Squeaky sound in the front?!

[Cumminalong]

HAHA, dont tempt me to bring a "to-do" list to our G2G 

Go ahead and show up with parts, make it known that you have them, and THINK you'll get away without wrenches getting turned...........

Right, Tom?

 

[Kilch123]

Yea - no kidding...

Had no intention of pulling my truck apart at your place!

Nick - if you wanna learn how to do the brakes, bring them - seriously - it's like an hours worth of work.  Let me know, and I'll make sure I have the right tools with me

[NickC]

Its actually alright, thanks for the offer though!

I have a friend that will do the brakes for me in his garage and he works for silly cheap!

Since i have never had to do brakes, i figured i would watch him so i would know for next time.

Whats stopping me from figuring it out myself is i dont have a jack or jack stands and dont really feel like spending the money for them right now.

It does look pretty straight forward though but its something i would rather not bother with at our G2G...

I would rather use your guys knowledge for the next get together when (hopefully) i can have a cooler 'to do list' similar to what Walt had done 

Thanks for the offer though Tom 

[Austin The DieselTech]

Today i was leaving my driveway and as i was turning out it was making a screeching sound as i was moving with the wheel turned. It does not make any sound when i am going straight but as soon as i turn the wheel in either direction, it squeaks at me and its linked with my speed.

Is there something i should be greasing in there like the u joints or something?

My brakes dont see to be the problem either, i have not noticed a difference in the braking and it squeaks without pressing the brake.

I took a look in there after i parked it and to be honest, i felt like someone would feel if they just found an alien aircraft landing in a field... im clueless to how the front end works but i did see a joint and im thinking it could be the problem?!

I also dont know if its coming from just one side or both, it just sounds like its coming from the front. Also, the truck as 41k on it and as far as i know, nothing has ever been greased up there...

Whats wrong with me doctor's? 

Front axle u-joints.

[Cumminalong]

Front axle u-joints.

That's what I'm thinking....


Nick, turn the wheel sharp in one direction and jack the tire off the ground. Rotate it and listen and you'll be able to dial in where it is.

To see if it's possibly a wheel bearing, try to see saw it from top to bottom and then from side to side. If it moves, the wheel bearings may be shot.

If you get top to bottom only, it's probably ball joints.

If you get side to side only, it's probably tie rod ends.

[NickC]

Hmmm... If only i had the strength of super man

I don't have a jack, unless i were to use the bottle nose one that i should have in my truck.

Its not making the noise today, im hoping it does tomorrow so i can get a better sense of it and ill go from there.

It seems if i can get it up into the air, i should be able to rule out a few of your guess's so if i can find time, ill go to a friends house and get her up in the air.

It was such an UGLY sound, i would love to get to the bottom of this!

IF its the squeak bar on my brake pads, would they still squeak even if i had not touched the brake at all?

This is what it was doing yesterday, i was just doing circles in a parking lot with my head out the window trying to figure it out and i was no where near the brake as i was doing this...

[Cumminalong]

.......i was just doing circles in a parking lot with my head out the window trying to figure it out and i was no where near the brake as i was doing this...

 

[NickC]

 

I set myself up for that one, didn't i?

 

[NickC]

You know something, i have had my camera in the truck ready to video the sound that i had going on that day and IT WONT COME BACK AGAIN!

Which might be a good thing but still, its weird.

Whether of not it was the brakes, they need to be replaced anyways so im hoping that once i do that i can expect to not hear the sound anymore.

I should really invest in a floor jack, it seems that i could use it quite often if i had one 

[NickC]

Well its doing it again today 

Now that i have a floor jack, i got to use it for the first time!

When i took the front end up, i get no play rocking the tire from top to bottom but i get very slight movement from front to back. It looks like the steering is whats giving me the little bit of play but i can be certain because in all honesty... I dont really know EXACTLY what im looking for i nthe first place

But i did find something wrong with the u-joint (or is it a ball joint?).... It looks as if there was some type of rubber gasket or rubber insert that looks to be falling off on the drivers side. Heres the pic's:




Now as far as what noise its screaming at me, i got that covered also:

http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x9/NICKCOLETTI/?action=view&current=NicksPic079.flv
http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x9/NICKCOLETTI/?action=view&current=NicksPic078.flv

Anyone have an idea of whats goin on from this sound??

[Cumminalong]

That u-joint is SHOT brother!

No if, and or but!

It's toast.

That's your problem right there.

[Kilch123]

Yep - that's a bad u joint if I ever saw one!

[Cumminalong]

Here's the DIY you'll be needing.....

http://dodgeownerforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5465.0

[NickC]

Sweet, now i am getting somewhere now!

Here comes the wave of questions now 

Hmmm... How important is that to be fixed as far as time, what could this lead to if i dont get on it a.s.a.p?

What causes it to go bad?

Is it a hard job to do?

How much $$ for parts do you think?

It might actually only be the driver side that's doing it, i thought it was both but the other side seems quite and its not torn apart like the drivers side is...

[Cumminalong]

Do yourself and a favor and get the greaseable joints from NAPA.

They'll run you about $50 or so.

There are 2 different brands they have, make sure you look at where they are made.

One is made in Japan and one is made in China. The Chinese ones are TOTAL CRAP. The Japanese made ones are pretty nice pieces.