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Wheel bearing noise?

1993 Views 18 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  panhead george, 
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I can't tell if I have tire noise or a problem with wheel bearings.
I would think tire noise will have a higher pitch the faster you go.

The noise I have does not change. I hear it only when I am moving.
I have jacked up the front end and spun the wheels but I do not hear any noise.

Does any one have any thoughts?
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Steve83
Rotate the suspect tire with the spare.
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Steve83
Chock BOTH front tires fore&aft, put the rear axle on jack stands, have an assistant run it up to speed while you listen underneath with a stethoscope.

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Steve83
4
Not exactly a "wild guess"... These are from different trucks:

. . .

I would NOT drive the truck again until you look inside & remove any loose chunks. If one of them goes into the R&P on a bad bump, it could lock the rear wheels, or explode the diff.
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Steve83
Post pics, including the embossed text on the edge of the ring gear. But in general: when the R&P gears wear down enough to detect, everything needs to be replaced. A complete used axle assembly is usually the cheapest, quickest, & best solution.
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Steve83
I see them along the ridges of every ring tooth. But I also see strikes on the carrier, which tells me the pinion nut is loose. Pull the driveshaft off the rear axle, remove the pinion nut, wash the pinion & nut threads with carb/brake cleaner, apply RED threadlocker, and torque the old nut to ~190 lb-ft. That will NOT repair any damage, or save the gears/axle, but it's nearly free, and it will make the truck reasonably-safe to drive for a couple thousand miles while you source a permanent repair.

The way I post pics is described in this thread:
http://www.supermotors.net/forums/thid-5972-how-do-i-post-pictures-sounds-and-or-videos
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Steve83
Well, if the pinion isn't moving back into the carrier, the carrier has to be moving forward into the pinion. Those are the only 2 ways for the pinion to engrave those stripes onto the carrier. So check the carrier bearings & cap bolts.
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