I've got an '02 1500 RWD quad cab with the longer bed. To my knowledge everything is absolutely stock.

Two weeks or so ago my truck started to make an awful metal scraping on metal sound as I drove along, in rhythm with the wheel going around. Sound speeds up when the truck does, and slows down with it as well. Braking has no effect on the sound, nor does turning. Which leads me to believe it's a wheel hub.

Hard to tell if it's left or right side when driving, but it's almost definitely the front.

I figured I had some time before it would get worse so I've been driving it still (~10 miles a day to work and back). But now it's a much different sound, grinding/chugging, I'm not sure how to describe it. I'm thinking wheel hub but not sure. Since it's an older truck and has 205k miles I figured if I'm taking the wheels off I'd better do everything.

So I bought the following:
Front wheel hub assemblies
Inner tie rod ends
Outer tie rod ends
Upper control arms w/ball joint
Lower ball joint
Rotors and pads all around
Tires all around

Been doing my homework a bit, but some of the DIY threads are only for the 4x4's or are for the 2/3500's. And while MOST of that information transfers to the RWD 1500, not all of it does. So I have some questions.

On my 1500. Nothing needs to be pressed, right? The DIY thread for the ball joints on here is a 2500 and there's talk of pressing them in/out, but my new parts are just bolt/nut/cotterpin deals.

Likewise, some threads talk about the 02's rear rotors being pressed on. My rears don't look to be on there any differently than the front ones from what I can tell. Is that another difference for the 1500 or am I going to be in for a rude awakening when I get the caliper off?

An odd question, but there's a big rubber stopper that looks like a kid's toy top that sits behind the front shock a few inches. What is that called? My passenger side one is completely shot.

Lastly, is there anything else I should definitely be replacing at the same time?

 

Replacing all that stuff but you dont mention wheel bearing hubs ? Tie rods and ball joints will not make the noise you are describing.....maybe your just replacing them anyways.
the noise you described could be pads rotors but the noise should change when brakes applied.
another thought for the noise could be the emergency brake pads which are inside the rear rotors. They are known to rust apart with the lining separating from the shoe.
to my knowledge rear rotors are not pressed on.
i dont have any experience with 2wd ball joints but my guess would be they are pressed into the lower contol arm. Someone else should chime in for ya.
not sure the climate you are in but front backing plates can rust away and eventually can make contact with the brake rotor and cause a metal scraping rotational sound

 

Complete oversight in the write-up. Front hub assemblies were purchased as well.

I figured I was taking all that apart anyway so I'd do the tie rods and ball joints while I was there.

Emergency brake pads are not something I'd considered. I'll have to look into this.

Thanks for all your help!

 

Just my thoughts.......
your going to do alot of extra work and way more expense if all those parts are not required and your going to need an alignment when done.. based on the wheel bearing as being the culprit. You will have the brake caliper and rotor dismantled to change the wheel hub. Other than your wheel nuts thats only 2 bolts. Then three more for the hub assembly i believe

 

The upper control arm is only three bolts. The lower ball joint is a single bolt. Not much sense not taking the extra twenty to thirty minutes a side for them.

The tie rod ends might be overkill though. But they were inexpensive comparatively.

And the truck needs an alignment anyhow, it likes to travel a little left as is. So that's not a big deal.

 

Replaced the front hubs, rotors, pads, and tires today. Still have a very rhythmic thumping sound while moving. Braking doesn't affect it still, nor does turning. Just a really loud DU-DU-DU-DU-DU, it can be felt in the floorboards a little bit, but has zero effect on driving, it isn't felt in the steering wheel or when braking, just on the floorboards. Sounds real mean though, people stare as I drive down the road, haha.

 

Check the u-joints in the rear driveshaft.

 

Thanks for pointing me in this direction. All the u-joints are rock solid. What is not, however is the center bearing... It's just completely gone. The mount for it is there, but no bearing and the whole driveshaft has slipped ~2" toward the rear of the truck and the whole driveshaft bounces around like hell when it spins...

Don't have the tools to do this myself, even though the part's just ~$55. Probably to the shop with it unfortunately.

 

Well, that would definitely cause some interesting problems.

Could always buy the tools you need. May turn out to be less than what you would pay in labor for someone else to do it....