Drivetrain Growling/Gravelly Noise Diagnosis

[Jeff Gurr]

2014 2500 4x4 with CTD and 99,000 miles

For about 2,000 miles I have been hearing a growling noise that is speed related. Was first only at speeds greater than 40'ish mph but now starts at speeds as slow as 20 mph. It's a steady growl, no harmonics to it at any speed. The interesting thing is that I can veer to the left and it goes away. Veer to the right and it gets slightly more obvious but not a lot. Leads me to believe it's a wheel bearing on the left side but, have found no evidence of sloppiness or roughness in the bearings on any wheel while the truck is jacked up. All the u-joints are tight.

Part of me wants to let it go but the rest of my is nagged by it everyday, half expecting a breakdown failure. Are there any tried and true ways to troubleshoot a wheel bearing? I'd be happy to replace the bearing if I could only narrow it down to one wheel.

 

[KATOOM]

Old, worn out, hard tires will sometimes replicate a bad wheel bearing noise/feel. If your tires are like that then you could try swapping them around to see if it helps or changes what you're hearing/feeling.
But usually what you described is a wheel bearing.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

Old, worn out, hard tires will sometimes replicate a bad wheel bearing noise/feel. If your tires are like that then you could try swapping them around to see if it helps or changes what you're hearing/feeling.
But usually what you described is a wheel bearing.

Thank you Katoom.

The tires have just now 15,000 miles on them. I've completed their third rotation and the noise didn't get louder or quieter afterwards. Is there an easy way to determine if it's front or rear bearing? Or, is the front or rear most likely to fail early?

 

[Got HO?]

2014 2500 4x4 with CTD and 99,000 miles

For about 2,000 miles I have been hearing a growling noise that is speed related. Was first only at speeds greater than 40'ish mph but now starts at speeds as slow as 20 mph. It's a steady growl, no harmonics to it at any speed. The interesting thing is that I can veer to the left and it goes away. Veer to the right and it gets slightly more obvious but not a lot. Leads me to believe it's a wheel bearing on the left side but, have found no evidence of sloppiness or roughness in the bearings on any wheel while the truck is jacked up. All the u-joints are tight.

Part of me wants to let it go but the rest of my is nagged by it everyday, half expecting a breakdown failure. Are there any tried and true ways to troubleshoot a wheel bearing? I'd be happy to replace the bearing if I could only narrow it down to one wheel.

A bearing does not have to have play in it to be bad. If moisture has entered through a bad bearing seal, corrosion will pit the bearing surface and create the noise.

 

[KATOOM]

Sounds like you'll just have to jack up both front tires and spin them paying close attention to any grumbly feel or noise. Might take an attentive ear...

 

[Got HO?]

Sounds like you'll just have to jack up both front tires and spin them paying close attention to any grumbly feel or noise. Might take an attentive ear...

A stethoscope helps. You can also usually “feel” it on the coil spring while someone else spins the wheel for you.

 

[KATOOM]

A stethoscope helps. You can also usually “feel” it on the coil spring while someone else spins the wheel for you.

A mechanics stethoscope is handy... Or a long screwdriver or thin stick like a wood dowel also works as a stethoscope.

 

[lpennock]

Could also be a dry u-joint or a bad CV centering yoke in the front drive shaft.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

Could also be a dry u-joint or a bad CV centering yoke in the front drive shaft.

I hadn't considered the front driveshaft since the noise seemed to be biased to one side. Will check this too, now.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

A bearing does not have to have play in it to be bad. If moisture has entered through a bad bearing seal, corrosion will pit the bearing surface and create the noise.

Yea, wondering if they just aren't bad enough yet to make the noise with the weight of the truck off the bearing.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

A stethoscope helps. You can also usually “feel” it on the coil spring while someone else spins the wheel for you.

