Noticing a slight wheel bearing growl. When I turn the wheel to the right it goes away. Which one is it?

Front

Thats the only thing we know for sure.

Jack up each wheel, check it for play first.
If both are tight, the only sure fire way to isolate if your ear wont is to use a Chassis Ear.

Thanks, I was afraid of that. I lost 40% of the hearing in my left ear while in the Air Force so I can't tell, don't have a chassis ear. I did jack up front and both seemed to be okay. I will probably just replace them both since I will be hauling the plow around soon, I hope.

keep driving and you will find out!! LOL

I always thought that the way it was turned and made noise that it was the opposite side out (ie, left turn, gets worse/noisier, then it is the right bearing)

If you turn to the right and it gets quiet, then your right front is the culprit.

There is an inner and outer bearing in the hub, like Riley said, USUALLY the one you 'unload' will be the culprit. Not everytime though

There is an inner and outer bearing in the hub, like Riley said, USUALLY the one you 'unload' will be the culprit. Not everytime though

Very true, I have been burnt on that before,:o:.

me too, me too

I will start with the right side. If that's not it then I'll do the other. I got a 50/50 chance. LOL!

Jack it up and wiggle the tire top to bottom. Any play means the bearing is shot. Or, have someone else drive it slowly in a parking lot. While they slowly make a turn (either direction) stand by each corner and listen for the noise. Shouldn't be too tough to find out.

when i had the 03, i told my boss we should have the front end looked at, seemed to wobble a little at 45 mph or so, he said to not worry about it. About a month later i had to know what was going on, took it into the goodyear, the guy didnt even say anything but "you have to come see this" and its one of those shops where they normally wont let you in there.....anyway my pass front wheel was almost falling off the unit bearing was so bad......never seen one that bad before.

So keep driving it and about a month for now you wont have to guess anymore. That and they are REALLY exp, not a $100 part like most unit bearings. I think the bill came to $400 or $500


Anyhow thats what i did with my cadillac, i knew it had to be a bearing making noise, but both fronts were tight. Drove it another 2 weeks or so, and then it was loose enough to tell. Good thing those parts store unit bearings last like 5k miles, thats the 3rd one i have put on it under warranty. Get a good bearing!!

On my truck, when I turned left there was a roaring noise and it ended up being the left(driver) side.

I am getting a nose from I think the drivers fount that is not consist and not vary loud. If I am over like 50-mph and holding a consist speed I hear it for a couple seconds and then it goes away for a whale. I don't know if the wheel bearing is starting to go or if it is something different. I have driven trucks with bad wheel bearings and it sounds like that but the nose isn't always there like I have experience before. Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks Jon

If you turn to the right and it gets quiet, then your right front is the culprit.
not always.. been there done that

when i back out of my driveway i turn the wheel to the right and i get the slight squeal. just rotated the tires and went to check my idler and pittman(which i do every rotation)
and guess what i found on the drivers side front. i can move the tire up and down a good 1/2". do you think it is time to change the bearings?
i have not done this before. is it fairly easy?
yes i can work on vehicles.

You can do it. I did both last Wed in my driveway. I followed the excellent DIY posted by McRat in that section.


when i back out of my driveway i turn the wheel to the right and i get the slight squeal. just rotated the tires and went to check my idler and pittman(which i do every rotation)
and guess what i found on the drivers side front. i can move the tire up and down a good 1/2". do you think it is time to change the bearings?
i have not done this before. is it fairly easy?
yes i can work on vehicles.

jack the truck up get a bar and lift in an up and down motion from under the tire you will find the culprit

jack the truck up get a bar and lift in an up and down motion from under the tire you will find the culprit

That's how to check the ball joints, right?

When my wheel bearing hub was bad, I found it by jacking up, grabbing tire at 12 and 6 oclock, and was able to rock the wheel back and forth. After replacement, there was no movement.

Step #1 ~ Buy Hub for $190~ http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=338470

Step #2 ~ Read this ~ http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71798

Step #3 ~ Change Hub, Bingo bango, your done.

Well guys, it was the right wheel bearing. Turns out the left one is going too, little less play but it's there. When I bought the truck the dealership gave me a 30 day/1,000 mile warranty for powertrain/drivetrain. I called the salesman and he told me to bring it in as the service dept. said they would fix it. So I took it in and after two test drives they told me......."Your wheel bearings are bad". Well no s*&%. I told them that when I dropped it off. They then told me that they could fix it for $900 + :eek::eek:. I asked why no warranty and they said that the warranty only applies to internally lubricated parts. Last I knew wheel bearings used lots of grease and it was all internal. Should I fight the fight or pony up to Dmaxstore for new ones and install myself??

I myself would "balk" to the salesman a little bit and find out what is going on- maybe he can have a little pull on it.... GOOD LUCK with it!

Do it yourself. Really isn't too bad a job. It will end up costing about $400 total for both. I took mine to the dealer initially and they said it would be $685 to do one. No problem with that decision. I did both of mine so I should be good to go for a while. Just don't get in a hurry and it shouldn't be a problem. Good luck.

Do it yourself.

I planned on it but I thought if they would do it why not save $400 and put it towards a cold air intake or something else. The salesman is a good friend of mine and he is just as pissed as I am.