MIne has been doing this for over a year now, but the truck still drives fine. There might not be anything wrong with it, but any kind of little noise besides the exhaust bugs me.

 

maybe the bearings arent bad, but some times you have to repack them with grease. but then i think they would wirr when you spun them unloaded, maybe not though. You sure it is the wheel ticking maybe valve train check your oil levels. the whining roar <kinda an oxymoron> dont be offended, you got an auto trans. maybe check those fluid levels too. Also could be just the fuel injectors whining. My dad had an F-150 that had a very promenant whine from the fuel injection nothing to worry about that just little sprayers spray'n. Who knows? Could be power steering, the pump for mine is on the drivers side. could be loose shock or a spring chattering. I had a similar deal but it ended up being that one of my bed rails was loose and it was rattling around. PRobably not same deal for you. My front end rattles when i hit bumps and rough sufaces and when turning, but I need to regrease all that stuff. Maybe the whine is fropm your brake pads getting close to the end of there lives. but that wouldnt explain the tick. There are a million things turning in the fron end, does it whine when not moving? The tick is either in the tranny, or the hub assembly. Thats if it is present when driving only, if it ticks when sitting still and engine running then its in the engine bay and has to do with some operation of the engine. Im no mechanic I just use deductive logic when trying to pinpoint a problem in a vehicle, but it goes hand in hand with testing stuff.

 

You gave me several possibilites, but I can check most of them off. Maybe its not in the wheel area, but I'm just going by what I hear in the cab. The tick really doesnt become audible until around 20-30mph. The brake pads are like 2 yr. old, and all fluid levels are fine. If the bearing was bad the wheel should have some play in it right?

 

maybe some. Get a Haynes manual if you dont already got one. That should be the first thing purchased for a used vehicle, then insurance, ha. The will guide you through changing or regreasing a bearing. Advance auto parts has them for like 10 bucks a peice for your truck i think then some grease, maybe a seal, you are looking at maybe 40 or 50 buck for both fronts total if you do the work yourself. I guess you need tools. Nothing too special though, torque wrench and Haynes manual, Socket set, breaker bar , hammer or mallet, general cleaning and degreasing stuff, basic wrenches, pliers (needlenose), channel locks, maybe vise grips, that kinda stuff. Although they should've checked the bearings when they replaced the brakes. But dont do it if you feel at all uncomfortable about doing it. If you mess up then you could potentially ruin your spindle which will cost well more than a bearing to replace.

 

My tick was from a zip tie touching the drive shaft.

 

You guys won't believe this........
I had the same issue with my 98 2wd. It had been driving me crazy for months. It turned out to be "build-up" of debris on the rotor and rim. My buddy and I scrapped the surface of both and remounted the tire. Have not heard the ticking sound yet.In this situation, when you go to torque the bolts, the rotor and rim don't mate properlydue to the debris on the surface of each. Then you get a small amount of movement and that's the ticking/sliding noise you hear.

Clean the surface of both and the sound may go away.....We used a metal putty knife.........

Ken