Groaning or howling from front of truck

New to me 07. I am getting a howling or growling from the front end between 20-40 mph. It is rhythmic and definitely rotational. Kinda sounds like a harmonic from something binding. You can actually feel the vibration in the passenger floor board. Much less pronounced when turning and one direction does it less than the other. It is a low frequency sound and not classical bearing noise.

front suspension is pretty tight with no failing components. Relatively new bearings and hubs. Fairly new cv axles. Just installed ecgs bushing. Has LT tires, but have rotated them with no change. Have no idea how well balanced they are, but no issues at high speed.

i am stumped and can’t figure what to check next. Should also note that front pads are VERY uneven . outter pads look brand new and inner pads worn down 75%. Likely cheap aftermarket calipars GR8 1403 is the casting stamp, so not oem. Looks like cardone new based upon rock auto pics

 

Sounds like a wheel bearing

 

Does it go away in 4wd

 

No

 

I would second wheel bearing or really unbalanced tires or off chance of warped rotors or sticky caliper

 

I always thought they had much higher pitch noises. This one is very low pitched. Are some of the aftermarket bearings crappy enough that they could fail so quickly? That said, the fact that the noise lessens in a turn is classic bearings

 

Calipars definitely have issues with sticking pistons. However, every tim i pull a tire, the rotors spin freely, so it seems they are retracting as they should. There is no rotor warpage. I rotated tires frt to back with no change and would have expected something different if it was a balance issue. My buddy owns a tire shop and says that won’t cause this kind of noise. Also said I would get a lot of vibration at high speeds if the balance was off and I don’t

 

Absolutely. If they were even good to begin with.

 

Nothing hitting the back of the wheels like a bent brake sheild?

 

I would tackle this first.

 

Aftermarket bearings are garbage.

 

Have folks here experienced noise and other problems with these aftermarket bearings? It is obvious that the bearings and hubs are fairly new, but difficult to know how old or how many miles. I assumed they were part of the problem before I saw them and ordered some SKF bearings (good reports over on tacomaworld). Is it worth the effort to press the hubs off and put these on? When I spin the rotors with the wheels off, I get absolutely no signs that the bearings are bad. nice and tight with no noise.

 

Are SKF bearings the factory offering? First gen’s came with KOYO. Some of the reputable names in the bearing business have gone downhill due to consolidation of the companies. Timken for example…

 

Ok, i am deaf in one ear, so use my kids to locate sounds. Son told me it was coming from the front. Neighbor owned a shop for years. Put him in the truck and one block later says rear left bearing. Sure enough rotor comes off and spin-major crunching. Axles came out today and bearings get pressed tomorrow. Had to go out and get a bigger press today.

I ordered the bca bearings and pleasantly surprised to see koyo stamped on them. Less than 100 each at RA. I suspect the exact same bearings are on the dealers shelf at $500.

thought folks may appreciate the tip.