The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Knocking front end

What should I be looking for when there is a knocking in the front end. It is a rotational knock faster with road speed. Is there something in the hub or a bearing? Loose king pin or tie rod.

does it disappear when you turn or straiten the wheel?

It can come or go by turning the wheel.

Look for a loose tie rod end. The steering probably wanders a little, too, doesn't it? Too much clearance on the sector gear preload in the steering box can cause a wander or a shimmy, but it would really have to be loose to get a knock.
Jerry

It depends on the knock. Check these-
-a big nail in a tyre
-A loose or worn bearing. If it has cup-and-cone bearings, they need 33 ft-lbs of torque to preload them right- check the specs.
-there may be something in the brake drum.
If it increases with road speed, and out of round or out of balance wheel will cause a shimmy in the steering as above, see Jerry's comment above.

It depends on the knock. Check these-
-a big nail in a tyre
-A loose or worn bearing. If it has cup-and-cone bearings, they need 33 ft-lbs of torque to preload them right- check the specs.
-there may be something in the brake drum.
If it increases with road speed, and out of round or out of balance wheel will cause a shimmy in the steering as above, see Jerry's comment above.

It started out barely noticeable and has gotten worse. I will check the bearing nut torque. As for tie rod ends they feel tight by hand. It seems to be worse when braking or turning right like when loading the right front tire, but recently it's been doing so much more that I can't limit it to one cause.

Turning right puts more load on the outside wheel, the left one. Try removing and inspecting the left wheel bearings, both inside and outside. I suspect you're going to find some flat spots on an inner wheel bearing. They get progressively worse as the bearing deteriorates. I chased a noise like that on a Ford Explorer for two years, until it finally got loud enough to isolate the noise down to one specific bearing. Even then, I had to take the bearing apart, as the noise was caused by roughness on the inner race, under the tapered rollers!
Jerry

I meant turning left, LOL. It sounds like a hammer hitting a piece of wood on the wheel, or a stick caught in the spokes.

I have the same exact problem. What was done to repair the noise?

I hear you knockin but you cant come in! :P

If it's really loud when you're turning I'd lay odds on a bearing problem. Seeing as it has gotten progressively worse you may want to have a peek before you spin a race.

I had a similar problem on a car. The knock would be steady when driving straight. It would increase with speed. A left turn would increase the noise and a right turn would decrease the noise. It was a bad bearing in the right front hub. I replaced the whole hub assembly and the noise went away.
It was extremely satisfying to drive down the road without a knock

I haven't dove into mine yet, between building a house, horse emergencies and funerals, its been back burnered, I'll be looking at bearings first.

Any suggestions for locating parts?

(Asking without searching in any capacity for them myself first.)

Started tearing my hubs down, a started on the drivers side to see what I could see behind the drum. Bearings on this side have minimal marks or pits on them, nor do I see any scoring on the spindle. While I had the tire off, I took some time to chisel off old grease, mud and road grime. I noticed that the rod connecting the pitman arm to the drivers side spindle/hub can be rolled around a little bit with a knocking noise. So I shot some grease in all the zerks. This quitened the noise and tightened it up a little bit. As for the bearings, when the hub fell off the brakes shoes, it knocked a ball out never to be seen again, so I will need at least an inner set. Will have to see what the passenger side holds still, and hopefully the noise will be gone upon reassembly. As of now I can't determine the source of the noise. I suspect the rod I mentioned.

Wheel bearing part numbers are
Outer
Original 909045
New (Three letter prefix of brand)-B45
Inner
Original 909046
New (Three letter prefix of brand)-B46

Try NAPA for your bearing needs.

Yes, Napa has them, if you can pay for them. They are about 20$ higher than anyone else. On a side note, these things are expensive 80-120 a bearing inner vs. outer per side.

Update...

The noise I believe was the rod, all the bearings were in good condition. As for the lost ball, I found it a few days later, cleaned it up and reinstaled it. So far so good.