deerefarm06

Hey guys, me and the wife were drivin to do some x-mas shoppin yesterday and we both noticed a strange vibration/hum-like sound while on hwy. The best possible description of the sound is the sound that mud tires make on dry pavement, only not quite as loud, much more subtle. The sound changes with vehicle speed and sometimes it will come and go, but mostly there all the time. Since it does sound like tire whine, its worth mentioning that a bout 8K ago, I put on a set of Toyo A/T's. When tires were first intalled, the pressure was set to 65 psi, on friday I aired them up to 78psi to shoot for better MPG's, then drove 50 miles home from work, but the noise didnt start then, the noise wasnt noticed until Saturday about halfway through a 45 mile drive to the mall.

Any ideas? Hate to take it to the dealer if not necessary. Trucks got 39K on the clock... Wheel bearing? Could it really be a wheel bearing at just 39K?

TurboTed

IF you just "aired them up to 78" it may make that sound on certain stretches of the highway, depending upon the type of surface finish (ie. smooth, pebbled, etc.). You did say it comes and goes. Why don't you lower the inflation again, and see what happens. I personally think 78psi with an empty truck is way too much air. It is very hard on your suspension, etc. Check the drivers door for inflation numbers.

deerefarm06

Ill try to let them down to see if that is the culprit but Im thinking not. It almost feels like its in the (gulp) rearend or driveline somewhere...

When I said it comes and goes, I meant goes for about 10-15 seconds, then comes back, it does seem to be getting worse everytime I drive it.

flytrip

Drive line U-Joint. Had the same thing on my '04. Got progressively worse, until it hopped the whole rear ened off the ground. At least it felt like it was comin' off the ground.

deerefarm06

Wow, U-joints at 40K...makes me feel great about the $$$$$$ I shell out every month for this thing. Guess its off to the dealer I go.

kwilkinson

Being a short wheelbase with a 1-piece I doubt a u-joint, but wont hurt to check. Most of the u-joint issues at low mileage seem to come from the 2-piece shafts. I would first try your inflations, could be different road surfaces. I swear 1/2 chipseal feels like a bad u-joint whenever my truck is loaded.

chipmonk

they chipseal the county roads around here as well. hard to believe- it's 2007, everyone has cell phones, we'll all be vacationing on mars soon but they still re- surface roads by throwing down gravel and road oil!

deerefarm06

On my way to work this morn it was still doing it, it sounded like it got a little worse. When I got to work, i crawled under, the u-joints look and feel tight, the shafts coming from the transfer case feel good, and the hubs werent hot so that would eliminate a possible wheel bearing. IM gonna pull it in the shop after work and go over it again a little more, then let the air back out of the tires and see if that makes a difference.

deerefarm06

Just backed tire pressure down to where it was before, didnt change a thing.

Any other ideas? One of the guys here at work seems to think its the wheel bearing, ill jack up the truck after work and check for play/strange noises. Would this be covered under warranty?

Bad Ramer Jamer

Mine had a simular noise. It turned out to be the carrier bearing's inside the rear end. Put it on jack stand's and run it in gear. I could deffently hear it then, but could not pin point it. Had a friend look at the rear, and it was the bearing's.

stock600

Yall sure some of our trucks had a one piece shaft? Mines a short bed and it still has 2 and a carrier barring. Is a reg. cab long bed shorter than mine with only a one piece? Gut feeling says its your u- joints anyway they seem to have a pretty high failure rate with our trucks torque. If mine goes ill look into having a one piece made for it.

trksrfun

i would suggest to air down the tires as well i know with my tires on the truck that will alot pf pressure you feel alot of the smaller grooves in the road and i would check the u joint, thats the 1st thing that popped into my head when reading. good luck with it!

stock600

I wouldnt much abou tyour tire press. i run mine at 80psi year around. Never now when you will pull heavy, also very noticable milage gains running them at full press. Negitives are ruffer ride and starting and stopping on wet roads but to be honest its fun. Tires seem to wear very even at their proper max press. im at 62,000+ still factory tires

billie

2500's have single shafts.

I had the same kind of noise you descibe and it turned out to be the front diff bearing pack. Don't know how to diagnose it tho', a dealer I trust found it (he put in aftermarket for better parts than DC). Not the news you want to hear, $900 later.

Cya