[NewF150owner]

Hey y'all,
I am a very capable and self accomplished d.i.y. mechanic... My brand of choice for trucks has been GM, Toyota for sedans throughout my life. I do all my own work if I have the equipment and time, and have had very little issues over the years. However, I recently purchased 2010 F-150 XLT Rwd. The truck ran well for the first two months until I started getting a rubbing/grinding noise when I turn my wheel even an inch keft-of-center.... Of course I initially thought wheel bearing as y'all may be thinking as any half minded car person would assume. Being left of center, the weight is starting to shift to the right of the vehicle so I assumed the front passenger side. I replaced it yesterday with a brand new hub assembly, and I am still getting the noise. I plan on leaving the driver's side as well,but I'm not 100% convinced it is the hub assembly/wheel bearing..... Also, my strut assembly on the driver side is shot.... I jacked the truck up in the middle of the cross member and the passenger side was 3" off the ground while the driver side tire was still touching. I've never had a strut assembly cause this type of symptom to make it sound like a wheel bearing.... Could it be?
My last thought was maybe a caliper piston not receding all the way into the caliper and causing the pad to stick out and rub when I'm left-of-center? I just put new coated rotors on the front a few weeks ago and the lip on both had cut marks already and the inside of the passenger rorot had rub patterns when I changed the wheel bearing.

Any help is appreciated

 

[R.S.LOGAN]

No marks on brake backing plate from possible rubbing when loaded ?

 

[NewF150owner]

No marks on brake backing plate from possible rubbing when loaded ?

Yes there were rub patterns on the back of the driver side pad from a small metal bump on the rim of the piston where it meets the back of the pad. But it was not enough to cause this loud of a howl. I'm wondering if the piston might be sticking, however I'm not leaking Amy brake fluid, brake hose looked good on outside, and piston boots were good. The other symptom is the hard hitting over even small bumps. Upper control arm bushings were replaced in last 6 months, lower bushings are gutted, and as I said the driver side strut assembly is so gone that the tire still touched the ground with the passenger side 3 inches off...and I had the jack in the middle of the front cross member...... You can see why I'm a bit stumped lol ... Keep in mind I have no Cv axles, and my inner tie rods run directly into the side of the rack and pinion...where the inner tie rod boot meets the r/p housing, there are wet stains in the rubber, but it's not fresh as far as I can tell, and the boots are tight with no cracks...

 

[R.S.LOGAN]

It was marks on the back plate ( if fitted ) from brake rotor possibly rubbing that I was meaning .

 

[NewF150owner]

Yes there were rub patterns on the back of the driver side pad from a small metal bump on the rim of the piston where it meets the back of the pad. But it was not enough to cause this loud of a howl. I'm wondering if the piston might be sticking, however I'm not leaking Amy brake fluid, brake hose looked good on outside, and piston boots were good. The other symptom is the hard hitting over even small bumps. Upper control arm bushings were replaced in last 6 months, lower bushings are gutted, and as I said the driver side strut assembly is so gone that the tire still touched the ground with the passenger side 3 inches off...and I had the jack in the middle of the front cross member...... You can see why I'm a bit stumped lol ... Keep in mind I have no Cv axles, and my inner tie rods run directly into the side of the rack and pinion...where the inner tie rod boot meets the r/p housing, there are wet stains in the rubber, but it's not fresh as far as I can tell, and the boots are tight with no cracks...

 

[NewF150owner]

There were also rub marks on the heat shield on the passenger side when I changed the bearing yesterday. I know new heat shields can sometimes be made with a bit of a curve and rub the rotor, but these heat shields are O.E.M.

 

[CatSkinner]

Something I noticed, before you start replacing struts, in the picture, the drivers side of the truck is physically lower then the passenger side, the best way to see strut extension and compare both sides is on a lift, 2 jacks on either side and confirming the body is lifted the same amount on both sides. I'm not saying that the struts are good or bad, just that optics are skewed due to the lis of the rest of the truck.

The rotors look relatively new, the inner side still has the machine marks and is also the side that typically takes the beating in a stuck piston. I would tentatively rule that out (but observe wear patterns if you don't find the source). I have had heat shields create quite a racket when they make contact. Even though it's OEM, they still can get bent. I would start by trying to bend it enough to stop the contact and see if that helps.