susupension noise / clunk + wheel bearing noise?

So I recently bought a used 04 ram 1500 with the 20" factory rims and tires on it from a dealership and from the get go i hear a low speed maybe 5-15 mph rotating noise (and a little vibration not much but its there)...Im thinking its a wheel bearing noise but it seems to go away at higher speeds...is that just tire noise? (thats what they are telling me)

I also have a random suspension clunk going over bumps, but only over certian bumps. It sounds to be in the front end but for the life of me I couldnt tell you if its passenger side or driver side. I complained and they took the truck in and Supposedly the front upper driver control arm was changed and nothing else was found loose in the front end. I still hear both noises and they dont know what to tell me. Its 10 degrees out with about a foot of snow on the ground so I cant jack it up and investigate for myself. Any common culprits there?

Sorry if these are dumb questions, its my first full size truck so im alittle lost on what is normal noise. Thanks for the help!

clunk could be anything in the suspesion from balljoints tierods to shocks etc. if u hear a rotating noise and u hear the noise get slower as u slow down and faster as u go its got to be either tires,brakes,wheel bearings/hubs. maybe u dont hear it when u go faster because there is to much other noise. how many miles are on it. 04 is prolly due for some front hubs and front end work

theres 112K on it so yes Im sure its due for some work. Im not sure what else I can do other than tell them I hear this and that and then they tell me "well we checked everything and its fine" ... wonder if they would still say that if it wasnt under the NY 30 day used car warranty still and I was going to pay out of pocket

This will actually actually seem like a silly question, but it's an honest one...are you sure it isn't your grille rattling around?

After I bought my truck and hit my first pothole, I got a loud "clunk" from the front end. Happened every time I hit a substantial bump. Swore up and down something was up with the suspension. Turns out...one of the tabs was broken on the grille and it rattled when I hit a bump. I know it's silly, but it's worth a look.

As for bearings, I don't really know how to diagnose that, other than jacking up the truck and checking for some play. I'm betting that it's still making noise, but at higher speed, engine and wheel noise are drowning it out.

God knows when the warranty is up and you take it to the shop, they'll come back with $5,000 worth of problems.

Jack up the front end, one side at a time is ok, grab the top and bottom of the tire and pull it back and forth with force. If you get any kind of movement your bearings are probably bad. Front and back movement won't help. It has to be top and bottom.

Past that I'm not sure. It could be a number of things. Ball joints, tie rod end and shocks with INK brought up.

Roll Tide brought up a great point. Look for silly sh*t that could be making noise but only after you check the serious stuff.

Good luck

Roll_HEMI_Tide said:

This will actually actually seem like a silly question, but it's an honest one...are you sure it isn't your grille rattling around?

After I bought my truck and hit my first pothole, I got a loud "clunk" from the front end. Happened every time I hit a substantial bump. Swore up and down something was up with the suspension. Turns out...one of the tabs was broken on the grille and it rattled when I hit a bump. I know it's silly, but it's worth a look.

As for bearings, I don't really know how to diagnose that, other than jacking up the truck and checking for some play. I'm betting that it's still making noise, but at higher speed, engine and wheel noise are drowning it out.

God knows when the warranty is up and you take it to the shop, they'll come back with $5,000 worth of problems.

Click to expand...

Well that wasnt a silly question at all, I checked and When the hood is latched its pretty loose, i can move it up and down alot, enough to knock around on bumps Im sure...maybe your right and thats the noise Im hearing

HolyRamBatman said:

Jack up the front end, one side at a time is ok, grab the top and bottom of the tire and pull it back and forth with force. If you get any kind of movement your bearings are probably bad. Front and back movement won't help. It has to be top and bottom.

Past that I'm not sure. It could be a number of things. Ball joints, tie rod end and shocks with INK brought up.

Roll Tide brought up a great point. Look for silly sh*t that could be making noise but only after you check the serious stuff.

Good luck

Click to expand...

I will check the bearings as soon as I can

Thanks for the guidance on what Im looking for

sdamike said:

Well that wasnt a silly question at all, I checked and When the hood is latched its pretty loose, i can move it up and down alot, enough to knock around on bumps Im sure...maybe your right and thats the noise Im hearing

Click to expand...

So I moved up the hood bumpers untill the hood couldnt be moved at all when closed and it seems to have taken care of that clunk I was talking about, thanks for pointing that out to me