Strange grinding noise

[jstrut]

I just started hearing a grinding noise in the front of my envoy. I've done some looking around but can't find anything that matches what I have. The truck drives perfectly fine with no pulling or vibrating and it only makes the noise when going 25-30mph and when I'm going over small quick bumps like potholes and lasts about 2-3 seconds. I thought maybe it could be suspension issue but can't find anything similar. Any help or ideas on what I could check would be greatly appreciated.

 

[The_Roadie]

How many miles? Any other maintenance history?

Differential fluid changed on time at 100K?

 

[JamesL3]

Hubs maybe?

 

[jstrut]

The truck has 147k. I've had the truck for about 2yrs(20k miles) and I've kept up on regular oil changes and general maintenance. I just changed rear diff fluid when I did rear axel seals. The noise is deffinately coming from the front end and sounds mainly from the drivers side. I'm fairly new to doing repairs myself, but have had good luck working through recent issues and hopefully can DIY this too.

 

[JamesL3]

I would look into the hub assemblies. Similar issue here.

 

[jstrut]

I would look into the hub assemblies. Similar issue here.

Is there a way to check if the hub is bad without throwing parts at it?

 

[The_Roadie]

Support the front and spin the wheels. Not always definitive when the wheel is hanging compared to when the weight of the vehicle is on it. Of course try to wiggle the wheel.

 

[jstrut]

Support the front and spin the wheels. Not always definitive when the wheel is hanging compared to when the weight of the vehicle is on it. Of course try to wiggle the wheel.

I'll look into that tomorrow after work as its currently raining here. I also just found a post about it possibly being the dust shield rubbing on the rotor so I'm going to check that also. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Rogue92]

I have a similar issue when making really sharp turns in the parking lot of work going 5-10 mph...but only when the wheel is cranked almost to the end. I've suspected from things I've read here and elsewhere that it's the wheel hub bearings starting to go....but don't plan on replacing them until I hear them when going in a straight line and when I have the dough.