Over the past couple of weeks, my truck has developed a worsening creak/groan whenever I crank the wheel at low speeds, such as pulling in/out of parking stalls etc. Here are the relavent specs: Tie rods, drag link, track bar, and steering damper have all been replaced within the past 6 months. Outer axleshaft u-joints are about a year and a half old but see fairly extensive 4wd use. Ball-joints are more than a couple years old but have been replaced within the lifetime of the truck. I greased all the points (ball-joints and u-joints included) and coated all the linkage with lithium grease. The noise is getting louder and louder every day and could be described as a loud , creaking howl or groan. Definately not the pump or the belt. Truck has about 82,000 miles (132,000km). I have pinpointed the source as being somewhere in the passenger side steering knuckle/hub area. Any suggestions?

 

You sure your belt is tight? Under a load like turning at low speed a lot of torque is put on the power steering pump. Perhaps the pulley is slipping.

 

Definately not the belt, I had the girlfriend spin the wheel from lock to lock while I got down in front and listened and as best as I can determine, it is coming from somewhere in the passenger side hub/knuckle assembly. I'm thinking either the u-joint on that side or a ball joint. I'm just not sure which one would make a creaking, groaning sound like that.

 

U-joints will make a creaking, groaning sound, but i never heard one squeal

 

Hub bearing going bad?? when your truning you putting a side load on it. Jack that side off the truck of the ground and see if you have play in that bearing by pushing the top and pulling the bottom of that tire in and out at the same time. There should be no play what so ever. If there is even that slightest amount of play it can be two things that are bad. The hub bearing or the ball joints or even a combonation of both. But the ball joint won't squeal when it's bad. It's more of a pop or banging noise when you turning or hitting bumps.

 

cool... good to know! What I'd really like to do is replace the u-joints, ball-joints, and the huball in one go while i've got it all torn apart, but that starts to get pretty expensive pretty quick. I don't think in this case though that the hub is bad because it creaks and groans when I'm at a dead stop as well.

 

Any other suggestions as to what would cause a creak or groan from the steering knuckle/hub assembly when cranking the wheel?

 

So is it a creak and groan or a squeal? I really can't see it being a bad u-joint or ball joint. I guess it could be the hub but I seriously doubt it. Sounds more like a pump, or like the belt slipping like crabman suggested. Take a close look at these, if notI'd jack the truck up and check for play in the front end, if there is play, replace the component and go from there, if not, pull the wheel of and take a good close look at everything. joints all greased, no torn seals... etc. Good luck

 

I guess it is more of a creak/groan it's definately not the belt or the pump, I know what a slipping belt sounds like and what a power steering pump sounds like when it's going bad. It's not even coming from the same side as the pump so I've ruled that out. I've also checked for play in the ball-joints and there doesn't seem to be any. Would a bad needle bearing on a u-joint make a sound like that?

 

I had something similar and it was cheap brake pads from Autozone. The brake cylinder side pad attaches by a spring stuck into the middle of the cylinder. If the spring is too weak, it will be loose and drag on the disc. It's a light drag but it sends a vibration up through it and feels and sounds horrible.