Squeaking from driver's front wheel area

[rdonahe]

I've got a squeak that is driving me crazy coming from what sounds like the driver's side front wheel.

Here are the details:
- speed sensitive, I can put the truck in neutral and rev the motor to no effect. sound is related to how fast the truck is moving.
- applying brakes does not change the sound. based on searching here I am going to check the brake wear indicator, but I would think the sound would change while braking if this were the culprit?
- sound does not change with steering input. no amount of left/right sawing at the wheel has any effect on the squeak.
- it does not make the sound when up on a jack. i've supported the truck with jack stand at the frame and rotated the wheel with no squeak, I've also jacked up the front of the truck under the lower control arm to load the suspension and rotating the wheel does not squeak. it appears the wheel itself needs to be loaded.

What I've done:
- replaced wheel bearings on both front wheels
- new bearing dust caps

The wheel bearing work had no effect.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
-Roger

 

[bedwards]

rim trim ring, hub cap?

 

[rdonahe]

rim trim ring, hub cap?

Worth a try. Rally wheels - I have had the hub cap portion off and made no diff. I'll pull the trim ring, easy to test.

Thanks - keep the ideas coming. Stupid noise is under my skin.

 

[bedwards]

i hate um

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Try supporting the frame with stands and load the suspension with your floor jack to simulate it being on the ground. Spinning the wheel fast enough may be a problem, but every one knows someone with a treadmill collecting dust or for free on CL. Gotta be motorized jamb that som-bitch under the tire and turn it on high speed. Listen for the noise. Just don't hit the brakes bad stuff will happen I promise you. Note don't put all the weight of the truck on the treadmill just enough to spin the wheel.

 

[chengny]

I've got a squeak that is driving me crazy coming from what sounds like the driver's side front wheel.

If the only reason you have targeted the LH front wheel (as the source of the squeak) is because of what your ears are telling you - and in addition, a thorough inspection of all the rotating components associated with that wheel/bearing/brake assembly has revealed no apparent problems - I would consider look elsewhere.

Locating the source of driveline noise while sitting in the cab of a moving vehicle is a crapshoot at best. Sound and vibration generated by a particular component will often radiate throughout the frame/body and, to the human ear, appear to be coming from some other remote location.

A squeak that tracks along with road speed and is most pronounced when the drivetrain is under load, is often related to a dry u-joint (or one that is in the initial stages of failure). If it is the forward u-joint - and you are in the driver's seat - it might very well sound like it's coming from the LH side near the front end.

I'm not saying it is a u-joint issue, but just be sure to keep an open mind to other possible sources than the LF wheel assembly. And don't trust your ears.

 

[rdonahe]

If the only reason you have targeted the LH front wheel (as the source of the squeak) is because of what your ears are telling you - and in addition, a thorough inspection of all the rotating components associated with that wheel/bearing/brake assembly has revealed no apparent problems - I would look elsewhere.

Locating the source of driveline noise while sitting in the cab of a moving vehicle is a crapshoot at best. Sound and vibration generated by a particular component will often radiate throughout the frame/body and, to the human ear, appear to be coming from some other remote location.

A squeak that tracks along with road speed and is most pronounced when the drivetrain is under load, is often related to a dry u-joint (or one that is in the initial stages of failure). If it is the forward u-joint - and you are in the driver's seat - it might very well sound like it's coming from the LH side near the front end.

I'm not saying it is a u-joint issue, but just be sure to keep an open mind to other possible sources than the LF wheel assembly. And don't trust your ears.

Good point, I'll add that to the list of possibles...

 

[PrairieDrifter]

Id say u joint, either in on a driveshaft or on one of the axle shafts.

 

[MikeB]

Not sure about your 73, but on the 67-72 long bed trucks with 2-piece driveshafts, it's not umcommon for the center support bearing to squeal. It's been nearly 30 years, but as I recall that problem on my 69 C10 was caused by a worn bearing letting a u-joint shaft rub against the rubber dust boot.

 

[Green79Scottsdale]

I've got a squeak that is driving me crazy coming from what sounds like the driver's side front wheel.

Here are the details:
- speed sensitive, I can put the truck in neutral and rev the motor to no effect. sound is related to how fast the truck is moving.
- applying brakes does not change the sound. based on searching here I am going to check the brake wear indicator, but I would think the sound would change while braking if this were the culprit?
- sound does not change with steering input. no amount of left/right sawing at the wheel has any effect on the squeak.
- it does not make the sound when up on a jack. i've supported the truck with jack stand at the frame and rotated the wheel with no squeak, I've also jacked up the front of the truck under the lower control arm to load the suspension and rotating the wheel does not squeak. it appears the wheel itself needs to be loaded.

What I've done:
- replaced wheel bearings on both front wheels
- new bearing dust caps

The wheel bearing work had no effect.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
-Roger

Sounds like your speedometer cable. Reach up behind the dash and unhook it from your speedo and go for a drive.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

^^^ That's a good suggestion. Mine was driving me bananas, and I pulled the cluster, poured some of that speedo cable lube down the throat of the cable, and after a little driving, it never squeaked again. I will say that moving a little bit while you do it would probably get it in there better, but I did it stationary, and it worked fine.

 

[crazy4offroad]

If the truck ever sat for a while one of the wheel bearings may have flat-spotted. They get a little rust on one of the rollers and then it takes a while for it to show up.

 

[rdonahe]

Following up - I disconnected the speedo cable and the sound seemed to go away. Drove it for a bit disconnected then this past weekend i re-connected and squirted some graphite lock lube in there. So far so quiet! Hoping this is the cure.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Following up - I disconnected the speedo cable and the sound seemed to go away. Drove it for a bit disconnected then this past weekend i re-connected and squirted some graphite lock lube in there. So far so quiet! Hoping this is the cure.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

Good deal.