Need help diagnosing an issue with part of the drive system

Hey guys. I’ve got this noise coming from my truck and it sounds like a wheel bearing. It’s a mid to high range humming that kind of pulses as I drive but it only starts making the noise at 50 miles an hour. I first noticed this noise when I was hauling a load to the dump (unrelated to the issue in my opinion) it started making the humming and I crawled under the truck and my drivers side axle seal to the differential was leaking oil. Not enough to make a puddle but enough to coat the diff and other parts around it. Free rust protection I guess. Anyways I replaced the seal and emptied and filled the diff, nothing noteworthy about the oil or magnet, it was still clean from when I replaced it a few months back. The noise kept on going and I thought it might be a wheel bearing. Lifted the truck up and spun wheels, checked tire play and I did have a wheel bearing going bad. It was the passenger side front, changed it. No more play, no more grit when I spun the tire but the humming sustained. I got under the truck while I had someone spin the drivers side front tire and I can hear a clicking. But it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the wheel bearing, it sounds like it’s coming from the differential side of the CV axle. I grabbed the axle and I can shake it and there’s a decent amount of play in the connection point between the axle and differential.

I’m thinking I have a bad needle bearing or something but I’d like your guy’s opinion on it. This is the second time I’ve replace the axle seal on the drivers side although the first time I replaced it was because my diff breather was blocked and I broke the seal messing around in some water. If you guys have any ideas shoot em over, this noise will drive me insane.

 

Another point I should mention, the noise does not go away in 4wd and I did check to see my 4wd was actually working.

 

The clicking you're hearing when you spin the driver side tire is likely just the spider gears and side gears in the diff. I can't remember if the stock diff made as much noise as my ARB does, but I can hear it clearly.

If the noise doesn't go away in 4wd it's not likely the needle bearing and some play in the cv at the diff is normal. It'd keep looking elsewhere.

 

Kia does make some good ads. I'm serious about that.

 

clicking is normally a CV joint

 

I got looking and although I’ve never had tires make this loud and obnoxious of a noise, I do have some cupping on my tires. Maybe they’re resonating or something and just being loud. Gonna get an alignment and ask them if they think that’s causing the noise

 

I’ve had bad CVs before, the clicking I’m hearing was coming from the diff. Im just gonna say it’s the spider gears doing their thing. The noise I’m more concerned about is the humming, I thought that maybe a needle bearing was bad allowing the CV axle to shake or something but it seems like normal play the more I think about it. There’s a little bit of a sawtooth pattern on my tires. Thinking they’ve got an alignment issue and could probably use a balance too. I’m gonna have Goodyear do my alignment and ask em if they think it’s making the noise. I say Goodyear because I get free alignments there, not sure they know a shit ton on the subject but their main thing is tires so I guess we’ll see

 

My wheel bearing made minor noise for a long time before it went full blown roar and rumble. Sounds like you skipped the driver side, I'd get that one done.