weird vibration/pulling

[Mephisto]

this has happened 3 times now...

twice, ive been driving on the freeway gone over a stretch of bumpy highway with a slight curve to the right, then suddenly i get harsh vibration and my truck starts pulling hard to the right. same stretch of freeway both times. the 3 time was on the street i went over some rough pavement, then came to a stop. when i accelerated, i felt some resistance on the front right side, before it gave way, and that was followed by a repeated thumping, as if something was stuck in the tire and catching on something...

i checked under the hood and nothing appears to be in the way of the steering assembly, i checked all around the front right wheel, nothing is catching, rubbing, loose etc. i glanced under the truck and didnt notice anything there either, but i need to jack it up and take a better look...

anyone have an idea? bad axle maybe?

 

[vette40509]

Mine just went thru that in January. Shaking of steering wheel, kind of a crunching noise in right front. 2 days later while pulling out of neighborhood it shot remaing ball bearings straight out the back. Guy behind din not appreciate windhield attack!! At that point I was 3 wheel drive. My local mechanic replaced for $75 labor same day service.

 

[Loeryder]

Wheel Bearing???

Ours are sealed units, but if you take the half shaft out and do not have a axle nut on there to hold the bearing race together it can separate.
even just rolling the truck out of the garage and back in with no front halfshafts can ruin our front wheel bearings.

The only difference between our wheel bearing and a std 4x4 is the ABS toning ring.
If you have deleted your ABS you can use a std Jimmy/sonoma wheel bearing.

Look at the back side of the brake rotor and you should be able to see the toning ring and see if it has been rubbing.

Mine had a ton of rust flakes stuck in it and would make a grinding noise.
Used a powerful magnet to remove all the debris and they are quiet again.

 

[Mephisto]

well the vibrations got out of control today making the truck undrivable...

i checked under the truck and noticed the the boot on the half shaft ripped apart and everything is loose... might very well be the wheel bearings as well as other stuff.

looks like my sy is back on the disabled list.

thanks for the help guys.

PS is there any kind of cheap fix for this? maybe Napa has something?