Front end occasional loud growling/grinding/rubbing

[shromani]

Hello, I am experiencing an occasional loud growling/grinding/rubbing from the front suspension while driving under 50km/h. It’s happened 5 times today and appears random. I have taken the truck on the hwy and all “feels” good while driving. No pull, vibration, shutter etc. while rolling or braking. The wheel does vibrate a bit while it grows. One time I was able to put the truck in neutral and it didn’t change anything. Next time I’ll touch the brakes but often it’s just a 1 second growl then gone.

The truck did have the front end brakes, rotors, bearings and seals done, including the pinion bearing and seal. That was about 6 mos ago and it’s been flawless since. I mention this only because the front has been opened and worked on but it was done by a reputable shop known on this board with OEM parts so I doubt that’s it.

Concern is if it isn’t something like a jamming brake disk then it sound like something gonna break cause this noise isn’t right. So I hope the front has a slipped disk like my back

Any thoughts? What could cause such a noise.

 

[Squash]

Crawl under and check your caliper bolts two per side. If they are there and tight I'd jack it up and inspect with the tires off.

 

[Capitalguy]

When I first got my 70 there was an occasional growl from the front when I applied the brakes. As it turned out the pads were incorrectly placed into the caliper on one side. I replaced the front pads on both sides along with new retainer kits and the noise has never come back.

 

[shromani]

Thanks for the posts, I've been trying to determine the source of the noise and it's been a challenge. Most often the noise is less than a second long, but on occation it's lasted a few seconds and I'm quit sure it's not drive train/brake noise. It makes no differences if I touch the brakes, turn the wheel, pop in neutral etc. I now think it's coming from the engine.

Today I removed my tensioner and AC belt. don't need AC right now When I spin the bearing it seems fine, nice and smooth. The AC spins freely and has a tiny bit of play if I wiggle it. Could that be the sound I hear if it resonates while turning? Another thought is the tensioner for my timing belt. Took the cover off and all looks well, but I didn't fancy backing of the tension to see. If it's not the AC tensioner then it ought to be the timing belt tensioner. BTW the alternator is new.

Any thoughts?

 

[roscoFJ73]

Thanks for the posts, I've been trying to determine the source of the noise and it's been a challenge. Most often the noise is less than a second long, but on occation it's lasted a few seconds and I'm quit sure it's not drive train/brake noise. It makes no differences if I touch the brakes, turn the wheel, pop in neutral etc. I now think it's coming from the engine.

Today I removed my tensioner and AC belt. don't need AC right now When I spin the bearing it seems fine, nice and smooth. The AC spins freely and has a tiny bit of play if I wiggle it. Could that be the sound I hear if it resonates while turning? Another thought is the tensioner for my timing belt. Took the cover off and all looks well, but I didn't fancy backing of the tension to see. If it's not the AC tensioner then it ought to be the timing belt tensioner. BTW the alternator is new.

Any thoughts?

AC tensioner,or idler,do make those noises you descibed.Try spraying some CRC on it,if its the problem the noise will TEMPORARILY go away.
You can probably do the same thing with the timing belt idler.
I think I paid about for a new $50 AC idler in oz. The timing belt idler is also cheap,you can get the idler,belt and a few other bits and pieces for a $100 bucks off ebay.

 

[simonliew]

the sound u describe sounds like it is dry in the spindle where the birfield passes through,there is a copper/brass bushing in there that will growl like the whole frontend is fallingapart,was the knuckle rebuild when they did the brakes??
Simon

 

[shromani]

Well I took the AC idler and belt off. The bearing feels smooth but perhaps different under load. However, the noise came back. It does feel like front end stuff. Of course I am going to Tofino tomorrow arrgh. I'll pull the wheels, perhaps the brakes off and push/pull/inspect what I can. I wonder if they filled my diff with oil They didn't do the birfs and I have 170K km on the truck. Can I lube this? Am I going to lose a wheel on the hwy?

 

[Scalci]

I have exactly the same issue. I have been through all the above, and still have this noise.

What about wheel bearings?

 

[blis]

If it is birf's making the noise you can identify it by switching into 4WD and driving slowly while turning tires all the way from left to right. If you here strange noises during that it is most likely a bad birf...

 

[shromani]

FWIW I never did find out what the problem was. The intermittent noise went away and I haven't heard it since.

 

[markthemenace]

Hey I had this happen to me once too. For me the loud growl happened soon after I started to drive the new-to-me cruiser with the front hubs locked.

After awhile the sound went away. All I can think of is that the PO never drove it with hubs locked and there was just no oil circulating in the diff. A few times with the hubs locked and a few times in 4Wd and no more sound.

 

[wrongway around]

I would grease the front ds a dry cup can do that or a dry sloppy slip joint . After a hwy drive put your fingers on the u joint cup and feel for heat. Even when you grease them sometimes one won't get grease . I do my grease jobs right after driving when their warm, sometimes I have to hit it with a torch to liquify the grease a bit. Heat dispersment can tell you a lot if you don't mind jumping under just after it makes noise. Tofino ye ha.