Im experiencing the exact same issue. I too have also just been throwing money at it until i figure it out! I replaced my left front bearing because I thought I felt a slight "click" when I shook it, but alas, new bearing/hub didnt fix it. I did notice that the lower ball joint on that side looks a bit raggedy. Wonder if that could cause issues like this?

 

[28.]

[MENTION=51222]anotherrunner83[/MENTION] Have you thought about driving it around W/O the spacers in place to see if anything changes? Not completely sure about what all you've done to your rig. A really good way to test your wheel bearings is to lift it, grab the wheel(tire) at 10 and 2 o'clock and push and pull. then try 12 and 6 o'clock and do the same. If the wheel has any play in and out at top and bottom it's more than likely a bad bearing. When mine took a crap, it would cause a vibration all the way up to my steering wheel at speeds between 55 and 65 mph with a distinct hum that varied with the speed.. Plus your tire on the side of a bad bearig will start to wear unevenly with the inside usually wearing out alot quicker.. As far as the spacer theory, try to remember if this started after installing them but removing them eliminates another factor.. Just a thought anyway. Man I hope you find it cause crap like this does suck. Good luck..

 

[anotherrunner83]

I've tried all the twisting and shaking, i don't think i've been able to overcome that 217 ft lbs on the axle nut that's holding everything together. I have a vibration back up through the steering wheel as well, but i have it from about 15 mph on up. i've convinced myself it has to be the driver side wheel bearing.

 

[Greydog]

I had to buy a bernzomatic MAP gas torch from Home Depot ($50) to heat mine up, worked like a charm. The nut broke loose pretty easily.

Also, use 6 inch extension and a breaker bar and support the eztension near the breaker bar end with a jack stand so you can put all the leverage into te bar.

 

[28.]

I've tried all the twisting and shaking, i don't think i've been able to overcome that 217 ft lbs on the axle nut that's holding everything together. I have a vibration back up through the steering wheel as well, but i have it from about 15 mph on up. i've convinced myself it has to be the driver side wheel bearing.

Well you wont overcome the axle nut itself, but the nut is actually holding the hub tight.. If your bearings are bad though the wheel will move back and forth while not actually moving the hub itself......

 

[anotherrunner83]

FIXED. :humble::banana:

Driver side wheel bearing was bad. I could feel and hear it as soon as I had it off. Still confused as to why I couldn't hear it when i was spinning the wheel before. I'm guessing it's isolated by all of the material around the hub.

After going through this, I've tried to reflect on a better way to diagnose which side was going bad. The turning left or right method does not work for our type of bearings. We have two tapered bearings on both sides. Each bearing will load or unload based on which way you are turning (i.e. inside right will load with outside left and vice versa when turning the opposite way). With the 35 mm axle nut torqued to 217 ft lbs, you aren't going to be able to shake the wheel, so don't expect to hear or feel it wiggle. This all said, I didn't come up with much on trying to diagnose which side, sorry fellas.

My best advice, buy two hub assemblies going in from a source that will allow you to return one, if you decide to do so. The job takes about an hour and a half per side as long as you have the full hub assembly. It is not a difficult task. For a few hours of labor and a few hundred dollars, you can have two new wheel bearings done for less than what the dealer wants to do one side. Since bearings typically fail based on cycles, odds are if one is failing, the other isn't too far behind.

 

[anotherrunner83]

Well you wont overcome the axle nut itself, but the nut is actually holding the hub tight.. If your bearings are bad though the wheel will move back and forth while not actually moving the hub itself......

this is true IF both bearings have failed. Odds are, only one in the pair is bad. I highly doubt you will overcome the good bearing and get it to move.

Thanks everyone for all of the input. I wish I was able to give a clear "ah-ha", but I haven't been able to come up with it yet.

 

[nevada]

FIXED. :humble::banana:

Driver side wheel bearing was bad. I could feel and hear it as soon as I had it off. Still confused as to why I couldn't hear it when i was spinning the wheel before. I'm guessing it's isolated by all of the material around the hub.

