The wheels were given to my by a friend. Had the tire shop doing the install check to make sure the offset of the wheel cleared all the brake and steering components. Later on in the evening I hear this howling whine, which comes on at braking after high speed cruising, then comes on sometimes at reverse gear. What should I be looking for?

 

I'm starting to wonder if the tire jockey that mounted my tires didn't center the tire perfect with the hub. Forgive me for ignorance, as I am not prideful at all about my lack of knowledge when it comes to anything wheel related. Papecat and MKnittle have schooled me on wheel offsets some, and I knew enough to ask the shop manager at the tire shop to make sure and check for clearances before even attempting to mount the new tires on the wheels given to me by my buddy(the wheels still had his old tires on them). The shop manager gave me the thumbs up when his jockey slid the wheel and tire onto the hub, telling me all was good.
So, he told me my short lug nuts from my previous wheel were too short, so he put in the 2" long ones, with the 60 degree flare, acorn style, 1/2" x 20, and accepts a 19 mm or 3/4" socket. Man, they came out nice. Drove off, and all was good.
Upon close inspection, when I got home, I see 3 of the lug nuts were different from the rest, and a fourth one was a 13/16 hex, meaning I'll need a different socket to change that one out! So, no big, as he didn't even charge me for the 32 new lug nuts. I'll go buy 4 of ones that match the rest.
So I need assistance in reassuring that our trucks indeed take the acorn style with that 60 degree flare, and also to help me diagnose what could be making that whining noise. What happens when a wheel isn't centered on a hub properly, anyway? Will it make some type of noise?
Brakes work well, along with steering, other than that noise that comes when applying brakes, and continuous on after release of the brake pedal and disappears after speed starts to build up. At slow speeds, like 5 mph, I hear the sound faintly.

 

well the TRUCK isn't lug nut specific, the wheels are. take 1 lug nut off, take a picture of the lug in the hole, and post it.

edit: these wheels should be lug centric, not hub centric, so the chance of that being the problem are basically 0%. now if they're a hub centric wheel, you could have problems.

 

Coned lug nuts automatically make the wheel lug-centric. The wheel centering issue comes into play with the coined rims, loose hubs, and washered lug nuts, making them non-centric. (nothing controls centering). The symptom is wheel hop.

If you have a squeal that wasn't there before, something's rubbing.....or not. When I bought my truck, it had a sound in the front end that sounded like a bearing was about to freeze up, once per rotation. After 2 days of jacking things up, investigating, listening to it roll by, etc. I discovered that a hub cap was being slightly pushed by the side walls of the slightly oversized tire, making it scrape out and in on the rim. I discovered that by changing the tire out for the spare, and leaving the hub cap off. It was quiet. When I put the hub cap back on the spare, the noise came back.

Between that foolishness, the difficulty getting the %#&@* things off to change a tire, and the skin knuckles trying to air up the inside tire of the duals, I ripped them off and frisbied them into the scrap heap.

Some day I'll paint up the wheels real nice and install chrome lug nuts.

 

From past experience.

If you remove the tire on the front axle, and don't support that tire as you're removing it, the INSTANT that tire clears the lugs, and drops onto the hub, the inside of the rim can compress the brake backing plate and push it up against the rotor, ever so slightly.

I did this exact procedure on my truck and my BIL's honda. The noise was occasional, but when I removed the tire again (on both vehicles) the spacing between the "bent" backing plate and the rotor was very tight. If there is any lateral movement of that rotor, it would skim that backing plate.

That would be the first thing I would check out.

 

Is the noise coming from any specific quadrant?

 

I think T man nailed it.

 

X2 T mans call on the backing plate.

 

Sounds logical.

 

Ok, guys, thanks for chiming in with valuable tips to check on. Had a local Goodyear shop check things for me, so here is my update:
Had the manager pull that drivers side wheel off. Let me back up...the manager had one of his techs take it for a spin, and as he left I could here the whining howl. When he get back in the Goodyear parking lot, which was a long narrow strip, he punches it and slams on the brakes, and man that noise is getting worse. It even whines now slightly at a stop, while in Drive. The minute you pop it in park or neutral, sound goes away. I'm starting to wonder, last week when I almost got run over when I popped the driveline off to tighten up the transfer case yoke nut(I posted this situation elsewhere. Stoopid move, as I did not chock the wheels, and I was under the truck with the truck pointed slightly uphill)in a panic I tossed the driveline on top of the transfer case yoke and got my fat butt out from the rolling truck. I had marked the yoke to driveline so as to reassemble everything in sync. In my hurry to get out from the truck, I believe the sharpie marks smudged off, and at re assembly, I did my best to "remember" how the driveline reconnected back onto the yoke. That was on a Wednesday. Went to work the rest of the week, and drove 200 miles home on Friday night, and to my buddy's tire shop Saturday. No noise at all. None. It's been after the new wheels and tires that that sound came about, and is getting worse.
Now back to the tech's findings: inner, stick on wheel weights are clear of the calipers, the calipers are clear of the wheels. Not a scratch mark on either the wheel or the caliper, to show signs of rubbing issues. So, that's good. Tech and manager seem to think its transmission or axle related. All fluids in diff and tranny are only a few miles old, and fluids are up to level, so that is out. I inquired maybe my bearings on drivers side hub, but the noise is there even with the truck at a stop, in drive. Gone when in N or P. Reverse brings it(noise) on, too, but only slightly. Sheezz!
So, I can see TMans theory... That bent backing plate could be vibrating with the engine in gear, at a stop, couldn't it? Is that a simple fix? Procedure? What do you all think with my update diagnosis?

 

Before you think about it, I wanna add, that the driveline never landed on the ground.. It was luckily supported on top of the transfer case yolk the whole time, even as I reassembled everything
On a funny note, as I need one, the tech was all grins after he took my truck for a spin. Now he wants a 1stGen!

 

The drive line is phased at the slip joint not how the yokes fit into the truck. if somthing were off there you would have a vibration.

If the backing plate is bent into the rotor it will rub, causing the noise. (a harmonic vibration) Not a rattling kind. it would only do it when the truck is moving in gear or out.

 

So, Mark, is that a reach under the truck, check, and pry off the backing plate with a pry barish type of tool, or does the tire have to come off?

 

Was wondering about also about maybe possibly a bad wheel, and being that a bad wheel being mounted directly under the engine is causing all the noise? I really want to attempt NJTMans suggestion, but need assistance on the fix. Tire on or off to fix? Do I have to remove the caliper and pads to repair a backing plate that may have been bent?
Also, I was thinking about swapping the drivers side wheel to the rear, and the rear moved to the DS, to try and see if it is a bad wheel that shows its compromising state with engine vibrations.
MKnittle found the right words...yes, it is more of a harmonics whine type noise.
Someone tell me that the driveline is not the place to check, so I don't have to go thru all that. Again, as stated in my second to last post, there was no vibration, noise, nothing, from last Wednesday all thru on to Saturday when I drove to my buddies tire shop to have my new tires mounted onto my buddies wheels, and the sounds came on after I got home from the shop. From Wednesday to Saturday there was about 500 miles driven, if not more.

 

Just looked over the FSM and read up on front brake components, and did not see a backing plate on the pics, or any wordage about a backing plate on the Dana 60. Are you all meaning the splash shield? How does that get bent during tire removal?