I recently was in some muddy conditions and had to use 4 wheel drive to get out. No problems, the 4 wheel drive engaged and I was able to get out, and disengage. Later down the road while going fairly slow (< 20mph) I hit a bump, and there was a loud griding/scraping noise. I stopped the truck, got out and looked to see if something was caught in the wheel/brakes and found nothing, got back in the truck drove and it was fine. This morning, I had it happen again, similar conditions, I believe I was turning left, and the grinding noise started back up, it only lasted for about 20 ft. just like the last time. So I started to do some investigating, I could get it to sometimes replicate the sound when I would turn the wheel all the way to the left, and jerk the truck to the right and left under power in 2 wheel drive. I then got it to do it consistently and turned on 4 wheel drive with the hubs still in the auto poisition, and was able to replecate it in 4 wd again with the wheel all the way to the left. I'm not sure what I did but I was unable to take the truck out of 4 WD (wouldn't disengage), it said it did but the wheels were definitely hopping when turning because they were still in 4WD, and the scraping sound was consistent and wouldnt go away. I tried disengaging multiple times to no avail. Finally, I was rolling forward, and switched it from 4WD to 2WD and it disengaged, also when it disengaged, the sound stopped. When I turned to the left and hit the gas again in 2WD, the sound would come back for a short distance.

Has anyone had any problems like this? And what were your solutions? I'm assuming the transfer case and all components inside are okay because this happens in 2WD. Because of this I can only assume its a bearing in the hub? Is there a way I can test things before buying parts to be sure, I don't want to replace over $1000 worth of parts if this ends up being only a couple hundred dollar fix.

FYI: truck is not lifted, has brand new ball joints, shocks, and sway bar links. Brake pads aren't worn. Just wanted to rule some things out first :)

Thanks!

Dalton

 

 

It might just be some mud but I'd check those hubs. After a drive are they really hot. Is one hotter than the other?

 

 

So I did this, there is a very slight whine sound when I spin the hub, with the wheel and brakes taken off. Is it supposed to be silent when the hubs aren't engaged and the wheel spins? I know it is supposed to be silent on 2 wheel drives but I also know that parts in the hub are probably still spinning even when the hubs are disengaged, so I couldn't tell if the whine was supposed to be there or a bearing was going out. Also I cleaned the rotor and heat shield, and drove the truck with hubs engaged for 25 miles or so, and now I can't reproduce the sound so I'm hoping either the hubs corrected themselves or there was something caught in the rotor/heat shield/ brake area.

 

 

No I am not sure, is there a way to test this?

 

 

So you drove it 25 miles, did you get out and feel the hubs and detect any noticeable difference between the two or any crackling sound like your exhaust pipes expanding or contracting due to heat?

 

I didn't hear any expansion or contraction, however they were warm, but not so warm I couldn't touch them, I assumed it was heat transferred from the brake caliper. I just don't have a baseline for what it should sound like when you spin the hub with the brakes and wheels off, they both make a slight whine because there is some small amount of friction in the hub, I just don't know if that's normal, because of the moving parts that move when the wheel turns or if they are supposed to be smooth as glass and silent like a 2WD vehicle when you spin the front wheel. What I'm saying is the problem could be in both hubs, and they could both possibly have bad bearings, I am just not sure what sound to look for because they both make the same sound, they are either both going out, or they are both fine, I just don't know how to tell which one. Does this make sense?

 

 

does not seem to be your issue.

 

Grinding could be a u joint.