After going through this, I've tried to reflect on a better way to diagnose which side was going bad. The turning left or right method does not work for our type of bearings. We have two tapered bearings on both sides. Each bearing will load or unload based on which way you are turning (i.e. inside right will load with outside left and vice versa when turning the opposite way). With the 35 mm axle nut torqued to 217 ft lbs, you aren't going to be able to shake the wheel, so don't expect to hear or feel it wiggle. This all said, I didn't come up with much on trying to diagnose which side, sorry fellas.

My best advice, buy two hub assemblies going in from a source that will allow you to return one, if you decide to do so. The job takes about an hour and a half per side as long as you have the full hub assembly. It is not a difficult task. For a few hours of labor and a few hundred dollars, you can have two new wheel bearings done for less than what the dealer wants to do one side. Since bearings typically fail based on cycles, odds are if one is failing, the other isn't too far behind.

the front bearings on all vehicles are this way. be it a unit hub assembly, or individual bearings.

a stethoscope is the way to do it. sometimes you have to get the tire spinning very quickly(50mph+), typically "at idle" wont do it.
also, MOST times when a bearing fails, you will get noticeable, and very obvious play. its more rare that it fails while still tight.
had you driven on yours long enough, it would have developed play also. the axle nut has no bearing on this, as it only holds the inner races together.



glad that you got it fixed.

 

[anotherrunner83]

i'm not sticking my hand, or any tool in that tight space with anything rotating that fast! that's a lot of mass rotating at a pretty good clip. having the whole truck on jackstands and wheels spinning at 50 mph or better is either asking for a new exit out the back of my garage or possibly really injuring who ever is in the drunk getting the wheels up to speed. if i had a lift, this wouldn't be so bad. on a creeper with the truck on stands, not a chance. I do appreciate all of your input through this.

 

[nevada]

i'm not sticking my hand, or any tool in that tight space with anything rotating that fast! that's a lot of mass rotating at a pretty good clip. having the whole truck on jackstands and wheels spinning at 50 mph or better is either asking for a new exit out the back of my garage or possibly really injuring who ever is in the drunk getting the wheels up to speed. if i had a lift, this wouldn't be so bad. on a creeper with the truck on stands, not a chance. I do appreciate all of your input through this.

that's exactly how we do it at the shop.
I understand you might not be comfortable doing it, but that is how its done.

 

[beerferri]

FIXED. :humble::banana:

Driver side wheel bearing was bad. I could feel and hear it as soon as I had it off. Still confused as to why I couldn't hear it when i was spinning the wheel before. I'm guessing it's isolated by all of the material around the hub.

After going through this, I've tried to reflect on a better way to diagnose which side was going bad. The turning left or right method does not work for our type of bearings. We have two tapered bearings on both sides. Each bearing will load or unload based on which way you are turning (i.e. inside right will load with outside left and vice versa when turning the opposite way). With the 35 mm axle nut torqued to 217 ft lbs, you aren't going to be able to shake the wheel, so don't expect to hear or feel it wiggle. This all said, I didn't come up with much on trying to diagnose which side, sorry fellas.

My best advice, buy two hub assemblies going in from a source that will allow you to return one, if you decide to do so. The job takes about an hour and a half per side as long as you have the full hub assembly. It is not a difficult task. For a few hours of labor and a few hundred dollars, you can have two new wheel bearings done for less than what the dealer wants to do one side. Since bearings typically fail based on cycles, odds are if one is failing, the other isn't too far behind.

Has the problem returned?

 

[TowelThief]

I want to piggyback off the OP here.

I had the same symptoms and same results.

At about 160k I would hear very slight humming when going around some turns

At 170k I started to get floorboard vibrations at high speed on the highway. Thought it could be anything. CVs , bearings, tie rods, drive shaft. So I greased my joints and shafts. Replaced tie rods. Got an alignment. Look at the front diff.

The alignment people couldn't even hear the noise.

My inside driver cv axle boot spit some grease too but I cleaned it up and it never spit again.

At about 178 I noticed that the vibrations and hum got louder and when I would go through a sweeping right turn they would all go away and it was so good to hear silence.

My inside right cv axle boot then started spitting grease. I'm guessing because of the vibrations.

Then at about 182k I found this thread and bought a bearing assembly from the New Jersey guy on the forums. Just put it in at 184k. Front driver side bearing. All vibrations are gone. I can hear the wind and my rides smoother. I love these vehicles.