Bad wheel bearing? rear end?

[therieldeal]

Hey guys. I'm new to the forum, and actually completely new to trucks and RWD vehicles, but I am pretty mechanically inclined. Heck, I took an escort and built it (myself) to run low 12's. I'm just having issues trying to diagnose this... I don’t want to tear the whole truck apart (in 30 degree weather) for nothing.

Okay... so a couple days ago I started getting a hum/light vibration when turning left only. I figured, pass side front wheel bearing must be going bad since it sounds like its coming from over there. Looked it up, looks like a fairly easy job.. and I probably should be inspecting the brakes anyway since I just got the thing (it does stop well, though).

Well, today on the way to work... the noise switched. It is now humming ONLY when turning right. Well that’s not normal... doesn’t seem like a wheel bearing anymore. So now I'm wondering if this might have something to do with the rear end. Now that would be uncharted territory for me, being a FWD guy and all

The truck does supposedly have 269k miles...

Any other tips/suggestions of how to diagnose this would be much appreciated.

 

[therieldeal]

anyone? 24 views and no thoughts?

 

[86ford]

anyone? 24 views and no thoughts?

my first thought is that are you being to overly concerned with minor noises? after all as you said it has 200k plus. as for "noises" lift it up and spin the 2 front wheels and pull them back/forth up/down side to side. if they spin properly and easily then most likely your bearings are fine. when you are pulling back/forth up/down side to side you are checking for play in the bearings, ball joints and tie rods there should be little to no play and NO knocking noises ( if it feels loose some thing most likely is). just because the truck is new to you it would be a very good idea to check diffs for fluid, transmission (check what fluid it takes), motor, PS, brakes, coolant, clutch system fluid level (if its a stick). i have found usually an hr or so of poking around a vehicle tinkering and checking fluids can offer you fair amount of information about the vehicle if it is new to you.

86

PS be happy that it took 24 readers to post a response. many of the people around here cant do more than change oil much less assist others in repairing there vehicles (many of them post stupid shit anyway). it will become very clear to you what i am talking about soon enough.

 

[therieldeal]

thanks for the response. the noise has switched back again... now only happening when turning left again wtf? i'm starting to think that maybe it has something to do with the PS pump or something.

i'll give it a good once over this weekend. usually thats the first thing i do with a new vehicle, but i got the thing just as the clocks changed - its dark by the time i get home from work . gotta get those fluids changed. and theres definitely an ATF leak coming from the tranny.

 

[Crunchy]

If it happens when you turn left, I would inspect the right side. Maybe it would be a good idea to grease your bearings anyways when you check out your brakes, they may have never seen new grease in many years. Also, if there is an ATF leak, check your fluid level, your manual should say how to do it properly.

 

[therieldeal]

i know which side to check, but the weird thing is one day it makes noise only turning one way, the next day it makes noise turning the other way...

i think i read on here that the bearings are really damn cheap, i might just replace them...

i dont have an owners manual, gotta pick up a haynes or something. any reccomendations of which book to grab?

 

[MAKG]

While a wheel bearing sounds like a distinct possibility, the first rule of thumb about weird sounds from the front end is to check the brakes. Disk brakes can make all kinds of weird sounds when worn or marginal. Even when not stopping.

The only humming noises or vibrations the rear end can do are in the pinion or driveshaft, and those won't know anything about turns. When rear wheel bearings "go," then tend to grind or rumble. Chips in the gearset might cause whining, but that doesn't know about turns either (and they do know about whether you're driving or coasting).

If you suspect an engine component such as power steering, you should be able to reproduce the problem with the vehicle stopped.

 

[therieldeal]

i'm going to check out the brakes and wheel bearings one afternoon this week hopefully. The sound does go away if I touch the brakes while turning...

I really don’t want to do the brakes just yet, I want to upgrade to the dual piston calipers/spindles from the late 90's exploder. I'd be willing to throw some pads on it for now but that’s about it lol.

 

[Bryan22]

Ispection of the brakes is simple, and the bearings aren't that hard either you can do a visual of the pads and rotors without taking anything apart, and you can check that the bearings are tensioned properly by lifting the vehicle and grabing hold of the tire trying to feel for play. as for the dual piston calipers, why change something on a system that works great allready? you said in your first post on this thread that they work very well, so my reccomendation is don't waste your money. Looks like you've allready found the problem if the sound goes away when you touch the brakes, so turn the radio up and live with it or do a brake job.

 

[therieldeal]

it's getting a 2.3t and i'll be towing with it... so greater braking capacity FTW