2001 F150 SCAB with 74,000 miles. There seems to be a whistling noise coming from the front axle. It is definately a rolling noise. I can shift into neutral and put it in 4H and still have the noise. Brakes are good, tires are fair... I just rotated my tires (criss-crossed front to back) also sprayed all of my boots with silicone spray. Still has a whistling metal to metal bearing sound. When I have the front jacked up and spin the wheels, there seems to be a decent drag turning by hand. I don't remember having much of a drag before. Any ideas?

 

constant whine all the time is normally wheel bearings. Coast, put in neutral, etc.. still have bearings holding up the truck and rolling so noise is constant. Your 4 x 4 uses a bearing/ hub combination and replaced as a unit. Cost is $100-200 per side depending on where you buy it. YOu can take wheel and brake caliper off and rotate each side by hand and probably figure out which one by comparing drag/ noise.

 

something like this--- look at photos.

PARTS MASTER PM515028 Front Wheel Bearing & Hub Assy | eBay

 

Wow, I see so many options on the bay. I would need ABS also. Is it possible to just press in new bearings? Or am I making the project more than what it should be?
the drivers side has more drag.
Thanks for the advice.

 

Normally it is hard to tell a problem by rotating the wheel. I always compare the two sides to get a reference. NO you can not get it apart and replace the bearing, you need the entire unit. The cost from $50. to $200. as you see. To tell the truth, 90% of them are made in china and are identical. You dont get a better unit by paying more. I have bought a few and some only run 50-60,000 miles. Originals last 80- 150,000 miles. IM tempted to buy one for $50- 75 that they guarantee for a year or two. Auto Zone sells the cheaper ones for $150. For $225 you get one with a 3 year guarantee. I cant say it is better, just cost more and better guarantee..

 

For me, 60k miles is about 4 years, so i dont see paying 3 times as much for a 3 year guarantee compared to 1 year.

 

Thanks Steve. One more question. It's been a couple of years since I had the knuckles off for ball joints and such... Is it possible to just remove the hubs from the knuckles without seperating the ball joints?