Front End noise

[Spoolmak]

It has been really cold here. Temps -20 to -30 Celsius. Truck has 116,000 km. It is a babied, recreational truck. Last week on a trip from Kamloops to Vancouver, at highway speeds between 70 to 100 km on ice and compact snow, the truck developed a front end 'thud-thud-thud' like a wheel coming unbalanced. Worst in two wheel drive while steady throttle or slight deceleration. Not nearly as prominent in four wheel drive. No feedback through steering wheel. I had the tires checked for out of round and balance - they were fine. Noise still there. No sign of fluid leaks from front differential or transfer case - fluid levels up where they should be. Today the temperatures went up to around 0 degrees Celsius and during a 150 km highway trip there was no sign of the noise.

I did have an intermittent low level squeek for several weeks when turning hard left or right. Not sure that's related. I suspect it may be cv joint boot folds rubbing and will apply silicone spray to see if that fixes it.

Front wheels seem to turn easily with no play or sound when spun while raised on jacks. It has been suggested the solenoid that disengages the 'hubs' in the front dif may not be working properly in the extreme cold thus leaving the hubs engaged even though the transfer case has disengaged the front drive shaft. Could that cause such a noise?? I just don't know what it could be.

I'm really reluctant to go to the dealer with the 'carte blanche' "I have a thump in the front end, please fix it." That could be a very open ended expensive repair especially now, as it appears to have disappeared.

Any thoughts will be much appreciated.

[jbplock]

... I did have an intermittent low level squeek for several weeks when turning hard left or right... Not sure that's related. I suspect it may be cv joint boot folds rubbing and will apply silicone spray to see if that fixes it.

Front wheels seem to turn easily with no play or sound when spun while raised on jacks. .

Not sure if your problem is the same as mine but my truck recently developed a front end squeak that was most noticeable when turning .. I jacked up the front end and found no noticeable play in the bearings but when listening closely I could hear a slight squeak-scape sound as the passenger side hub was turned slowly by hand (also tried the silicone spray). I stopped driving the truck and ordered new hubs .. replaced the hub-bearing assembly and the squeak is gone. Some more info in this thread - http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/tdpforum/showthread.php?t=32055&page=5
:)