hi!
my truck has been making a wobbling sound lately and it has become progressively worse. it sound like a rubber or rubbing sound or maybe you can say its a wobble... but it only happens when its in D drive. no other gears. and it will still do it when im stopped. i just had my trans serviced (new fluid, filter, belt adjust...) and the guy said it looks good. everytime i take it in to get looked at, it stops making the sound. its comming from the drivers side and its making me crazy!!! its not the serp belt and i dont think its the tensioner because it only happens in drive.

ANY IDEAS????!!! i feel like my truck is going to fall apart on me. than ks!!

 

Could be the AC pulley going out on you, if so equipped.
My AC pulley started out mildly, couldn't figure out what it was, but it finally got bad enough where I could see it wobbling, threatening to screw up the whole belt system and everything that it runs.

Though I'd go out and get a new pulley but no, of course it ain't that simple.
Turns out you have to buy the whole damn unit, the pulley is integral ... So I just got a belt for my truck without AC, and bypassed it.

Found out later that they actually do make a pulley of sorts, it replaces the whole unit, not just the defective pulley.
Hard to find, I think NAPA had one, and they cost $80, so I went with the belt, since I'll be without AC either way, and it accomplishes the same effect.

Might want to check your motor mounts too.

 

Ac pulley huh? even when its only happening when its ONLY in drive?

 

start it, put the e-brake on, put it in drive and use a piece of metal like a tire tool or some other sort of metal rod as a stethescope to find the noise. mine has been making a noise similar to that for a long time and i can't figure out what it is either, i describe it as more of a whooping sound at low speeds (1-3mph). if you are going to listen like that, keep in mind that the belt is really cruising and if you're not careful you could end up with that metal rod stuck in the side of your dome.

if you can't find anything with the stethescope then you ought to take your belt off and feel all the pulleys for any slop or damage to the bearings by spinning them one by one.

if it is the ac condensor i would think that kicking on the ac would make the sound either become really noticable, or go away when its on.

 

The symptoms quoted were obviously a bit contradictory.
He said "it will still do it when im stopped", for example.
Does that mean stopped in gear, stopped in park, stopped, period ?

What he described could be any number of things, if he can't figure it out with truck in hand, my odds aren't that much better.
But I tried, what he described sounds similar to my pulley episode - And so far, I haven't seen you spittin out any ideas.

edit: Ok so your the OP, didn't think you'd be so uppity with someone who had an idea that you begged for in bold caps.
Take it to a shop then, pay someone to figure it out for ya.

 

When it's in drive there is more load on the motor, pull the belt off and see which, if any pulley's are loose. And make sure the tensioner arm spring is free and travels to it's full extent.

 

i was just trying to stress the importance of noting that its only happening in drive. with all due respect, i think you took it the wrong way.
and the ac pulley, ive had some one tell me that before. i guess i just dont understand how that would start making that noise in drive only though...
stopped means when i stop, in drive gear.

 

What about the hub bearing assembly or the torque converter? Just throwing ideas out there since I can't see it to diagnose it.

 

could always shoot the pulleys with wd-40 one at a time and move it around the yard to find the culprit, its worth a shot. i gave up on trying to find my noise and i'm just waiting on whatever its coming from to finally break so i'll know for sure what it is.

 

You are running higher RPM's in drive than stopped, obviously, so a problem could manifest itself driving that wouldn't necessarily appear just idling or stopped in park.
If its mechanical wear, as a pulley, the problem will get worse and worse until the part fails, and the closer you get to failure, the more noise it will make [usually].

Mine started very mildly, and progressed to screaming and wobbling within days.
So you are saying that the noise goes away if its running and in neutral, and starts as soon as a gear is engaged ?

I'd still get under there and check the motor mounts, and the drive train too.
Wouldn't hurt to check commonly worn parts in the front end like pitman/idler arms, bushings & shocks, all of which can cause various noises and wobbles when worn beyond usability.
Maybe you do these things on a routine basis I don't know, I'm sure most of us get surprised at times when crawling under the truck with a flashlight.
Last time I did I found an unsecured motor mount and the nut that secures the pitman was finger tight.
Its easy to forget the great, constant stress these parts operate under - And one failing part usually puts a greater strain on the rest.