2G - Sub-20 MPH Grinding on Turns

Hi all,

Here's a post where I'm curious if what I'm dealing with is normal or if something is out of whack.

I installed a lift on my truck approximately 1,500 miles ago and wondered if I'm too keyed into what's going on. I previously made a thread about a 60 MPH vibration, which I think may be normal, or at least there's enough threads about that I'm not worried about.

Now, what I am curious about is this low speed grinding/whirring I get pulling into driveways. I have the Eibach 1.6 / Bilsten @ 0.85 with the TSB / Icon 1.5 AAL in the rear. I have already completed the ECGS bushing swap. Currently dealing with what I believe to be a leaking axle seal. I had replaced the seal when the ECGS bushing was done and don't believe I set it right and had some weeping that was collecting on my transmission crossmember. Brought it to the dealer to have the seal replaced, seal still weeps. Took it back, they claimed it was Fluid Film. I'm going to seek out the advice of a local independent mechanical my wife's family trusts for a second opinion. So that being said, my differential fluid level may be slightly lower than spec, although I don't think I'm dangerously low by any means.

So I notice that when I take a left (although I do notice it happens taking rights as well) a slight grinding noise coming from the front of my truck. I guess I would say it's comparable to a tire friction noise, just louder than I am used to. I don't feel anything in the steering wheel or pedals, there is no clicking or popping. I do have BFG ATs and I can't say with 100% certainty it wasn't loud before, but I am just noticing it more now because I'm keyed into issues with the truck. I thought maybe it could be wheel bearing related, but I don't have any other tell tale symptoms of bad bushings. Truck is dead quiet up until that 55-65 MPH range and that even goes away when I'm off throttle. Going up into the 70 MPH range and everything is dead smooth.

I need to retorque everything up front as the dealer hasn't set things right and I have more clanking than I did before they replaced the seal, but the noise I heard under low speed turning did exist prior to the dealer replacing the axle seal. I had the 30K service done 5K miles ago, so I can only assume the rear fluid levels are in spec.

Any ideas on where to look first? Or are things normal? Could this be something with my tires instead of the driveline?

Thanks in advance!

 

Bump.

Tire wouldn't move when it was jacked up, but I'm going to pull the tire and look further. The noise is getting a bit worse lately, but I have been pulling the brake shields back. I'm probably going to dig into it a bit this week and just drop it off at the local mechanic (eff the dealer on this one, I'm lifted, they'll be clueless) and see what he has to say, but I just don't want to throw wheel bearings or CVs into it if that's not going to help me.

 

Just an update in case someone searches in the future and comes across this.

It was the tires, oddly enough. I swapped my BFGs for my winter Hankook I-Pikes and the sound and grinding went away. So...that's something, I suppose.