Author Topic: Diagnosing a grinding front wheel.  (Read 2157 times)

Offline cwest

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Diagnosing a grinding front wheel.
« on: July 24, 2012, 02:06:27 PM »
Have a very stock 86 4x4 3/4 ton.  It's had a grinding thing going on in the left front wheel on sharp left turns for a while now.  It's progressing to sort of a whirring noise(like if I had big off road tires) while driving straight and around 25-40MPH, then goes away if I go faster.  I have a hunch I've got a bad bearing and CV joint.  Has anyone had this problem?  I also noticed on the both front wheels the locking hub assemblies are loose,  they come away from the wheel maybe an 1/8"-1/4" and even have a little lateral play.  Could this be connected to the grinding, and am I in danger of loosing a hub assembly while driving down the road?  Because that would stink!  Thanks for any input   
86' Chevy K20
350/SM465/np208

08' Silverado 1500 4X4 WT

Offline Blazin

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Re: Diagnosing a grinding front wheel.
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2012, 11:44:54 PM »
Not going to be a CV joint as these trucks don't have them.
Need to pull it apart, and identify the problem asap.

Shouldn't be driving it even with a little grinding noise let alone a few weeks with it getting worse.  What might have been a simple fix now might be huge $s. The spindle could be damaged if it is in fact a wheel bearing going away and not repaired right off.
 
It is possible that the wheel hub assembly could come off. That would stink, especially if it took out a child riding his or her bike or something.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2012, 11:48:11 PM by Blazin »
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