Dana 35 TTB strange noise

[redjmp]

Hi everybody!
I have a 97 ranger 4.0L with a Dana 35 TTB.
As the steering wheel is turned, a progressively louder noise can be heard.
It really sounds like gears that aren't meshing is the best I can describe it.
It is not a grinding or screeching but a rubbing, not so metallic as to sound jangly and not so muted as to sound rubbery but somewhere in between.
At first I thought it was the tread on my new tires but this is not the case.
The tires do make a little noise but it is different than this noise.
There is no noise when driving straight but as soon as I turn the wheel it starts and just gets louder the more I turn.

*But* it only does it while turning 1 direction.

Usually to the right but after driving for a few minutes, it will then change sides and only do it while turning left!

10 minutes later and chances are good that it will be doing it from the right side again and so on.

Never both at the same time.

I have tried to make it change sides by cornering hard left and right while braking and accelerating but no luck, it just does it seemingly at random.

I have replaced all the ball joints, the rotors (with new races), pads and made sure the tie rod ends are fine.

Also checked the ujoints on the axle shafts and they were fine.

I even installed a newer set of auto hubs as I thought they might be the problem but they did not help either.
They work fine otherwise.

I have even removed the cam so that the hubs cant lock and drove in 4wd and the noise is still there...maybe even a little worse.

The wheel bearings were repacked and seemed fine other than minor wear and have no slop and I even turned the wheel nut 1 more notch than normal but the noise is still there.

I don't know what to try next.

I am at my wits end.

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[brokemechanic3000]

Did you check the power steering pump? Make sure it is full of fluid. Or it could be the pump itself.

 

[redjmp]

I went and checked and it was just a little low but not the cause of the noise.

 

[Hahnsb2]

Wheels bearings.

It's always a good idea to replace both the bearings and the races at the same time.

New races+old bearings=usually not good.

 

[redjmp]

I am tempted to think it is the wheel bearings but like I said I checked them and they seemed fine.
No discoloration, chips or abnormal wear and still very smooth.

There is no slack when I jack it up and try to rock the tires side to side or up and down.
They turn smoothly without much effort...

Even if they were loose, and the wheel flopped around a little, there is nothing for the tire or wheel to rub against, even though that's kinda what it sounds like... tread pattern rubbing... dull ratcheting...
hard to put my finger on it.

Unless the abs sensor is somehow rubbing against the fins on the rotor?

But if it was worn bearings then why does this sound migrate from side to side every 10 minutes or so?

I wonder if there is some way to remove either the axles or the hubs and still run this truck?
Eliminate the axles moving side to side and some how causing the spines in the hub to start to want to engage.

Hmmm or maybe if I take the guts out of the hubs so there is no interaction with the axles...
I have already removed the 3 pronged actuating cam assembly... but the inner guts are still attached to the axles even though engaging 4wd has no effect on the noise.

Part of me thinks it might be the splines in the auto hubs.

Another part of me is thinking some bad bushing(s) is causing something to mess up the alignment of the front end up.

Maybe something like a loose back axle on one side throwing out the alignment.

I know one of my back wheels has about 1/8" of side to side play while there is very little on the other side.
That is a job I haven't looked into yet...

Don't think that would be related...

 

[locked ranger]

inner spindle bearings, inner rotor rubbing from bearings having to much wear, auto hubs, and also check your front diff. gear lube.

 

[4x4junkie]

New races+old bearings=usually not good.

Not just old w/new, but mixing different brands of bearings/races too.

It baffles me why anyone would sell a rotor with preinstalled races, but not include the bearing that goes with it. I can only assume this is one of the reasons why we often hear people having bearing issues on these frontends.


To the OP,
If you do find that it's your bearings, my suggestion would be to replace with Timken brand bearings (#SET-37, matched set w/bearing & race). Get a hammer & punch (or a race puller if you got one) and get rid of the preinstalled junk in those rotors (who knows what it is... China?) and replace them with the Timken stuff. This should put a quick end to bearing problems.

 

[redjmp]

Ok today I went and removed the guts of the auto hubs and surprise surprise, the noise went away!

I guess spindle bearings maybe need replacing?
Wheelbearings too I suppose.

Thanks to everybody who chimed in!

 

[4x4junkie]

Sounds like a good candidate for a manual hub swap.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/howto_hubswap.htm