OK fellas, I've been chasing this one for a bit, and am needing a fresh brain to ponder on it. I have looked, and not gotten any definite answers (and afraid to post it on fb, because I am sure like the last time I said something about an issue, I was told it was bad head gaskets, which it most definitely was not!!!!)
Had an issue, back in July, this was a 90+ degree day, I was on the interstate, doing ~55-60 and I crossed a "bridge lip" where there is a slight gap between the road surface, and the edge of the bridge surface. In this case, there was a slight difference in height between the road and the bridge. So there is a nice straight, sharp jolt introduced into the suspension, almost with a bang.....
Something like this......
After hitting this joint, there was a loud buzzing noise, very much like a failed bearing would make. I crossed the bridge and went over the expansion joint on the other side and it immediately quit making the noise. I exited the interstate at the next exit, less than a mile, and stopped in a parking lot. I looked over the underside of the truck, in the wheel wells to make sure I hadn't picked something up.... and I saw nothing. I popped the covers off over the lugs and hubs, and felt the outside of all 4 hubs, the floaters in the back, and the lockouts in the front. The passenger side was warmer than the drivers, so I very carefully drove the 9 miles home, at a slow pace and made it just fine with no issues or noise.
Raised the front, and removed the wheels, brakes and rotor, so that I was down to the bare hub. The drivers side was nice and "tight" with almost no noise (these are the factory unit hubs with 150,000 miles on them). The passenger side was still tight, but it did have a bit of a grumble to it..... I also have an ABS light on, and the Speedometer still works, so I figure it is the hub failing (as they do, it fouls the sensor and/or the tone ring will start to wobble). So I pull everything apart, find the passenger side in a bit of rough shape, and the hub vacuum seal needing replaced. The drivers is in good shape, but I messed up a stud removing the hub from the knuckle, so 2 brand new Timkin Unit Hubs were installed, everything was given a nice dose of anti-seize so it will come apart easier next time. Put the truck back on the road (still need to replace the knuckle seals) but all is good, except I still have the ABS light...... the front is nice and quiet, and no more odd noise...
Fast forward to around Christmas. I am headed to work, and the truck has been my daily driver since I replaced the unit hubs. This was a day in the teens to low 20's. Same scenario, on the interstate, hit a bridge expansion gap, and bam, and immediately the same buzzing noise. Hit the other side of the bridge, it quieted to about half a loud, crossed another an silent..... There are several bridges in this area of I-70 near downtown Indy and I was in morning traffic.... so I "was where I was"... Crossed another down the road a bit, but I had worked into the very right lane and as soon at it made the noise I headed for the shoulder. I was at speed when I got on the shoulder and when I started to slow down, when I reached ~25-30 the noise stopped. Hit the throttle, back up to speed and all is good. I cross one last bridge before my exit and it started again, as I coasted down the ramp, the noise stopped, and that was the last time I heard it.
I drove home that evening and went "through town" as to avoid the interstate speed and the expansion joints. I looked over everything I could think of in the front. I checked the tires (which were rotated between the 2 different times the noise occurred) the hubs, the axles, the lockouts, all the tire rod ends, the drag link, the shocks, the springs, the steering stabilizer and the bushings I could see... and nothing seemed out of sorts. The shocks are newer Bilsteins, the Hubs are Timkin, the tires are ~1 year old Firestone Transforce A/T's and all the other components are factory except the ball joints, and they were replaced several years ago with Moog, and all the front end grease Zerks have been greased regularly, and have taken grease. The rotors are starting to show some signs of warping as they are factory, but the brakes have been replaced once, with Wagner Thermo-Quiet pads.....
I have driven the truck daily since, but have stayed off the interstate. I have driven on rough roads, and have approached the same speeds I was running on the interstate without the noise reoccurring. Also, when we got our first real snow a couple weeks ago, I locked in the front hubs since the ESOF is still inop because of the knuckle vacuum seals. Did not get this noise, or any other odd noises the entire time the front axle was turning due to the lockouts being locked (the transfer case was in 2wd, so I was just "pushing" the front end down the road).
End of last week, the weather turned "nice" (near freeing and no precip) so I unlocked the hubs again. Then, today, I was moving fairly slowly, I was slowing down as I was entering a small town and was going around a slight curve, and the noise happened once again, for less than a second.... I was still slowing down and it just went silent again, like before.....
This is getting frustrating, as nothing seems out of order, the steering is still fairly tight for 161,500 miles, I am running stock sized A/T tires on factory rims, and running all factory leaf suspension at factory height.
I DO NOT believe that it is "Death Wobble" as there is absolutely no oscillations/wheel jerking AT ALL. The only think you can "feel" when this occurs is a vibration in the floor. It "feels" rotary in nature, and the frequency of the sound does change with speed (it is a fast whir at highway speeds, and is a lower slower rumble as you slow down).
