Front Wheels Whining After Suspension Work

[Ionizer]

98 SOHC 4WD 170,000 mikes. Recently had my local independent replace the front end suspension to include upper/lower control arms, inner/outer tie rods, sway bar end links, CV half shafts, and Cam Bolt kit with alignment for $600 in labor. All parts were Moog problem solver other than Cardone select CV half shaft.

At low walking speed I get a high pitched whine that goes away above 5mph or so. Last oil change I had the front end up and it's coming from both wheels. I got in the wheel well and found a rubber seal that is the culprit as I could feel it vibrating as I turned the wheel.

I'm not knowledge about parts or replacement myself and was going to have the hubs replaced to address it "was planning to do at 200k as preventative" but read up on here about the CV half shaft seals creating a whine like this.

Am I on the right track here? From looking online it seams the seals are seperate from the half shaft. Should my mechanic have know to replace them with the half shafts? If the whine is coming from these seals is there much labor involved in replacing them? Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[koda2000]

If you turned the front wheels while doing suspension work you have introduced air into the power steering rack. This is super common (it's a Ford thing). Drive in slow figure-8's turning the steering wheel from lock to lock 5 our 6 times. This should work the air out of the rack, though the whine can continue until all the bubbles are gone from the oil.

Oh, your CV half-shaft seals have nothing to do with a P/S whine/shutter. It's the P/S rack seals that will suck in air if you turn the wheels w/out the engine running.

 

[J_C]

I wonder if your hubs/wheels/etc were turned while the engine was off and this has introduced air into the power steering system. Drive the vehicle and turn the steering wheel a few times lock to lock, left to right, to bleed the air out. Check the power steering reservoir fluid level.

 

[Ionizer]

It's not air in the system as I've tried figure 8's multiple times. Fluid level is fine. The sound is more of a rubber squeaking than a whine. As I said I located a rubber seal in the wheel well that is the culprit as I felt it vibrating as I turned the wheels. Just wondering how the work I had done plays into this and the best way to fix it.

I'm thinking a new CV half shaft seal and new Hubs if those hav to come off to get to it. Am I on the right track here?