Grinding/vibration in front end.....

[HVAC SuperTech]

Hey everyone, I have a slight grinding/vibration noise comming from the front end. It kinda sounds like the vacume pump running, but I can feel it in the steering wheel sometimes when I am going slower, and making a turn. Its not like the feeling like when you have in in 4wd, or nothing. Any idea what this is? Power steering maybe? I hear it more often than not when I am comming to a stop and turning the wheel slightly say as in a parking lot. sometimes, I can just turn the wheel back and forth and get it to do it too.

[ponyponer]

could be ball joints. they make all kinds of different noises. most of the time they make a noise going over bumps that sounds like popcorn popping. thats the most common. i've also known them to make a woosh noise that sounds like water is swishing around. i guess they could grind too. most of the time you will feel some vibration in the wheel and on the floor upon acceleration between 25 and 50 mph approximately. hope that helps.

[HVAC SuperTech]

I do hear the popping noise too, like when i am going over really rough blacktop, or washboards on gravel roads.

[DunesRunner08]

Your hubs could be bad.... or the wheel bearings

[HVAC SuperTech]

oh god, hope its not the hubs......how is a sure fire test for the hubs? or the bearings? I have heard you can take the hubs aprt to lube them, but how you do that?

[DunesRunner08]

FIRE SUIT ON!!!!


the best fix for all of these trucks is the Dynatrac Free Spin kit

[elbo989]

Taking the hubs apart can be a pain in the a$$ but if you take your time and pay attention to how it came apart it can be done. As far as the wheel bearings if I'm not mistaken you can jack the front end up and try moving the wheel up and down. If there is excessive play you might have bad wheel bearings.

[HVAC SuperTech]

yeah, them free spin kits are horribly expensive!!!!

[DunesRunner08]

worth every penny though.... and yeah you can check for wear on the wheel bearing by getting the tire off the ground and checking for excess play

[siloped]

If you jack up on the axle, one side at a time, grabthe wheel at 6 and 12 o'clock and pull on it alternating top to bottom, if you have play it is bad.

Originally Posted by ponyponer

could be ball joints. they make all kinds of different noises. most of the time they make a noise going over bumps that sounds like popcorn popping. thats the most common. i've also known them to make a woosh noise that sounds like water is swishing around. i guess they could grind too. most of the time you will feel some vibration in the wheel and on the floor upon acceleration between 25 and 50 mph approximately. hope that helps.

Glad to hear I am not the only one who feels that.