I'm going to try to explain this so that it makes since

Background:

03 2500 2WD, 5Spd. I have 150000 miles on the truck and this set of tires for 60000 miles.

The truck started making a humming noise (similiar to mud grip tires) while driving straight and it becomes more pronounced when making right turns. This noise occurs while cruising down the road or when I'm rolling (clutch pushed in). If I steer to the left a little bit the noise goes away.

So, I figured I'd check my tires to see if there was a rock, screw, nail, etc in them. Nope. Then I decided to have the front end aligned and it needed it (first time i've had one done). Unfortunately this didn't help with the noise either. So I decided to rotate the tires, no luck.

Next, I checked my PWR Steering fluid and I was low, so I added fluid and no luck.

Last, I jacked the front of the truck up and spun the wheels, no noise...I then tried to rock the tires to see if maybe a bearing was going bad...no movement...

Any ideas? I hate to change the wheel hubs and the bearings not being the problem...I would also hate to buy new tires as well

 

What kind of tires, and what is the pressure in your tires?

 

Factory Michelins, 50 PSI

 

Are you getting a bit of scalloping on the outside edges? If the wheel alignment was out the tires could be uneven at the edges and causing the noise and turning would make it go away.

 

Yes there is, a little bit, the front end had a lot of negative camber causing the inside treads to wear more than the outside...I really hope it's the tires...

 

I'd give it a 1000 miles or so if they have to wear even again. If you don't have any vibrations, be patient and listen for anything getting worse. You should be able to determine if its tires by the rotational speed changes, although not always.

 

It definitely sounds like rubber and the noise varies with speed as you suggest. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had any problems with their wheel bearings going out....and what kind of noise they made

 

Steering to the left a little takes the weight off of the left hub. My experience says you need a left side wheel bearing (hub)

 

How difficult is it to change the hubs? Do they have to be pressed out?