Front End Growl

Mektek

Original poster
Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
The problem is a growl from that sounds like the left front that starts at around 40mph and increases with some fine vibration in the steering wheel at 50mph. Turning slight left reduces and almost eliminates the noise/vibration.
I just installed a new hub - no change at all.
Differential is full of oil.
What happened once was the brake overheated enough to cause smoke to come from the wheel and so everything connected got very hot. After that (and after overhauling the caliper, of course) this problem emerged.
So what else could it be?
My guess is that the grease in the outer CV joint got fried. Probably that joint is normally not straight while driving straight ahead - it works at a slight angle so when I turn left it is straight and the vibration goes away.
There's no clicking or clacking like you normally hear when the joint is failing.

Any suggestions? I'll probably remove the left cv axle and drive without it to test my theory.
 

Chickenhawk

Member
Dec 6, 2011
779
It could also be the right hub, unless the sound is clearly coming from the front left.

Strangely enough, on our platform there have been forum members in here who had to change both hubs when they found their first guess was the wrong side. Usually when you turn left and the sound goes away, it is the left hub that needs replacing. But many of us, including myself, have found the bad side was the one that hummed more when you turned toward that side; the opposite of what one would normally expect. Sounds like your CV for sure, but it might be worth the five minutes to jack up the right side, remove the wheel and spin the hub by hand to see if you can feel anything. (Mind you, with 4WD, you pretty much have to remove the hub to be able to feel any grit.)
 
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HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Going away turning left means right hub time.

It has always been opposite of which way you turn.

89962
 
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JerryIrons

Member
Dec 20, 2011
434
Sure sounds like a bad hub to me. There are other ways to test it, raise it up on jacks and either try the feel test with your fingers or a mechanic stethoscope.

I would take the one you removed and throw it on the other side as a test. I suppose you could swap front and back tires to rule that out as well.
 

Chickenhawk

Member
Dec 6, 2011
779
I know it's simple and you have probably already done this, but there is little clearance between the rotor and the backing plate. Could the backing plate be touching the rotor at any time? It is more of a tinny growl though.
 

Mektek

Original poster
Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
I'll double check the backing plate, but it's not a scraping noise and isn't heard below 35mph.
I was planning to overhaul the passenger front caliper, so when I remove that I'll try the hub swap. After that I'll start pulling CV axles.
It would be nice to have a remote microphone that I could attach near the suspected noise source and confirm where it's coming from while driving.
 
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C-ya

Member
Aug 24, 2012
1,098
I'll double check the backing plate, but it's not a scraping noise and isn't heard below 35mph.
I was planning to overhaul the passenger front caliper, so when I remove that I'll try the hub swap. After that I'll start pulling CV axles.
It would be nice to have a remote microphone that I could attach near the suspected noise source and confirm where it's coming from while driving.

I drove around for a few days without the driver's side axle up front testing for noises. Turns out the outer joint was bad, causing noise and bumps when reversing with right turn applied. During that and other episodes, I have wanted a remote camera/mic combo.
 

Mektek

Original poster
Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
Installed a new hub on the right - opposite of where the noise seemed to com and the noise went away. It sees that the failed bearing transmitted noise through the axle and differential to the other side. It really sounded a lot like gear noise too - fortunately it wasn't.
 
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HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
It is not transmitting the sound. It is how the weight is transferred when turning that affects when you hear it. Typically it is always the opposite side of where heard.
 

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