This noise could be described as clicking or whining, depending on my speed. It comes from the right front on my 98 Blazer. It slows down to ticking sound when my speed slows. Then, gets faster and louder as I increase my speed. In fact on a few occasions, it's been so loud that it'll turn heads of spectators from quite a distance away.
And, it has a mind of its own because I may go a day or two without hearing it. It does not make the noise when going in reverse and turning right or left doesn't seem to matter. Also, the one cure for the noise that I've found is putting the truck in 4wd. As soon as I hit 4 hi, the noise stops. I hit 2 hi and it comes back....that may be the key clue right there.
I had it in a small shop a while back and the guy drove it for 2 or 3 days with no noise. He was about to give it back when he finally heard it. He replaced the lower ball joint on the right side and drove it several miles back to me with no noise. As soon as I drove it of course it started back up.
I've had it sitting since then.
Any thoughts???