I have a 97 F150 4X4 with 120 miles. I bought the truck with Mud and Snow Kelly Tires 285/75R16. These tires were huge and hit the wheelwell. The truck is stock with no lift. Worst of all they were noisy - so I thought. Today I got new much less aggressive tires and to my disbelief they are just as noisy. NOW. This makes me wonder if it's even the tires that were making the noise in the first place! Choking on my own rage! Regardless, the tire needed to be changed. But now what can the noise be coming from. Now that I think about it I think the noise has gotten louder since I bought it 7 months ago. I'm almost convinced it's not the tires but something else in the front.

Sympotoms: The noise gets louder the faster I drive, from 0 to 120+. Putting the truck in park/neutral and reving the engine does nothing to the noise. Riding on snow or soft ground does not change how loud it is. Lastly, it seems to be coming from the front.

Any help would be great. Nick

 

????!

Don't know that I'd try and 120+ before I knew what the noise was - much less on snow tires......

Have you checked the front end diff oil? How about the CV joints and front driveshaft U-joints? Do you have a hub locked? How are the hubs?

Since you said it was speed sensitive, put it in neutral and coast when it starts to make the noise and see if it stays with the driveline, or goes away with the transmission being out of gear. (Unless that's what you meant when you said 'park/neutral').

Also, it very well may be the front end - but check the rear end stuff too. Bearings, U-joints, etc.

If the tires were hitting the wheel wells, I'd make sure there wasn't someting broken in the suspension. Those Kelly tires don't sound overly large for a 4x4, but maybe someone that has one could better answer that one...

 

120 km/hr not miles sorry. That would be fast.

Yes the noise doesn't go away when I shift into N.

Shift on the fly.

It is definately something in the front. Now I will check over the things you mentioned.

We had several inches of snow last night and driving through the stuff did not change the noise.

When I turn to the right on the highway the noise dissappears until I straighten the wheel back. I think the is an important clue! Turning left doesn't change the noise.

It is really getting loud. I'm taking it in in a couple of weeks when I returnfrom a flight to the west coast.

Thanks for your input. Cheers!

 

Your left wheel bearing is falling apart. Turning to the right loads up the left bearing. That's the clue. If this is a 4x4, you need to replace the hub. The bearings are not serviceable on 4x4 models.

When my right wheel bearing went, it would buzz as I drove in a straight line but always smoothed out around leftward curves.

 

Thanks for your help. Your analysis seems right. I'll look into the price of replacing the left hub, etc.

BTW - I notice the hub was warm today after driving 12 miles or so even though it's 10 below freezing. I figured with that much vibration something has to get warm.

Thanks again,
Nick