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Totally Stumped!!! Need Assistance! Noise issue I can't figure out

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Messenjah

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I have a noise that has started coming from my k5 that sounds almost like the parking brake is on. It's a rubbing metal almost like sound that seems to be rotating. I thought it was in sink with the rotation of the tire but I have heard it on the freeway at the same pace.

It started out when I would turn left. Now it does it while moving straight intermittently. It happens at least once every time I drive it. I took it to my mechanic and he didn't notice anything or could find it. I can feel it in the gas pedal a little and notice the restriction it gives me even though it is slight. It's almost as if the brake is slightly on. I don't think its the parking break because I pull the release and it still does it. It's mostly bad when I turn left.

I am wondering maybe if it's my steering box or something in the front axle??? I did notice a chunk in the thread of the driver side spindle when I was changing out the hubs and bearings. The bearings on that side had a huge dent in the rear bearing. After I switched everything out it seemed to be better but it's hard to say because it is intermittent.

I am stumped on it and want to fix it bad. please help... :sign22:
 
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Are you meaning the differentials? If so I changed the fluid on both with amsoil severe gear. Sorry, I am a newb with terminology.
 
Yeah i mean the diff's, have you had someone turn the truck while its in park, while you look at the steering box/?
 
No not yet. My mechanic mentioned I could try to tighten the steering (it is decently loose) by turning the two nuts on the box when he checked it. But when I tried to at home they were seized up really tight, wouldn't budge at all. I thought someone had maxed it out so I tried to back it down but it wouldn't budge that way either.

What should I look for? Play in the box moving?
 
if the frame is cracked you will see the box move off the frame. have you made sure your calipers are good and so are the pads ?
 
I was wondering if it was the calipers. I had just changed the pads about a few months ago but my mechanic said he checked those and they were working well. I felt it was maybe the calipers acting up every know and then.
 
Put the truck up on jacks and have the t-case and trans in neutral and see if the rear tires coast while spinning them by hand, if you cant spin them then its brake related.

I kind of had the same issue thinking my brakes were dragging in the rear after i did a disc swap, I had a metallic vibration coming from the rear end (it was intermittent and throttle related that made a sound just like driving on rumble strips on the side of the highway), turns out it was a walking carrier bearing and race....
 
Sounds like a wheel bearing in the front since it changes with turning the wheel.

If you just redid the front bearings, you may have missed the locking pin and the bearings are backing off.

Easy to check, just make sure the hub is unlocked, jack up the front wheel and see if you can make it wobble by shaking it side to side and up and down. It should be tight, but should spin easily.
 
Agreed. If the noise changes when steering the problem is in the front. It could be a bad front hub hanging up. The automatic hubs are famous for this. It could also bea bad front u-joint but I would check the hubs first. Just lift the tire and see if you can spin the tire without the axle shaft spinning.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I thought it was the hubs too so I changed them to manual hubs. Followed the procedures correctly and even replaced the wheel bearings and racers. The sound happens less aggressively when driving straight but definitely more significant when turning left. The driver side spindle was the one that had a chunk in the thread. I found it when doing the hubs. I think I was able to thread the lock nuts all the way. I will try the checks with jacking the truck up. I tried the wiggle before on the tire and everything was firm. I was suspecting the u joint. I think I lubed everything or at least I tried to. Thanks for the help.
 
If the spindles in the front look like they have a lot of miles on them maybe it could be an axle shaft wobbling inside a spindle, I would pull the drivers side spindle and see if the needle bearings inside the spindle (in the flanged area) aren't frozen up, missing, or have a lot of slop in them.

While your in there I would also check the U joints on the axle shafts themselves.

Believe it or not the front driveling actually rotates (slowly) when in 2wd.

Other than that it seems like everything has been addressed in the front end aside from the carrier/ ring and pinion setup.

I still wouldn't rule out the rear end, when making a sharp turn the outside tire spins faster than the inside tire, this could "upset" a bearing that is improperly preloaded or on the verge of failing.

If you could have another person try to find the source of the sound from the outside of the vehicle when its moving, it would help narrow down the possibilities.
 
The Pumpkinator said:
If the spindles in the front look like they have a lot of miles on them maybe it could be an axle shaft wobbling inside a spindle, I would pull the drivers side spindle and see if the needle bearings inside the spindle (in the flanged area) aren't frozen up, missing, or have a lot of slop in them.

While your in there I would also check the U joints on the axle shafts themselves.

Believe it or not the front driveling actually rotates (slowly) when in 2wd.

Other than that it seems like everything has been addressed in the front end aside from the carrier/ ring and pinion setup.

I still wouldn't rule out the rear end, when making a sharp turn the outside tire spins faster than the inside tire, this could "upset" a bearing that is improperly preloaded or on the verge of failing

If you could have another person try to find the source of the sound from the outside of the vehicle when its moving, it would help narrow down the possibilities.
Click to expand...


I think you are right about this one. The rear wheel bearing makes a lot of sense. The rotation when it happens seems to go at the same pace no matter the speed so the issues up front with shaft make sense. I lubed the FS decent but maybe the old grease could still be in there. Last time I was down there I could see old grease oozing out a little. When I pumped the new stuff in it was crackling and made me a little hesitant to add more. Even though I knew it was probably normally. I didn't know for sure if I was forcing it to fast and messing any seals in there by accident. It was my first time lubbing a truck that was 4wd.
 
Pinpointing the location of the issue by ear has been a serious battle since it happens at higher speeds. I hear it in the front the passenger says rear. I a third party said they didn't know lol its sooooo frustrating. I will probably have to run through these helpful lists of tests on here and narrow it down by elimination. Will update as soon as I can
 
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