98 B-Series 4WD front end groan

[rd_turbo]

Has anyone ever heard a groan on take off with the wheel partly turned? I have a 98 B3000 M/T with 4WD and I get this very low pitched metal on metal groan when I pull away for the first 10 feet, with the steering wheel partly turned left. I can't tell if it comes from the pumpkin or the right wheel, but it's definitely not the driver's side. The passenger side has a new wheel hub and I got rid of the vacuum hub locks in favour of a set of AVM hubs. Any thoughts?

 

[700summitguy]

If you have the two piece driveshaft, I've heard that the splined part of the shaft will rust. Possibly the groan is the shaft trying to move in and out. Some lube could be the fix. Good luck.

 

[Ranger Al]

could be warped rotor????

 

[700summitguy]

Possibly could be a warped brake rotor, but if it is warped as it turns it would push the brake pads back into the caliper . You would have a slight mushy feel to the brake pedal when you first stepped on the pedal. You might have a sticking caliper, pushing the pad into the rotor. I know that the shim between brake pad and pad holder will move towards the rotor on the Mazda cars and cause a scraping noise, but I haven't seen it happen on a truck. Good luck.

 

[Blee1099]

I can't remember if the 98 Mazda B series were TTB or Torsion bar setup. If its torsion bar setup, I would check the drivers side wheel bearing/hub assembly.. If I remember right, a failed hub assembly will cause the steering wheel to turn to the offending side from a dead stop..

 

[700summitguy]

This is true,but a bad wheel bearing will continue to make more noise the faster it turns.

 

[rd_turbo]

Thanks for all the responses...I guess I haven't checked the thread in a while. The truck has new front hub/bearing assemblies, new pads, rotors, upper and lower ball joints. I've also done away with the OE auto hub lockers in favor of AVM manual lockers. I started noticing the noise in the spring before swapping out the locking hubs. The truck has torsion bars and all the bushings appear to be OK. The best description that I have for the noise is it's as if something large and heavy is rubbing or binding for a short amount of time. It doesn't sound like brake noise. It sounds more like a groan.