Rumble in Front end
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 95
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From: Southwest lower MI
Rumble in Front end
My 99 F350 drw has developed a rumble in the left front axle recently. Hubs locked or unlocked have no effect; noise most notable at 10-20 mph. There is no play in the front wheels when front end is off the ground. I've had local mechanics check it out and they inspected brakes, bearings and suspension and didn't find anything worn. They tried running it while on the hoist and couldn't reproduce the sound which is similar to that produced by rumble strips on the roads. I've tried searching with various key words without any definitive hits and manually looked at all posts back to mid january. BTW v-10, crew cab, 152K miles.There is some fe sag, and I presume that the tire cupping is due to the sag changing the alignmen, but I think that the rumble is more than what a tire should produce, and the sound goes away at speeds over 25. 
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 95
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From: Southwest lower MI
The mechanic removed the bearing assembly, cleaned it and checked it for sloppiness and roughness when turned by hand and concluded that it wasn't worn.
I've read some of the posts that mentioned a needle bearing. Am I to assume that there is a bearing on the axle behind the u-joint and also the wheel bearings?.
I've read some of the posts that mentioned a needle bearing. Am I to assume that there is a bearing on the axle behind the u-joint and also the wheel bearings?.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 9,303
Likes: 48
From: Lyndonville, Vermont
You can't tell if the bearing is bad by observing it until its really bad. Best way to tell is while going down the road at 35 mph or so turn the wheel to put weight on that wheel and then the other way to remove it. The noise should get louder with weight on.
The needle is on the wheel bearing yes.
Dick
The needle is on the wheel bearing yes.
Dick
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 116
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From: West Central Florida
Originally Posted by metalcaster
The noise is worse when the wheels are straight. Turning either direction doesn't seem to change it.
I thought about installing as stabilizer. Perhaps a shimmy?
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 10,600
Likes: 3
From: Carhenge
Originally Posted by Kevinpmac
Got the same problem with mine. Sounds like I'm driving over road surface that has damage from a metal track, such as a bulldozer. It comes and goes, usually starts and ends by driving over a small bump.
I thought about installing as stabilizer. Perhaps a shimmy?
I thought about installing as stabilizer. Perhaps a shimmy?
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 95
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From: Southwest lower MI
I talked with the mechanic at church yesterday, he wants to try to replace the lockouts. He drove it w/o the right one and the noise seemed to be absent. Said ther was some wear at the very end of the splines indicating failure to fully release? We decided to replace them with warn units. He also told me that the bearing units are $500.00 (?) as they are an assembly and not just some tapered bearing units.
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Joe Kucinski
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 113
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From: Hampstead, NC
Bearings
Mine may have been different but here goes-
It sounded like the front left Hub was engaging going down the road. It would come and go-Mostly on straight open road, between 25 and 45 mph. After a couple of trips to ford, they replaces the front left bearings (@~90,000 miles) and I have had no more trouble. (I had them replace the right side also)
It sounded like the front left Hub was engaging going down the road. It would come and go-Mostly on straight open road, between 25 and 45 mph. After a couple of trips to ford, they replaces the front left bearings (@~90,000 miles) and I have had no more trouble. (I had them replace the right side also)
Junior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 64
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From: The Republic of Texas
Several comments in this thread sound like needle bearings. They are not difficult to replace, and cost less than 15 bucks. My vibration/rumble would come and go, especially if I hit a small bump. Based on suggestions on this website, I checked the needle bearings. They were toast, and very close to ruining the axle. Don't put off fixing this. It could get expensive quick.
Mike Johnston
Mike Johnston
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,643
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From: NE Texas
Originally Posted by aquaholic
RIght on the money. About $1200 installed.
If you have the time it's a lot easier than "the old way" of changing bearings.