Did use my stethoscope this morning and set the tip on the back side of the front hub right next to the knuckle u-joint. While spinning the right side hub I did notice that it free wheeled longer in reverse direction than it did in forward direction. Thought that was odd it had lower resistance in reverse than in forward. Already had the left side back down on the ground and did not check it again for the same phenomenon.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

Sounds like you'll just have to jack up both front tires and spin them paying close attention to any grumbly feel or noise. Might take an attentive ear...

I might just end up replacing the front left bearing assembly and if it's not bad set it aside and save for future if the new one goes bad. LOL! Too bad they weren't the same bearing assembly for left and right.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

Found a good article in the Turbo Diesel Register last night regarding hub bearings. How timely...

 

[Jeff Gurr]

Hopefully someone is still following this thread. The noise got bad enough to become a vibration that I could feel in the steering wheel. So, that led me to believe it was the front rather than the rear. Ordered a new bearing and replaced it, oops, was not the problem, still have the noise.

So, while it was apart I did notice something I am not familiar with. While the hub was off and the ujoint still in the axle I rotated them. Felt what seemed like normal gear tooth pulses while rotating but the oddity was with the sloppiness of the shaft. While holding the u-joint you could move it side to side and up and down like there was no support to it except what is provided by the wheel hub. the end of the axle housing is completely dry, no evidence of gear oil ever leaking out of the axle housing. Where is the oil seal for the front axle? This is all on the driver's side.

Thank you,
Jeff

 

[KATOOM]

The axle seals on the front differential are inward. Unlike the rear differential where the seals are out at the wheel hubs. So it sounds like what you felt was normal.

Are you sure that you're just not feeling bad u-joints in the front driveshaft? If you can increase or decrease the severity of the vibration by turning either left or right, or by applying the brakes, then its likely in the driveline.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

Katoom,

I've never had a 4 x 4 truck with u-joints in the knuckles, always had CV joints. Is it possible that the u-joint can just be "beginning to go" bad and not yet bad enough to see it? The joint feels snug, like not sloppy yet. There are no grease fittings on them so I'm guessing that means they are original. Maybe I could get on a dirt road and shift into 4wd to see if that changes the frequency of the vibration or not.

 

[KATOOM]

You can check the front axle u-joints a few different ways. With the tires on the ground you can reach in the joints with your hands or a bar and apply pressure to them, looking for ANY differences in movement between the caps and the bodies. Any movement would indicate worn out and there's play in the trunion/cap.

Or you can jack up one tire and with the transfer case in 4wd, try to rotate that tire which is off the ground back and forth while watching the joints on that side. Again, looking for any excess movement between the caps and body.

Also, jack up both tires off the ground at the same time and have the transfer case in 2wd. With the tires pointed straight, spin the tires and determine their smoothness and resistance to spin. Then turn the wheel full lock and do the same thing, again watching for smoothness and resistance to spin. Turn full lock in the other direction and repeat. A tight or bad u-joint will cause the tires to resist spinning when the tires are turned, and they may vibrate or make noises you can hear too.

A tight or bad front axle u-joint will cause a vibration but generally this is something you'll feel more pronounced when your turning the steering wheel at all. Going straight the u-joints dont move and simply rotate slowly so they arent going to vibrate the same as if they're on a driveshaft which is spinning much much fast than the axle rotates.

As for the front driveshaft joints... They will vibrate like a humming vibrating tool if they're bad or need to be replaced. If thats more what you're feeling then you can stop looking at the axles.

 

[EDankievitch]

If the noise goes away when turning I would suspect a bad front wheel bearing. I had found this on my 1st wife's Suzuki Side Kick the inner wheel bearing on the passenger side had gotten water into it and took it out.

 

[Cummins12V98]

I hadn't considered the front driveshaft since the noise seemed to be biased to one side. Will check this too, now.

Front drive shaft does not rotate unless in 4wd.

Are you still under 5 year drivetrain warranty? If so visit your Dealer.

 

[Jeff Gurr]

Front drive shaft does not rotate unless in 4wd.

Are you still under 5 year drivetrain warranty? If so visit your Dealer.

The truck is a '14 with 100,075 miles.