Got some high speed vibration (60-70 mph) from the front end since reinstalling the front diff. Planning on crawling under there and checking out the driveshaft and the oil in the front diff. It also got me thinking about the wheel hubs.

What do you typically see/hear with a failing hub?

I know I have a bad axle seal in the front drivers side so I have to take that hub apart and remove the axle, so I figured I might as well do some sort of inspection on the hub if it is warranted.

Also with no warning while driving on the highway a couple of days ago, I got the 3 amigos but the next day it was gone and has not returned. Not sure if it is related but seems too coincidental.

 

I've been curious about this same issue myself. Very interested to see what other forum members might be able to contribute, and what you find out.

 

Did you check for codes, ABS? Typically, a hub will make noise and offer possibly a little vibration in the steering wheel. And noise will usually change if you turn from side to side gently at random speeds, loading and unloading worn hub. Jackmitmup and check for unusual movement of wheel, while grasping it at 9 and 3, should be tight and spin freely when turned. If they check out okay...

Me, l'd drop the driveshaft, lock CDL and take it for a ride.

 

No codes and the wheel hub spins freely. I had to take it off to replaced the axle seal which was leaking. Greased the driveshaft and will test it out tomorrow night. If it’s still noisy, I’ll pull the driveshaft like you recommended.

 

Wheel hubs will not typically vibrate at 60-70. I will venture to bet that it's you're front driveshaft. I just spent 3 months trouble shooting a high frequency vibration at 60-70. I dismissed the front shaft bc it was just rebuilt by a reputable company and rechecked for balance by them too. Take off the front shaft and lock the cdl. Drive it and if it's glass smooth it's your driveshaft. Give Mr. driveshaft in NJ a call and tell him binh sent you. He got my front shaft perfect. I'm relieved.
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Yeah, my 04 has a slight vibration that comes on at about 73 mph. It feels like driveshaft, because it falls right off at 72 mph. A hub would be consistent once it started making noise.

 

I've experienced front hub faults in all these ways the last two years...

1. Faint rumble when turning right around 55mph. Rolled smoothly when jacked up. No 9 and 3 knocking. Replaced left hub and solved problem. Only when it was on the bench and I spun by hand while pulling it outward did I feel the crunchy crunch of bad bearings. This hub was months old.
2. Driving down highway, ran over a very small pothole, 3 amigos immediately lit up and threw a rough road signal (P1590 I believe?). Replaced right front hub. This was an original hub with 89,000 miles on it. Three amigos went away.
3. Without any event, three amigos lit up. Replacement hub from #1 went bad again but this time the ABS sensor was the culprit.

And other front end issues that might help your search...

4. Faint groaning noise at highway speeds that only happened on deceleration. Went from no noise to super noticeable in a matter of 100 miles. Differential shattered to bits.
5. Slight vibration when turning that felt like bad CV joints. Replaced CV joints. No change. Replaced tie rod ends. Cured vibration. Tie rod ends were brand new before replacing so I thought the only thing it could be after replacing hubs, the diff, and the tie rod ends were the CV joints. We're in an age where new disco parts can be DOA, so don't rule anything out.
6. Subtle side to side knocking when steering. Replaced panhard bushings. Cured.

I'm now currently on killing the three amigos that's because of faulty hubs. I've installed nine total hubs on the 2004 in the last two years, mostly due to receiving bad ones out of the box. I just ordered the tenth today that will finally, hopefully, not be a Eurospare china hub and finally rid of the 3 amigos.

Other things for you to check that I too checked when trying to figure out #5: Test that your differential output flange doesn't have play. Check the same for the input flange on your TC. And yes, check that your driveshaft is good. I replaced it three times thinking that had to be the issue. Crazy that it ended up being something as simple as tie rod ends. Definitely felt like a rotational vibration, which is also part of the reason why I ruled them out originally.

 

You must really love your truck lol.

What I've noticed is that cheap hubs on eBay are the devil. I bought two and within miles threw 3 amigos codes. Plugged in the icarsoft and I have code for low voltage. After further examination for some reason or another the cheap hubs chew up the tips of the abs sensor. I've been using allmakes4x4 tay100060 and tay100050 with good luck so far. You can find them on eBay or get them from rovers north.

 

In my experience with failing wheel bearings on a rover; the bearing dries out - hence a chirp or a whine. The dry run needle bearings begin to heat up and chafe - you will get grindings, which stick to ABS sensor (magnet) which will ultimately fault your ABS. As it continues to wear; the debris, heat & weight will begin to break down creating space - which is why mentioning above its a good idea to jack tire off ground and wiggle the wheel looking for any unusual play or slop. Should be tight abs smooth

a chirp sound in a rotation form is usually first but can be difficult to detect.

a whine when turning as exacerbated wear

ABS code - (especially “rough road” code)

For those with a lifted disco- its heavy, add larger tires to the mix and you have extra weight on a wheel bearing. If your tires are older or wearing unevenly, vibrations at speeds can transfer through to your joints and wear your wheel bearings out. A loud, older tire can muffle sounds of a wearing wheel bearing.

 

I've actually had great experiences with Allmakes too. So far with covid shortages, the only wheel bearings I can find from the usual places are eurospares, which are all DOA.