Hi all,

Long time lurker here and have solved many issues from the threads on this site, so I'm hoping y'all can maybe help with this one that I'm currently stumped on. Truck is a 1996 XLT, RWD, 3.0 automatic...190K miles. All repairs have been done for both driver side and passenger side, but the issue seems isolated to driver's side only.

A few months ago I replaced the inner and outer wheel bearings and seals in an attempt to fix a driver's side squeak/squeal at low speeds (~5mph - 20mp), that corresponds to the speed and goes away when applying the brakes. I did NOT replace the races as maybe I should have but I still have them so I may end up doing this if you all recommend it. I also cleaned up the rotors which are pretty rusty but seem to spin pretty true, made sure there was nothing lodged between the rotor and dust shield, and cleaned up the spindle a bit where it meets the hub (there was a small lip of rust but nothing major there). Made sure to not let any grime fall onto the seal when reinstalling the rotors.

This did not solve the issue and the squeak returned almost immediately. I later noticed a slight leak from the driver's side brake hose, and a seized piston on the driver side caliper. Replaced calipers, brackets, hoses, and bled all brakes. Brake pads have only about 15K miles on them so I kept them. Made sure to lubricate the back of the pads, guides, etc. This temporarily solved the squeak for about 200 miles or so.

Today I was driving at highway speeds for about 20 miles and got stuck in traffic. I could hear the squeak return louder than it ever has before, echoing off the dividing wall on the highway. It's really driving me nuts.

I've seen a few posts about this type of squeak so I'm wondering if anyone has advice on what should be the next fix - I'm kind of sick of throwing parts at this problem but I need it to go away. Should I try replacing the races? It doesn't really seem like a bearing or race issue as the old ones had not failed, but were due for replacement anyway. Should I get the rotors resurfaced? Replace the rotors entirely? Something I may have missed when replacing the calipers? I've seen a few posts about driveshaft carrier bearings failing and causing this kind of squeak, but it seems unlikely in this case as the noise is quite distinctly coming from the driver's side wheel well...I'll check it out either way to confirm though.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Dan

 

Sorry for the delay and Welcome to forum, well 1st post in any case, lol

When applying the brakes does the brake pedal pulse?
That means one or both rotors are warped

I am assuming its a rotational noise not suspension
Can you reproduce the noise just by spinning the wheel when its jacked up?

When applying the brakes does the noise change or go away?

Do you have steel wheels/rims?
They can make a noise from weight in certain rotation

And just to take wheels/tires off the table rotate the wheels/tires

 

Thanks Ron! Was hoping I'd hear from you on this one so I appreciate your response. I'll go ahead and rotate the tires and see if that changes anything--my responses below.

- There is a slight pulsation when pressing the brakes...not super noticeable unless I'm really focused on the feeling coming up through the brake pedal.
- Yes, definitely rotational noise.
- I've not been able to reproduce the exact same noise with the truck jacked up. The squeal/screech seems to only happen under load. However, there is a distinct scraping sound that is rotational, when turning the driver's side tire while the truck is jacked up, it's just not a squeal/screech. I'm guessing that I'm hearing the same "source" of the noise that just sounds different under load.
- Rims are stock, so I think they're aluminum.

Looks like it's what I feared, which is that it's the rotors -- not a huge deal for me to change them, but I wish I had done so months ago when I did the bearings, or recently when I did the calipers and brackets! I'll letcha know what happens.

Thanks again!