bkrukow

I have been behind getting the tires rotated this last time and the fronts started to cup. It got to teh point I was hearing a growl like I was running a big mud tire so i rotated them. The growl did not go away but i figured the cupped tires where still gona make some noise till they wore smooth again and that may take some time for as bad as they cupped. The problem came when I went down a couple miles of gravel and the growl did not go away. It was slightly muffled buy the extra noise from being on gravel but it was still there. If the growl was from the cuped tires that are now on back the noise should have went away once I got on the gravel as there is no smooth surface for them to slap against and make the noise. So now I am wondering if I have a bad U joint or posoble front wheel bearing. Has any one ever had there sound like that??? Like I said it sounds exactly like I was running big knoby mud tires but Ime not.

madhat

Check your fluids, could be a diff or a transfer case...

frank compagnon

Not saying this is your problem, but let me share what happen to be. A few years ago I bought a new Chevy ¾ ton 4 x 4. Had it a couple of weeks and decided that I wanted bigger tires .went back to the dealer and he made me a deal and swapped the 245,s for 265,s tires. Month later I drove the truck to White Horse on highway 37 and on the way back cut a tire with a rock. My wife took it back to the dealer, which had installed the bigger tires, and had a new tire install under warranty. A few days later I took the truck to work and notices a grinding noise from somewhere, and it wasn’t there before the dealer had it .i made an appointment at another dealership [closer to home]to have it checked out and he said ‘’you have a wrong size tire installed on your truck’’ it was a size 245 .

madhat

That is a good point...

1-2-3

"’you have a wrong size tire installed on your truck’’ it was a size 245 ."

are you saying there was just ONE 245 on it, cause a set of 245's aint gonna hurt anything.

steelblitzkrieg

Cupping is usually caused by a bad shock.

Dr.Dizzle

Exactly! Check the fluids first! If the front diff fluid is low due to a leak at the pinion seal or underfilling it, the pinion bearings may be on their way out.
The rear output shaft seal on the transfer case are prone to leak as well.

Does this growling sound only occur when the vehicle is moving forward on a straight road? Does it also occur when you make a left or right turn?

tbarbee1

Front wheel bearing will growl slightly for a long time before it goes bad. It will change with pressure as in turns etc... you will swear its tire noise but its a bearing. its worth a look I have replaced both mine in the last two months

frank compagnon

yes the truck had three 265 tires and one 245 tire. the truck came ,new, with 245's on it and i had 265's installed .the tire guy replaced the front tire with a 245 instead of a 265. he didnt look at the size of tire he had removed form the truck. i guss he assumed that it was a 245

bkrukow

I will check fluid levels tomarrow nite. I suspect they are OK cause there are no leaks on the front end or the T case. I had the rear pinion seal relaced last summer when they put new ball joints and front hub U joints in. The noise is most audible when decelerating. It is loudest from 25MPH on down.

madhat

Well, check the fluids and make sure you have all the same size tires. Even a new 265 among worn 265's will be enough to cause a problem.

tbarbee1

Mine sounded the same way when when my wheel bearing went out. Its worth jacking it up and giving them a spin.

no_6_oh_no

Check the front unit hub bearings, you start hearing them growl they will fall off any time. That will also mess your tires up big time.

bkrukow

I checked all the fluids and they are all full. The T case oil is a little dark and needs to be changed but its plumb full. The front diff is clean and full. I jacked the front of the truck up but couldent spin the tires fast enough by hand to hear anything over the breaks rubbing. I guess its time to take it in. I have a extended factory warentie so it shouldent cost me maore than the $100 deductible to fix it.

I was gona get a bar and pry up and down on the tire while I had it up but forgot to.

On a side note I noticed while under there that both the lower ball joint ruber boots where basicaly just sitting there. I could push on them with a finger and open them up and see in the joint. I am gona have to bring that up as well seeing as how they just put them on there abought 10,000 miles ago.

NJMurvin

I doubt that this is it, but I'll throw it out there anyway. I have about 8k on some all terrains (Hankook) and I was starting to have some noise that sounded like either the tires were whining or one of my diffs/axles was starting to go. Hoping it wasn't the latter I had to rule out one or the other. So, I started with the tires. I had the tires rotated (free from America's Tire) and asked them to max out the inflation while they were at it. Thank goodness the noise reduced significantly. I know you rotated your tires. But, did you check the inflation? I have a feeling that low tire inflation was the real underlying culprit in my case.