^ hmm, i've never tried the brake lock thing.

another way is to jack up the truck and put a pry bar under the tire and pry it up/down and in/out and visually look at the ball joints for movement.

 

I work at the big rig shop, and that brake lock method is best way to inspect king pins on them, especially if one is working alone (we have tool to lock brakes if steering axle don't have spring cylinders). We still use prybar to get leverage, much easier to detect any significant play. I've found that method equally useful on smaller vehicles.

 

So i replaced the front Hubbs and the front driver side U-joint. I took it for a test drive and Heard the noise for a split second. I jacked her back up and re installed the hub again. Driving to work today i heard the noise for a split second again. But other than that she is riding alright. Checked the ball joints and they r good. What the hell else could this be?

 

Kinda odd a 'mech' said bearings or hub when you have hub assemblies?? So with the repairs theres been an improvement? Any other symptoms? Why didn't you change the pass side u-j, if that was the side the noise was from?

 

I changed the driver side because that is where i heard the noise from, and because it had a lot of movement when i inspected it, After i installed the hubs and driver side u-joint i took it for a test spin and then heard the noise from the passenger side. I am going to grab another u-joint and replace the passenger side. I drove the truck for a half hour today and did not hear any sounds. I am still trying to figure out what that loud grinding sound is.

 

if the vacuum cad is not holding the disconnect collar over to the passenger side, the loud grinding could be the CAD collar moving around and grinding on the end of the inner shaft.

 

My bad thought the noise was from pass side..another cause for a grinding noise would be some kind of debris between the pad and rotor..I would replace the u-j..post up your results..

 

So it seems like the noise wants to come back whenever it wants to. Being unsure what to look for, i have just been taking it easy with the truck. When the noise happens, i will let off the gas and let the truck gradually slow down to let the noise go away. When im on a back road i will break til i am almost at a complete stop and the noise goes away. I am stuck right now trying to figure this out.

 

Jack up the driver's side front wheel and put it on a jackstand. Pull the front diff cover, have a look at the side and spider gears when turning the drivers side wheel by hand. Check for slop on the cross shaft to the gears. Look for metal in the bottom of the pumpkin.

 

I will give that a go. Have you had the same issue?