2001 F-350 V10 4x4 Crew Cab Short Bed 4R100
Driving on the freeway this morning at about 70mph, going straight and on flat ground, a very loud/startling rumble noise came from the front left area of my truck. At first I thought the ABS system had kicked on. The sound was very similar to what it sounds like if your tire rubs the plastic fender. It lasted 1-2 seconds and then nothing else. Drove an additional 40 miles on freeway and it didn't happen again.

A few weeks back my ABS light had turned on for no apparent reason. ForScan showed a C1222 (Wheel speed mismatch code) then turned off within a few mins. My front left wheel bearing/ABS assembly is original... Not sure if they are related... I verified my hubs were unlocked, nothing else is turning up front.... Assuming it might be an early failure of wheel bearing? Anyone else experience this?

 

Replace your unit bearings their bad.

 

Wheel bearing is bad.

— Dave

 

Vacuum hubs?

 

Thanks guys.

Yes, I have the vacuum hubs, but no vacuum lines going to them

 

Get a jack under and spin the wheel, if the bearing is going you should feel or hear it. If it was only a couple seconds, maybe you picked up something in the road that you didn't see, that the tire rubbed against and then fell away. Usually when a bearing is going, they gradually get louder, but don't suddenly make a lot of noise and then go away, when they do make a lot of noise suddenly, they either keep making noise, or fall off. I had a bearing on my 2012 that was bad. Didn't make a sound, and spinning with the wheel on felt smooth. It wasn't until I had the front end apart replacing ball joints and such that I notice the bearing going bad. It had a roughness to it when turning, and that was off the vehicle that I felt it, the spindle absorbed whatever roughness was happening as it felt smooth when in the spindle. On the 99 DRW I had, the hubs didn't make noise, but when on the jacks, I could definitely feel roughness to them, they were pretty bad when I replaced them, they were grinding when spun, but didn't make any noise that I could hear while driving.

 

From my experience with my '15 Ram 3500, ABS light came on, road was rough so I attributed the noise to road surface... light went out, 2 days later the RF wheel bearing gave out... I would take it as an early warning and rplc both front units.