The sound is the same frequency as if you had a failing u-joint, but I don't feel it through the seat or floorboard as is usually the case with those. And I had the rear shaft out to check, both joints were perfect. I haven't yet removed the front.. maybe I need to do that.
I have also been noticing lately that it sure seems to have some positive camber, even though the alignment shop said they got it to spec. Could riding slightly more on the outside edge of the tires contribute to this issue?
What kind of positive camber. Hunter spec is 0.13±0.75, and I’m pretty happy with that also. But to answer your question, if you are at say 2° of camber, oh heck year it will make the sound you are talking about. The loudest 200 I’ve heard so far was one in ridge grapplers that had seized cam bolts. A shop up north told the customer that they fixed it. Well that was a big fat lie, as they didn’t, and just inverted the front cam bolts to compensate. It was set at 2.2° and man did that thing roar. Not the tires manufactures fault, but an 8,000 miles trip did those tire in and had to be replaced. If you are at 1.25°, probably not, but then again, nothing is impossible. Escoecislly with knobby sidewalls. If we had some road racing tire, these degrees I’m talking about are soooo much higher.
At least you can narrow it down. If it’s a constant sound, it’s not a joint. Roads are far from perfect, and even a total junker of a car, sometimes, rides like a dream, just beucase of the ever constant changes of road surfaces.
It has nothing to do with drive or coast/when you are on or off the accelerator. So it’s most likely, there are exceptions, it’s not a spinning shaft.
That pretty much leaves a wheel bearings, so test that whole slalom thing/ wave back and further. If it’s wheel bearing, the race and the bearing are worn, so when you apply force to one side and then the other, it will change the pitch. That why the growel will get louder or softer. It’s it’s the very very beginning of a bearing going bad, they don’t make much noise at all, so listening for the changes is what matters.
If that checks out. There is the alignment thing I mentioned. Then after that, (and this won’t help, but it’s good to isolate) I would take out the rear prop shaft and test drive it. Then do that for the front.
One thing I am pretty good at doing these days, is whenever I’m about to work on something, I record some parts of the truck so I’m not loosing my mind. Like when I resealed my cam towers and timing chain cover. I never remember hearing how rattley the bottom of a 5.7 is. I could of swore I messed something up. But then critical thinking jumps in, and I never went that low in the motor, so that has nothing to do with it. Went back to the tape, and yep, always did that, just never noticed it. Now that I play with 200s regularly, when putting them in the lifts, the engines are running and I’m under them putting lift arms and yep, bangs and pops under all of them. The point of that story was to share that things will make us worry more than the average drive becuase we are all enthusiast, and that’s a good thing.
So whatever it is, your going to catch it early and it will be fine in the end.
