odd noise..

ok guys, im puttin this here because i beleive this is comin from the front of my truck, nut here goes. this is on my 06 chevy z71 single cab, with 97,000 miles. its a bumping noise that seems to be coming from the front suspension whenever it cycles over the smalest bump. it seems to happen in time with the front driver side tire on any kind of road, paved, dirt, whatever. this started about a month ago, and this is the same side that had a wheel bearing replaced at 74,000. any ideas? its starting to bug me. thanks

i would look at your tie rods and upper ball joints.. just cause you feel it on smaller bumps doesnt mean it doesnt happen on bigger bumps.. you might not feel it on the bigger bumps cause of the chatter factor.. lol.. it could be your idler arm to but thats usually something you would feel on the passenger side..

ok, how do i check the ball joints?

jack the truck up under the control arm and give the wheel a good shake up and down and left to right.. to check the tie rods and other steering stuff it helps to have someone help you.. have them get in the truck and move the steering wheel left to right while you look at the tie rods, idler arm, and pitman arm..

btw it could be your hub if it wasnt tourqed down enough or to much..

ok per joe's instructions i jacked up the front under the lower a arms and shook both tires top and bottom and side to side. theres absolutley no monement top to bottom on either side, and very little movement side to side, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 quarters of an inch. and theres an equal amount for each tire. steering components look good and tight, and shocks are tight too. im kinda stumped. any more suggestions? maybe i overlooked something.

Any movement top and bottom is worn hub or ball joints. Any movement side to side is worn tie rods or pitman arm.

any side to side movement at all? i didnt kno how much was acceptable

thats why i said its easier to have someone help you with checking the tie rods and other steering items.. you dont have to have the truck jacked up.. you just need someone to be able to move the steering wheel side to side while your looking for play in the related parts..

that makes sense, il try that tomorrow. its gettin colder outside. i'm not entirley sure its in the front end now. it seems to mainly happen when the truck shakes side to side, like on a rough road. thats when it does it most. i checked the exhaust system and spare tire, as well as the contents of my toolbox and i cant find anything glaringly obvious. any suggestions are appreciated.

Can you feel the bump in the steering wheel?

no, i daont feel it anywhere at all. its an audible thump only. i kno these trucks have an issue with the steering column, but it isnt that. our 01 has that problem so i kno how that feels.

could be anything then.. i thought you felt in in the wheel.. start looking at bed mounts, cab mounts, motor mounts, tranny mounts, spring perches, shocks, they all could be suspect plus many more.

Are you stepping on the brakes when you feel this vibration?

no brakes, jus drivin along. i kno the rotors are warped a lil, i could tell that comin out of the mountains a few weeks ago. but the noise jus happens when im drivin along.

If it's a bump sound in the front when the truck rocks side to side... Check the bushings in your sway bar end links! If you can do it having a really skinny guy like me helps for this but with the truck on the ground no jacks stick your head inside the fender well and use your bodywieght against the tire and rock the truck back and forth the sway bar end links should not pull outwards or upwards from the lower A arm if the end link pulls outward or upward even the slightest your bushing in the sway bar end links are going bad and that could be the bumping noise is the end link flexing inside the bushing in the lower A arm. Good luck bud.

I was going to suggest the slide shaft on the steering column was starting to dry up and getting sticky. but you said you CAN'T feel it in the wheel.

The Sway Bar bushing and Sway Bar end links sound like a good possibility. I had that in one of our mini vans. an end link broke loose. It turned into a thump every time we hit a bump