Tapping Sound and Feel While in Motion at a Slight Turn

I've got this tapping sound, along with feeling at the steering wheel. It only occurs when the truck is in motion with the wheel turned slightly. It's most prominent with the wheel at about 1-2 o'clock. It's less prominent at 11-10. I don't notice it at all beyond 3 or 9 o'clock. It may be present to an indiscernible degree while driving straight.

It's about 4 taps per second (going parking lot or roundabout speed).

I do also have a wobble at 60-80mph, which I understand is difficult to diagnose. Could it be related? Maybe, but that's not what this thread is about (or is it?).

I looked and felt around under the truck (briefly, and in low light) but didn't notice any abnormalities.

Do you have a specific idea what this may be or what I should look for to help figure it out?

 

Sounds like a tire issue to me... scupping, flat spot, uneven wear? The wobble I'd say a balancing thing, but that wouldn't present so much at parking lot speeds.
If it's an outer edge of your front left you'd feel it more at 1-2 o'clock and not as much @ 10-11

See if that 4 taps per second you feel also translates to 4 revolutions of your tire.

 

Thanks for your input! I believe it does occur at the same rate as wheel revolution. I haven't checked closely for a tire issue, but it sounds and feels stronger than that to me. I will take a closer look though.

I know a lot of folks mention tire balancing as the cause of a wobble, but also a lot of folks say that wasn't it for them and it was something else. I'm just skeptical because...Can't one expect tires to be balanced properly when installed? How could imbalance be such a prevalent issue??

 

Clicking or tapping? Take a video

 

Are your lug nuts tight?

 

I might have to say it’s most like a tick. I’ll try to take a video

I’ve been been meaning to retorque them since I saw that mentioned as a possible source of such a wobble. Maybe I can do that this weekend

 

if its a tick, I'd say one of your CV shafts might be going out, but impossible to say without a video

 

Video!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SMVpa_CjZYXk7PxRzFVFVd4ub6p1fG97/view?usp=sharing

 

Swap one front wheel with one rear wheel at a time and see if problem goes away.

 

And rule check your lower ball joints. And the bolts. If it's tied to revolutions of the wheel turning, that's a likely culprit, and it'd suck to have it fail.

 

Doesn’t sound like ball joints, CV shafts or anything else, can’t quite hear from the video, but it honestly sounds like you’re just driving over the reflectors on the road…

go into an empty parking lot that you can drive full lock in a circle and go both ways giving it gas, record that

also the tapping kind of just sounds like a rock in the tire tread (again, hard to hear in the video)

 

That's putting it mildly.