My wife was driving my truck today and heard a sound she described as "gravel in the front driver's side wheel only when she made a left turn". I had her stand outside while I made a slow left turn to confirm it was definitely from the driver's side. I took the wheel off to see if I could find anything broken. Nothing. I then moved to the passengers side and found this broken spring. I am not sure if this could have been making the noise she was talking about or if I will still have the same problem once I fix this. I have a 2008 F150 XLT 4x4 with a 2" leveling kit. The truck has 78k miles on it. My questions are... can this be what was making the noise and is it ok to drive until I can get the part and fix it? Thanks for your help! I know I will need to get an alignment after replacing the part. I am not the most mechanically inclined, but feel somewhat comfortable tackling this job.




busted spring

 

OK. I think I now know what is causing the noise. I think the wheel bearing is going out on the drivers side. The noise occurs whether I make a left or right turn. There is some play when I try shake the wheel/tire from side to side when on the jack. We won't be driving it tomorrow. I may wait until the weekend to replace the strut assembly on the other side.

 

If you think the wheel bearing is going out, it'll be the one on the opposite side as the direction you're turning, because that's the side the weight is getting loaded on. If you hear the sound when turning in both directions, then both could be bad.

 

Thanks pizzaman! The drivers side wheel had play in it from side to side, so I assumed that was the only bad one. I will have to double check the passengers side too.

 

I replaced the drivers side wheel hub assembly this afternoon (my first). $215 for the Moog part. I hate to think what it would have cost to have a shop change it. Noise is gone. I will keep an eye on the passengers side. For now it appears to be ok. Next on the list is the busted spring. I will replace the whole strut assembly and have an alignment done.

 

no need to have an alignment done just after replacing the strut.

even when replacing the bearing it's not needed.

if you don't touch the control arm frame mounting point or tie rod end adjustement screw(which are the alignment adjustment point)...there's no need to align.
Just poping out a balljoint of the knuckle doesn't need an alignment either.

it's not a bad idea to have one done if it's been a couple it haven't been made...but other then that: it's not needed.

 

Thanks maxpat82! I replaced the wheel hub with no problems, thank goodness. Next I need to tackle the struts. I planned on popping the outer tie rod end off and easing the strut down and out. I watched a youtube video that made it look pretty easy.




New MOOG hub

 

Loosen the tie-rod end nut and unscrew it , then re-screw it until it hit the locking nylon. this will allow you to remove it easily in the case the stud would want to turn into the tie-rod end.
That way when hammering on the knuckel. If you miss, you won't hit the thread