So I have developed a strange knocking sound that can also be felt in the floor, not sure where it is coming from but it almost sounds like the passenger side front? also noticed it seems to go with the speed of the vehicle, and what I mean by that is I heard the knock while I was rolling through my parking lot without touching the gas pedal. It is not always there it comes and goes (maybe with a slight turn of the wheel?) hoping you guys may have some ideas (problems and how to check them) as I am completely clueless on this one.

 

just thought I would add this I pushed and pulled on the top of the passenger front wheel and I kept hearing a noise (almost sounds like the wheel is loose, but I dont think it is) I will jack the truck up here in a few and check that out a little more in depth.

oh and by the way it is a 97 with 140k miles, oil is good, does get hot every now and then but 1 of my electric fans is not working. check engine light comes on for the front right O2 sensor every now and then but it is not currently on.

 

Have you had the U-Joint on the prop shaft replaced with the greasable type? Just a thought...

 

its a 97 D1 they come that way, but good thought. I also grabbed a hold of just about everything underneath the truck (all easily accessible moving parts anyways) and nothing appears to be loose

 

check for play on the drive shaft

 

ok some new info that may help resolve my issue, I took both front wheels off independently and noticed play in the passenger front wheel, I grabbed 2 lugs (or studs or whatever) and got about 1/8" of play in any direction (maybe even a little less) and none at all on the drivers side. I could even see the light reflecting back and forth in the brake rotor as I was wiggling it. It is definitely loose and I have also noticed a (very) little more shaking in the steering wheel over the last few months but figured it was just the tires a little off balance. So my diagnosis is wheel bearing going bad or something like that. if anyone has another thought please let me know,
also I now live in an apartment complex where they do not want me to do work on my truck so if anyone has an idea of estimated repair times or what I will be looking at for parts and labor prices at an indy shop that would be great too.

thanks guys.

 

Bearings on a DI are easy to change and inexpensive. Do you have a friend with a driveway you are talking 4 hours max?

 

4 hours max I could probably do here, I just pulled the wheel off again and removed the cover? of the axle and got down to the axle nut (or whatever the big 2+ inch nut is under that) then I turned the wheel hub assembly (without turning the axle) and heard the bearings, they weren't real loud but I could hear them in there. does this sound like my problem, and if so how much farther do I have to go to repair or replace them? also my axle moves in and out a little bit is that normal (were talking about 1/8" max)
and my last question is am I going to have any trouble getting the axle nut off? I know I will need an axle nut socket and I have a very large torque ratchet to give me some leverage but I don't want to find out I am going to need an impact gun or any other specialty tools in there anywhere.

 

If you keep driving with the wheel bearings being bad eventually they will get hot enough to weld its self to the axle shaft.
Make sure that you replace both of them at the same time, that means both sides.
If one is bad the other is not far behind.