Front End Squeaking

[FordKid7.3]

I have a 2003 7.3 250 w/316 thousand miles, within the last 5 thousand miles a squeaking sound started coming from my front end it started off intermittent and difficult to hear unless you were really listening but it has become louder and happens every time its driven now. it only happens when the truck is in motion (forward & reverse) and when the truck is under its own weight once up on a lift it wont squeak. it sounds to me as if two pieces of metal are rubbing against each other and seems to be directly related to rotation of the tire i took it to a local shop where without looking at it it was believed to be the wheel bearings but that shop was unable to do the work i then took it to another shop where after 3 mechanics drove it they insisted it wasnt the wheel bearing since the sound never changed pitch or stopped it remained the same constant sound and basically said they werent sure what it was and did not want to charge me unnecessary labor hours taking it apart to find nothing so they told me to wait for it to get worse and then bring it back so they could more easily identify it. Does anyone have any similar problems any suggestions would be helpful

[02strokerlbcc]

Originally Posted by FordKid7.3

I have a 2003 7.3 250 w/316 thousand miles, within the last 5 thousand miles a squeaking sound started coming from my front end it started off intermittent and difficult to hear unless you were really listening but it has become louder and happens every time its driven now. it only happens when the truck is in motion (forward & reverse) and when the truck is under its own weight once up on a lift it wont squeak. it sounds to me as if two pieces of metal are rubbing against each other and seems to be directly related to rotation of the tire i took it to a local shop where without looking at it it was believed to be the wheel bearings but that shop was unable to do the work i then took it to another shop where after 3 mechanics drove it they insisted it wasnt the wheel bearing since the sound never changed pitch or stopped it remained the same constant sound and basically said they werent sure what it was and did not want to charge me unnecessary labor hours taking it apart to find nothing so they told me to wait for it to get worse and then bring it back so they could more easily identify it. Does anyone have any similar problems any suggestions would be helpful

Sounds to me like body mounts. Mine has 233k miles and squeaks under my feet on the drivers side all the time, the rubber bushings on the body mounts wear out over time and you'll get a squeak or a "pop" sound. Not going to hurt anything, so I wouldn't get too excited about it.

[Turbostang500]

Did anything feel loose in the front end when you had it on the lift?

Also, does "squeak" definitely describe what you are hearing?
To me a squeak is something 02stroker described but what you described
In my mind would be something closer to grinding.

A very "fitting" word will help everyone that is going to try and help you.