97 f150 xlt 4x4....212,000 miles......ive got a grinding noise in the front (sounds like drivers side) of my truck.....its a slight grind when im driving straight but whenever i turn or go over a bump the grinding is mucho louder....I was thinking wheel bearing,,,,but my buddy said maybe a tie rod.....what do you all think????.....and advance auto carries NTP, and National wheel hub assemblies....whats a good one? thanx (PS. the cv axles and differential and 4wd are all good)

 

Jack the front end up with both wheels off the ground and give them a spin...it will be an instant give away. Does the sound change with speed? Another good indicator. I went with National from RockAuto...very nice pieces. You're buddy's a dork (LOL) it is not a tie rod.

Guys on here will also tell you to check for play. Very good tip, but not the only indicator. I replaced mine based off noise...not gonna wait around for any play to show up.

 

Ok sounds good ill do that and check....and yeah i wasnt thinkin it was a tie rod.....havent noticed much speed variation....most all of my driving is around town...ill look into to National thanx...and im probably going to have to replace my rotor too b/c im going to more than likely break it taking it off right?

 

Definitely the front wheel hub assembly. I just had to replace mine in my 1997 before I sold it.

 

WOW....ton of play in my drivers side....dont feel safe to drive it.....did you replace both?....and did you have to replace the rotor?....also i dont have to get it aligned after i do this am i?

 

Yes, replace ASAP. Yes, totally awesome idea to replace both sides while you're in there...if you can afford it. No, you don't have to replace the rotor. Brakes have nothing to do with the hub. No, you don't need an alignment.

 

Thanx Galaxy....yeah im definitely replacing both of them on saturday....going to do the rotors as well just to make it easier and they could use a replacin

 

If you are going to do rotors, put new brake pads in while you are at it.

 

Yeah the guy in advance said if i keep my brake pads i need to clean them and sand em or theyll squeal......i didnt get new pads cuz when i did my lift i checked em and they had a ways to go still on em.....i guess if they are noisy i will ....but the assemblies for 170 each and the rotors for 63 each took a hit on my wallet hahaha

 

My local Advance had two rotors and gold pads on sale last week for 69 bucks, which is a smokin deal considering what you just paid, but I wouldn't of gave much more than that as I get Silver Discount through them cause I have spent about 15K there is the last 3 years...

 

^ ha i wish i could of gotten that deal.......well its all said and done with and the BuckTruck is back on the road...THANX for all yall's help.....was a really easy install and she even stops better now...and no more grinding haha.....NOW whats next....Im thinkin tie rods

 

Beware of the cheapest line of Advance brake rotors. I put some on the rear of my 2000 Scab and they warped in 1000 miles. This was a few years ago. I don't know what the quality of their rotors is now. My originals on the rear warped in 40k miles. OE Fronts did not warp. But I replaced them at 80k miles.
I also had one heck of a time getting the front rotors off. The wear pattern was weird and I planned to get them resurfaced. But, they were so hard to get off that I ended up beating them with a bf hammer and ruined them.

 

Yeah advance said these were the "BEST" ones....they were the most expensive Wearever ones they carried....they actually looked really good heavy duty quality.....i was going to get the wagners but they are both made in china and the guy in advance said there just over priced .......yeah i kept hearing about how hard it was to get em off so thats why i just got new ones

 

This reminds me, I have hubs and 4wd axles waiting for me at my shop this week.. I am not looking forward to that.

 

The hubs were really easy to install...two caliper bolts and three hub bolts is all