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2001 Silverado 1500 4x4 front wheel noise

wazzabie

wazzabie

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On the passenger side there is some noise from the front wheel. I can here it when driving. When I hit the brakes the noise stops and when I turn sharp right the noise stops. I checked the brake pads and the pad is low but not yet at the squealer. About 30K miles ago I replaced the wheel bearing hub on this wheel with a made in USA Timken. I lifted the tire in the air. There is no play top to bottom. From left to right there is some play but maybe that is normal?
 
Very difficult to accurately help diagnose “verbally” but one thing to consider is the constant velocity joint - they are always turning as they are splined to the wheel hubs.

Try this - find a dirt/grass area and put it in 4WD and do some tight figure eights in both directions with a fair amount of throttle and see if ya get some extra noise from the joints while under added stress.
If so then there’s your smoking gun.
 
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wazzabie said:
On the passenger side there is some noise from the front wheel. I can here it when driving. When I hit the brakes the noise stops and when I turn sharp right the noise stops. I checked the brake pads and the pad is low but not yet at the squealer. About 30K miles ago I replaced the wheel bearing hub on this wheel with a made in USA Timken. I lifted the tire in the air. There is no play top to bottom. From left to right there is some play but maybe that is normal?
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Unit bearing, when you press on the brake it adds stability to the bearings and will "true up" the wheel to the bearings pretty well, then when you let off it goes back to being off. I can't recall the OEM brand of unit bearings but back in my IFS GM truck days the go to was the OEM brand, all others didn't get you good life.
 
In these vehicles, it's normal to feel play L-R at the tire. They have no column lock and you can move the steering wheel without realizing it. When you use the brake, you're also putting a slight amount of load on the half-shaft that can effect the slack in it.

Something worth checking is dirt/rust around the rotor, pads and caliper. Sometimes you get a little noise from debris skimming along. As the piston extends, one side of the caliper gets closer, but the other side gets further away.
 
Blue85 said:
In these vehicles, it's normal to feel play L-R at the tire. They have no column lock and you can move the steering wheel without realizing it. When you use the brake, you're also putting a slight amount of load on the half-shaft that can effect the slack in it.

Something worth checking is dirt/rust around the rotor, pads and caliper. Sometimes you get a little noise from debris skimming along. As the piston extends, one side of the caliper gets closer, but the other side gets further away.
Click to expand...
The brake pads are not yet at the squealers however there is not much left on the pad. I acquired the Silverado with 45K miles and it now has 190K and I have never changed the front brake pads. So I'm going to replace the front rotors, calipers, caliper bracket and install new pads. I'll see if that will fix the noise issue. If I can get another 150K miles on the front brakes I would be happy.
 
I had someone drive the truck as I sat in the bed. The noise is definitely from the rear passenger side. I pulled the tire and the disk pads are in need of replacement. The inside is at the squealer mark. When pads get to the squealer did I wait to long to replace them or did I replace them just at the right time? I only have about 20 miles with them since the squealer starter to make noise.
 
You are fine the squealer starts early and gives plenty of time to get new pads on, for most drivers.
 
I pulled the caliper and found the lower pin is rusted and has lost grease. I have about 60K miles on the rear brake pads. Is that good life expectancy? I have the rear caliber mounting bracket in the hydrosonic tank. I'm hoping the caliper mounting bracket can be reused.
 
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60k is good. @ 3 to 1 front to rear for most brske systems.
Might consider new caliper hardware, make sure caliper slides easily when assembling
 
Wes Harden said:
60k is good. @ 3 to 1 front to rear for most brske systems.
Might consider new caliper hardware, make sure caliper slides easily when assembling
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I discovered a rip in one of the guide pin rubber boots. That is the one that failed. The caliper mounting bracket cleaned up well in the hydrosonic tank and then I took a steel pipe brush to clean out the hole for the caliper pin. I got some new caliper pins and pin boots. The new pin boots are not as thick as the OEM GM boots. The OEM GM pin boots are discontinued. Next time I'm in the junk yard I'm going to look for caliper pin boots.
 
wazzabie said:
I discovered a rip in one of the guide pin rubber boots. That is the one that failed. The caliper mounting bracket cleaned up well in the hydrosonic tank and then I took a steel pipe brush to clean out the hole for the caliper pin. I got some new caliper pins and pin boots. The new pin boots are not as thick as the OEM GM boots. The OEM GM pin boots are discontinued. Next time I'm in the junk yard I'm going to look for caliper pin boots.
Click to expand...
Don’t forget to grease em up with brake caliper grease - it’s a must.
 
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