Chirping/squeaking sound appeared out of nowhere

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fordoford

fordoford

Joined
May 17, 2017
Threads
31
Messages
221
Location
Charlotte, NC
I got in my 1997 yesterday to come home from work and noticed a chirp/squeak sound I hadn't heard before, and it quickly got loud. It seems consistent with rotation, i.e. occurs more frequently the faster I go and seems to increase linearly with speed. It happens in reverse, when turning, when rolling in neutral, etc. If the wheels are turning it was happening (as far as I could tell). It seems to be coming from the front of the vehicle.

Anyone have best guesses of what this could be? I'm going to get it up on jacks today after work and see if I can narrow it down, but any insight before I start would be appreciated.

For context - I drove it around 100 miles on the highway the night before as well as to work in the morning with no sounds, but almost right when I started driving home from work it started. I also finished a front axle rebuild and front diff reseal a couple thousand miles ago, not sure if that could be related. 1997 with ~250k miles. I've owned for the past 70k and have done all work myself.

I'll attach a video for reference.
 
Something is loose with the resonant frequency of the drivetrain. What? I am not sure but what I am sure of is you need to investigate further and check every bolt/nut and heat shield.
 
Idler/tensioner pulley? My brothers '97 had a squeak once.
We had been driving for a couple hours, out of no where we hear this squeel, pull over, nothing??? Year or two later he's working on it, thats when he noticed the pulley had seized and the belt was just polishing the pulley as he drove along. The squeal was the bearing giving up.
 
samatulich said:
Idler/tensioner pulley? My brothers '97 had a squeak once.
We had been driving for a couple hours, out of no where we hear this squeel, pull over, nothing??? Year or two later he's working on it, thats when he noticed the pulley had seized and the belt was just polishing the pulley as he drove along. The squeal was the bearing giving up.
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Thought it could be something in the engine bay initially, but it only happens when I'm moving and consistent with my speed.
 
There is a bronze bushing located inside the front spindle bore that will make noise if it gets dry.
 
Rifleman said:
When was the last time that your front diff was taken apart, cleaned and inspected? There is a bronze bushing located inside the front spindle bore that will make noise if it gets dry.
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I did a full rebuild myself a couple thousand miles ago. First time doing it so there's possibility of error. I'll look into that if other simpler solutions don't fix it. Thanks
 
fordoford said:
I did a full rebuild myself a couple thousand miles ago. First time doing it so there's possibility of error. I'll look into that if other simpler solutions don't fix it. Thanks
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Sorry caught that after i posted. Does your truck have the combo needle bearing bronze bushing or just the full bronze bushing?
 
Rifleman said:
Sorry caught that after i posted. Does your truck have the combo needle bearing bronze bushing or just the full bronze bushing?
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Honestly I'm not sure. I don't remember a bronze bushing, and just found a picture of what I believe you're talking about, although it does say brass, but I don't think I installed that. From what I can tell it's pre-installed in the spindle? But I could be remembering incorrectly
 
Got the 80 up on jacks yesterday. The sound totally disappears when turning the tires freely, which makes it really hard to locate it as I can't replicate it unless I'm physically moving the car. Any more suggestions of places to look with this info?
 
Worth a look at u joints. A very dry joint will chirp and it would coincide with rpm as well as go away with turning tires in the air. Easy and worth a shot to see if a couple Pumps of grease may quiet it down.

fordoford said:
Got the 80 up on jacks yesterday. The sound totally disappears when turning the tires freely, which makes it really hard to locate it as I can't replicate it unless I'm physically moving the car. Any more suggestions of places to look with this info?
Click to expand...
 
Something is loose, body mounts, side steps, door panels? You probably know it by then but just in case… locate from where it is coming from and work your way to the source.
 
I would also check the u joints
You could lock the cdl and pull the front shaft see if noise changes, then pull the rear see if the noise changes or goes away
 
ajax1 said:
I would also check the u joints
You could lock the cdl and pull the front shaft see if noise changes, then pull the rear see if the noise changes or goes away
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So just put it in 4 low and pull the shaft if I don't have the CDL switch?
 
I had a heat shield on cat sound like that for a while. Metal zip tied it and went away. Would squeeze at different frequencies at different speeds.
 
Squirt some grease in the u-joints and see if the noise changes.
 
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