i have several issues with my front end. its an 01' xlt

1. front end growls or roars. sounds like wheel bearings. but there is no play in them?
2. alignment. the tires are wearing very bad on the inside.
3. brakes. the rotors are shot
4. it looks almost like my front tires are sitting like this / \ when you are looking at the front of the truck. not that bad but you can tell.

what is the best way to determine what i should replace. i need to do whatever is needed the most because i'm pretty broke. i think the bearings are the most critical. but i am not sure if they are bad. they hum the worst at about 35-40 mph

 

btw i have put 12k miles on the t4ruck with the humming noise. it has gotten slightly worse, but not that bad. i don't think bad bearings would last that long

 

id say have an alignment done and get brakes see what that does

 

you think the alignment being off could cause the hum?

found this

01 FORD RANGER FRONT WHEEL BEARING HUB ABS 4WD PAIR NEW: eBay Motors (item 280541477237 end time Sep-27-10 08:57:09 PDT)

 

yea in extreme cases it can...how many miles are on your truck

 

92k

 

If you are gonna buy a new hub, make sure to buy OEM. Don't buy cheap when it comes to suspension or drivetrain parts.

 

where do i get oem hubs?

 

ford dealer

 

buy timkin hubs. well worth the money knowing you got quality parts

 

still not sure what the problem is

 

what does you tires look like? Are they cupped? Does the noise change when you turn?

 

Jack the truck up.

Grab the wearing tire top and bottom.

Push on the bottom and then on the top. If there is movement the wheel bearings are shot, aka, unit bearing, wheel hub.

If movement is minimal you will need to use a pry bar and put pressure on the knuckle and pull it away from the truck if there is movement then the upper ball joint is shot.

The ball joints and wheel bearings play a major roll in negative camber. There is no adjustment from the factory for it. You can buy alignment cams for the upper control arm, but thats a band aid.

FWIW, I rebuilt the front end of my truck around 115k. 2 new wheel bearings all the ball joints and outer tie rod ends. I wish I would have pressed new bushings into the arms as they were squeaking after all that work.

For wheel bearings I went ford out of Texas.
Bob Utter Genuine Ford Parts www.bobutterfordparts.com

Ball joints and tie rod ends I went with Moog from Rockauto.

You can buy everything from rockauto. If you want you can search the auto parts stores. Autozone oreilys and the such.


RockAuto Auto Parts

If you search the web for "rockauto discount code" you can find one that will give 5% off. Kinda helps on the big purchases. Basically it gives you free shipping most of the time.