That is the sound I hear, mostly around 30mph. So I jack up the passengers side or the truck and grab the the front wheel. I can't believe how much play there is, a lot. Its hard to tell but I don't think the ball joints have play, so I guess its a wheel bearing?

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2001 Ranger Edge
3.0 V6
Automatic
4.10 gears
97,780 mi

Shake it up and down while looking behind the wheel. If you can see play in the ball joints, its BJ's.


Shake it side to side, if its not BJ;s but steering related, it's steering.\
\\


If not its wheel bearings.


soirry for bad writing. drunk

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2000 Ford Ranger XL 2.5L 5-speed RWD 3.73 open - 170,000+ miles
Buggman LED 3BL/CARGO, Buggman Stang Dome LED conversion, LED Brake Light conversion, Line-X O.T.R., Air silencer removed
2.3L Headgasket/TIMING/Water Pump replacement guide

Yeah, it sounds like you have a bad hub, to confirm, you need to load up the Lower Ball Joint by jacking the front wheel up by the Lower Control Arm. Your going to need an extra set of eyes and hands to be positive. Have someone shake the tire in an up and down motion while you watch the ball joints and check for play. If you can visually see a ball joint moving, it is bad. If you can't tell with your eyes, have someone shake the tire up/down and hold onto the ball joint where it meets the spindle/steering knuckle. If they are tight and dont seperate, they are fine. If you can feel play, you should replace it unless its minimal play. Otherwise if the ball joints check out you have a bad hub bearing. Its a bolt in assembly, and is pretty easy to change out, unless you have vacuum locking hubs, in which case I would feel bad because they aren't fun to change and there is a price difference. Good luck and dont drive it if its making any grinding sounds at all. humming when driving is an indicator they are failing, loud humming is almost complete failure.

I am having a hard time finding the size socket I will need to get to the wheel bearing. There is some kind of weird looking nut with a bunch of sides, then a regular nut under that right? What sizes?

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2001 Ranger Edge
3.0 V6
Automatic
4.10 gears
97,780 mi

Take the upper ball joint loose, along with tie rod and remove the axle. then you will be able to access the hub bolts. I believe they are a 15mm

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I make a living as a Senior Tech at a Network Used Car CO. My work focuses mainly on cars and light trucks. I enjoy customizing on the side, but when I'm getting paid, I enjoy diagnostics. Any questions, you have shoot em my way and I'll get back as soon as possible.

I found a guide on how its done in the how to section. I have replaced the wheel bearing now and everything went great, no problem. The one problem is the noise is still there. I guess its the ball joint. I have known they were in bad shape for a while now but everyone was telling me I didn't have anything to worry about.

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2001 Ranger Edge
3.0 V6
Automatic
4.10 gears
97,780 mi

Yeah, those are both in bad shape. No grease in there will make them fail and either sqeel when turning or make a poping sound when going over bumps.

__________________
I make a living as a Senior Tech at a Network Used Car CO. My work focuses mainly on cars and light trucks. I enjoy customizing on the side, but when I'm getting paid, I enjoy diagnostics. Any questions, you have shoot em my way and I'll get back as soon as possible.

Your uppers look like mine. I stuff grease in there every two weeks or so until I feel like replacing the upper control arms and paying for an alignment.

Regardless, replacing ball joints won't be hard if you have access to the press. It's just time consuming.