I have a 2004 F150 4.6l and I bought it last year. It had a popping sound when I turned, so I went ahead and replaced a bunch of parts on the front end shortly after buying. Lower ball joint, upper control arm & ball joint, tie rod, tie rod ends, stabilizer bar link, and stabilizer bar bushings. I did this on both sides and all popping seemed to go away.

However, now i have this weird grinding sound when i turn all the way to the left - just started in the past 2 months or so. I assumed it was a bad bearing, and over the weekend I changed out the hub assemby/rotor and all on the left side. It appears to make the grind less, but not by much.

I have had a few different friends look while I had the wheel turned all the way to the left and moved forward and backwards a bit and they said there is no tire rub. I looked all around when I took the hub off this weekend and didnt see any obvious wear anywhere.

I took a little video pulling into the parking lot at work this morning so you can hear the sound. Its more like a consistent popping...any ideas would sure help!

https://youtu.be/-xcyLO0Xbiw

 

Sounds like your throwing parts at a problem. If you have replaced the wheel bearing then next would be to check all parts of the IWE system. Get a vacuum pump and start diagnosing the system front to back before replacing anything. Could be a leak in the IWE actuator or a bad IWE solenoid, or bad check valves, or even a cracked vacuum line.

 

StephenG - It is a 2WD - Doesnt the IWE help lock into 4WD?

 

LOL oh shoot I should have asked that question. Well I can watch your video it says its unavailable. Sorry then I cant tell you where to go from here other than maybe jack the truck up and start moving things around to see if you can isolate what is making the sound.

 

StephenG - the problem with that approach is it only seems to make the noise when under pressure. ie only when turning - it wont make any noises sitting still. Which is why i assumed it was the hub bearing...

 

Does it sound like rotational noise meaning coming from wheels, if so does it sound front? Or does the noise seem to be coming from the steering system when you are turning the wheel and does it make a difference on flat and smooth ground.....bumps....is there a change? Your video wont play.

 

If your grinding was when turning left, the pass side bearing would've been the one to inspect, not the driver's side.

 

I would recommend inspecting BOTH. If one is going bad the other might be on its way out too.

 

Sounds like passenger side bearing .

 

10-4 I'll change out the hub assembly on the passenger side and report back. Makes sense when you think about it. Thanks guys