Sorry for the long post, but I am just looking for some direction on what it could be.......
Had an issue, back in July, this was a 90+ degree day, I was on the interstate, doing ~55-60 and I crossed a "bridge lip" where there is a slight gap between the road surface, and the edge of the bridge surface. In this case, there was a slight difference in height between the road and the bridge. So there is a nice straight, sharp jolt introduced into the suspension, almost with a bang.....
Something like this......
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After hitting this joint, there was a loud buzzing noise, very much like a failed bearing would make. I crossed the bridge and went over the expansion joint on the other side and it immediately quit making the noise. I exited the interstate at the next exit, less than a mile, and stopped in a parking lot. I looked over the underside of the truck, in the wheel wells to make sure I hadn't picked something up.... and I saw nothing. I popped the covers off over the lugs and hubs, and felt the outside of all 4 hubs, the floaters in the back, and the lockouts in the front. The passenger side was warmer than the drivers, so I very carefully drove the 9 miles home, at a slow pace and made it just fine with no issues or noise.
Raised the front, and removed the wheels, brakes and rotor, so that I was down to the bare hub. The drivers side was nice and "tight" with almost no noise (these are the factory unit hubs with 150,000 miles on them). The passenger side was still tight, but it did have a bit of a grumble to it..... I also have an ABS light on, and the Speedometer still works, so I figure it is the hub failing (as they do, it fouls the sensor and/or the tone ring will start to wobble). So I pull everything apart, find the passenger side in a bit of rough shape, and the hub vacuum seal needing replaced. The drivers is in good shape, but I messed up a stud removing the hub from the knuckle, so 2 brand new Timkin Unit Hubs were installed, everything was given a nice dose of anti-seize so it will come apart easier next time. Put the truck back on the road (still need to replace the knuckle seals) but all is good, except I still have the ABS light...... the front is nice and quiet, and no more odd noise...
Fast forward to around Christmas. I am headed to work, and the truck has been my daily driver since I replaced the unit hubs. This was a day in the teens to low 20's. Same scenario, on the interstate, hit a bridge expansion gap, and bam, and immediately the same buzzing noise. Hit the other side of the bridge, it quieted to about half a loud, crossed another an silent..... There are several bridges in this area of I-70 near downtown Indy and I was in morning traffic.... so I "was where I was"... Crossed another down the road a bit, but I had worked into the very right lane and as soon at it made the noise I headed for the shoulder. I was at speed when I got on the shoulder and when I started to slow down, when I reached ~25-30 the noise stopped. Hit the throttle, back up to speed and all is good. I cross one last bridge before my exit and it started again, as I coasted down the ramp, the noise stopped, and that was the last time I heard it.
I drove home that evening and went "through town" as to avoid the interstate speed and the expansion joints. I looked over everything I could think of in the front. I checked the tires (which were rotated between the 2 different times the noise occurred) the hubs, the axles, the lockouts, all the tire rod ends, the drag link, the shocks, the springs, the steering stabilizer and the bushings I could see... and nothing seemed out of sorts. The shocks are newer Bilsteins, the Hubs are Timkin, the tires are ~1 year old Firestone Transforce A/T's and all the other components are factory except the ball joints, and they were replaced several years ago with Moog, and all the front end grease Zerks have been greased regularly, and have taken grease. The rotors are starting to show some signs of warping as they are factory, but the brakes have been replaced once, with Wagner Thermo-Quiet pads.....
I have driven the truck daily since, but have stayed off the interstate. I have driven on rough roads, and have approached the same speeds I was running on the interstate without the noise reoccurring. Also, when we got our first real snow a couple weeks ago, I locked in the front hubs since the ESOF is still inop because of the knuckle vacuum seals. Did not get this noise, or any other odd noises the entire time the front axle was turning due to the lockouts being locked (the transfer case was in 2wd, so I was just "pushing" the front end down the road).
End of last week, the weather turned "nice" (near freeing and no precip) so I unlocked the hubs again. Then, today, I was moving fairly slowly, I was slowing down as I was entering a small town and was going around a slight curve, and the noise happened once again, for less than a second.... I was still slowing down and it just went silent again, like before.....
This is getting frustrating, as nothing seems out of order, the steering is still fairly tight for 161,500 miles, I am running stock sized A/T tires on factory rims, and running all factory leaf suspension at factory height.
I DO NOT believe that it is "Death Wobble" as there is absolutely no oscillations/wheel jerking AT ALL. The only think you can "feel" when this occurs is a vibration in the floor. It "feels" rotary in nature, and the frequency of the sound does change with speed (it is a fast whir at highway speeds, and is a lower slower rumble as you slow down).
Sorry for the long post, but I am just looking for some direction on what it could be.......
