How did you not feel the wheel bearing earlier? You said you bled the brakes at all four wheels, did you not jack up the front wheels? And if not, and even with open headers, you should have felt that bearing a while ago. I understand focusing on the rear because of recent work done there, but these trucks will talk to you and let you know something needs service long before failure like your bearings.

 

Got everything back together this afternoon. New inner and outer bearings/races and new wheel seal. It's an absolute night and day difference. The truck rides much quieter now that a wheel isn't about to fall off. I also picked up the parts to do the other side preemptively this weekend.

My theory on the pedal softness was correct! After the bearings were replaced the pedal feels better than ever with no further bleeding. It also corrected the weirdness where the pedal would stiffen up going around corners. That makes a lot more sense now that I know the cause.

You guys were right about brand new drums being out of round. I think that and the bearing issue were both causing pulsation, as it's still there but is a lot more more subtle now. I'll need to get those drums turned soon. Lovely quality control... Sadly, while I did research to try to find a brand made in USA, the ones I landed on (Centric) turned out to be Chinesium anyway. Upon further research it looks like no drums at all are made in the US or Canada any more. Should have gone with NOS.

In retrospect, I can't believe I didn't. Like I said it's a night and day difference now. It should have been completely obvious, but I've only driven the truck about 1500 miles total over 3 months. Also never had a vehicle this old. So while I listen to what she tells me, I don't always understand yet, and didn't realize this sound wasn't just the truck's baseline. It's been a long time since I owned a vehicle where stuff like this was a concern, and around 25 years since I dealt with a failed wheel bearing.

I did listen to the warning signals when the pinion bearing was failing a couple months ago, and reached a proper diagnosis along with help from this forum. I listened when the truck told me I had to replace the I-beam and radius arm bushings, by way of tire wear. I missed this one, though, mea culpa. At least nothing bad happened other than not being able to drive my truck for a few days (which did suck). I'll definitely notice when and if another bearing shows the warning signs!