front end noise (think drive train)

[foamerdave]

I have a 97 EB 5.0 Awd with 150k on it that I have had for 4 day's now.
I had just gotten off the hi-way and was sitting at a light creeping forward. I heard a faint grinding noise. Pulled away from the light light on the gas and could hear the it increased with speed. If I hit the gas I cant hear it, it's that faint yet. If I turn the wheel it worsens. The truck has had a shimmy that gets worse with speed that I think might be tied in ( making a turn at hi-way speeds is down right scarey as it get supper bad then) I think it is coming from the front left but not a 100% on that one.
So what should I be looking at and how do I tell if it is bad.
1 wheel bearing ?
2 front diff ( not a cule of how to cheek)
3 axle/cv joint ( doubt this its a grind not a click sound)
4 something I am not thinking of ????

thanks for any help Dave

 

[1997green]

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[foamerdave]

ttt help please

 

[Nocturnall]

jack up the front of the vehicle and grab each tire at 3 and 9 and try wiggling it, then 12 and 6. Your looking to see if it is loose, should be nice and tight. If you suspect it's going in and out of 4x4 first of all I think the indicator light would come on and off. You could unplug the shift motor on the xfer case or just remove the front drive shaft and see if that makes it stop...If your feeling generous you can mail me the front drive shaft cause I need one........ CV shaft the only thing I know to check for on those is make sure the boots around the knuckles aren't ripped or torn.

P.S. not attacking you at all, just a simple suggestion. Read your post before you actually post it and make sure it's clearly written and there aren't extra words in there. I had to read your post a couple times to really understand...most of it.

 

[foamerdave]

high speed shake I think might be a tie rod ( just has that "feel" to it) I know it is not the drive shaft as it was done at the dealer 10k ago. How can I tell if it is a c/v joint, front diff, or wheel bearing.
Sorry can be over wordy and a real bad speller to go with it.

 

[Nocturnall]

jacking up the front of the truck and shaking the wheel as I said I'm pretty sure will tell you tie rod end and/or wheel bearing. I also stated check your cv boots. You can also search on how to check your front diff, cv shafts, in fact I'm sure all of this has been covered before.