New to FTE, also new to working on Fords. I have an issue that's driving me crazy that I can't seem to figure out. I have a rotational metal on metal sound from my front wheel. At first if was under 40mph but now is audible at highway speeds. Started off here and there, goes away after I do something to the front but quickly comes back. Didn't do this originally but now does-makes noise going straight, stops for a second if I jerk the wheel left, if it isn't making the noise while going straight will start if I turn the wheel to the right. Sounds like brake pad wear indicators but isn't. Here is a list of what I've done so far and the after result-(truck is an 08 F250 xlt 2wd 5.4l)

1-When the noise started I jacked up the truck and wiggled the wheels. The right one moved when I did the 12 and 6 o'clock. Replaced both inner and outer wheel bearings and races. Noise went away for a couple miles but I didn't make it around the block before it started again.
2- after first test drive for the right side I started to replace the left wheel bearings. The rotor and pad had some deep grooves in them so I ordered new rotors and pads.
3- installed new rotors and pads and left inner and outer wheel bearings. on the test drive the noise was instant and louder did less then 3 miles. When I got back the right side wheel was hotter then the left. Jacked it up and the rotor seemed to be dragging. so I rebuilt the seals and cleaned the pistons of any corrosion(common problem in the PNW). The caliper didn't loosen up much after bleeding the breaks.
4-installed a new caliper, bracket, and rubber brake line. Wheel was quiet for a few trips to the store but started up again.
5- Took the wheel off and inspected for rocks, bent dust shield, anything. Nothing I could see.
6-Replaced the pad hardware, again, didn't install the wear indicators, pushed the dust shield back to make sure it wasn't coming in contact. quiet for a couple miles and came back.

On Monday I went on a 120 mile drive and the noise was audible below 40 mph but not at 60 and above. Yesterday was audible at all speeds on and off but mostly on. Before I give up and loose a bunch of money taking it to a shop or crooked dealer is there any other ideas of what I could look at?

 

On several of my trucks the brake rotor shield has either rusted out, been damaged or trapped debris behind it. One little rock can make your truck sound like it's falling apart. Might be worth looking at again. Good luck

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

Tuesday I took the wheel off before I left and made sure nothing was there and the shield wasn't close to the rotor. I made the noise right away out of the drive way. I used to drive an f150 for work that was prone to rocks behind the dust shield, must be a ford/Toyota thing. It really sounds like a wear indicator but thy aren't there, doesn't make any noise when on the jack only driving.

It's a puzzler for me.

 

Did you replace the cup when you rebuilt the calipers?
How old is the break fluid, if the rotors has been dragging the fluid is probably toast.
Are you sure the brake lines aren't bad on the inside, kinda hard to tell from a visual without removing it, they tend to collapse and while the pressure from the master can force the fluid in, it manually releases back to the master, if the line is collapsed it wont allow enough of a release and the caliper drags, cheap fix.
Possible but not likely the proportion value is shot, again not likely.
as far as the noise, if it went away after pushing the metal plate, maybe it's got some rot and moving back into place?
Pictures would be nice to see

 

No, the parts store said the cups would be a week out, but when cleaning the old ones and changing the rubber didn’t work I bought a new caliper, bracket, and brake hose.

It doesn’t seem to be dragging any more, no heat difference between the left and right after a drive. I actually think there’s a possibility as far as the caliper goes that it’s not the original issue and that I might have tweaked it with the c clamp while I was taking off.

I don’t know how old the brake fluid is since I’ve only had the truck since October. It’s dark but not black and doesn’t smell burnt. I have it on my list along with all the other fluids to change soon. I put around 2k miles before I had any noise or issues.

pushing the plate didn’t necessarily fix it, the first time I pushed them I also cleaned the pads and regressed the hardware just to see if the hardware failed. The second time pushed the other side to make sure it didn’t stop the noise at all. I know the dust shields don’t have rot. Any time I pull rotors off I always take a wire brush and clean and inspect them.

it’s definitely a puzzler

 

The fluid really isnt about being black, it's about the water content, if you changed the hoses and calipers your 1/3 done, you can gravity bleed them starting with the right rear wheel, then the left rear wheel, passenger front then drivers front, let it run out until clear and then a little more, make sure you keep the reservoir full while doing it, this is the slow one person method.

 

I chased something similar on a vehicle once. It turned out one of the new bearings I bought was bad.

Getting a bad "new" part makes trouble shooting very hard.

Does the noise show up at all with it on jack stands and turning the tire by hand as fast as possible?

 

I knew a guy that dynamically balanced tires / wheels while on the vehicle. He uses a floor jack looking machine that has a rotating drum and it spins the tires really fast.

If you could find one of those you might be able to get close enough to see where the noise is coming from.

 

Are you sure it not coming from the rear? Sometimes chassis/suspension noise can fool you.
Pull the rear rotors and inspect the E brakes and backing plates and get back to us.
The backing plates are notorious for rotting away even in Arizona. The shoe anchor pins pull through the plate allowing the Ebrake shoe and hardware to float freely behind the rotor and get ground to a pulp. Ask me how I know...

 

Does it make any difference if the truck is in 4WD?
Did you check the axle shafts for any wear marks.
How about the front diff? Any metal or wear marks if you remove the cover?
U joints - any play?
As noted above bad new parts. I only use Timken, Dana Spicer or OE bearings, seals, and U joints.
Also there are A LOT of fake/ counterfeit auto parts on Ebay, Amazon. Rock Auto should be good as most all parts come from stocking distributors that buy direct from manufacturers. There are dealers who sell Ford OE parts on ebay but you can often get the same price from a local Ford dealer. I prefer Ford OE parts but sometimes its hard to justify the price and sometimes there are better aftermarket solutions.
I used to think.. nah counterfit auto parts but I spoke to a friend owns a 50 year old wholesale auto parts place and they get tips, emails, faxes etc from the manufacturers all the time about fake parts and jobbers calling to say they have a few extra/ overstock pallets of some brand of auto parts. For example a Timken front wheel bearing for a F350 costs my friend say $120 wholesale and there are people selling similar looking bearings on ebay for $35 each. Sell the fake one for $90 in a similar box and the profit is great. Timken is known to have counterfit parts. Look for the Timken stamp on the bearings.
It happens.