Hello Everyone,

I have a 2004 F250 4X4 with about 112k on the clock. It's been an excellent truck. I had some problems with it when I first bought it.

The front brakes wouldn't hardly work and the back rotors were warped. I sent it to a mechanic here locally. He put new rotors all the way around.

I also had him do some routine maintenance so I could be caught. We changed the front and rear differentials (I have the LS so we added the correct additive), changed fluid in the transfer case, and threw on a new fuel filter.

This was all in one visit. Now that the vehicle has returned I have this annoying howling sound coming from the front left wheel area. It starts about 35-40mph, and then just increases in pitch until about 60. It isn't really noticeable at 60mph. It never did that before that I had noticed.

Any thoughts on what could be causing this? I have checked my ball joints, and bearings on the driver side, everything seems to be fine. I haven't noticed it change pitch when cornering so I somewhat have thought bearings were not the problem. It doesn't change with engine RPM but does follow with the vehicles speed. I am just at a loss on what to check. My differentials looked excellent when we inspected them. Like I said, I am at a complete loss of what to do. I can turn the radio up but that isn't a great solution. My mechanic suggested tire noise as well as a tire shop employee (I took it in and had the tires rotated), but it didn't start until after all of the repairs were made.

 

Two possibilities:

a) the front driver brake line is always the first to delaminate, the result is that the caliper will drag and could lead to a howling noise, replace this brake line specifically and consider replacing the others - while in the fluid, might as well install SpeedBleeders on all four calipers and chase out the old brake fluid with fresh

b) the front drivers hub is also one of the first to fail maintenance items on the axle, usually produces more of a grinding noise as the wheel rotates on the hub, replace the hub and the seals

 

What happened if you jack it up and spin it check for bearing wear?

 

That makes sense about the brakes. I jacked the vehicle up to test the bearings and when I spin the tire I feel drag from the brake pads. I have done a handful of break jobs in my life and don't recall them ever dragging much. I didn't pay much attention to it since it the passenger side was similar and I am not hearing noise from there. I will need to check into it a little more. This morning when I parked my truck at work I noticed that you could smell the brakes on the driver side.

As far as spinning the tire on the wheel I couldn't hear anything that would make me think its bearing noise. I tried rocking the wheel back and forth and it didn't have any play.

 

Based upon your last post I'd call your dealer and have them bring in the brake line - my local dealer can bring in almost any part by the next morning, not all dealers are so close to the parts warehouse.

I have done aftermarket stainless steel braided lines on these trucks before, they look good and function well BUT they always need adjustment, bending. IMO - The copper crush washers are far better and more corrosion resistant than the aluminum crush washers (road salt).