My 2003 mazda b4000 also has front end noise. I brought to the dealer and they said its normal!. that a brand new truck on the lot makes the same noise. is this true? also stalls and idels poorly on cold starts on occasion.

All of the Mazda Trucks now have Ford Problems. Poor parking brake set-up, weak fronts ends, random electrical problems.

They are cheap and do the job if you have some mechanical skills.

I agree with another writer that going to manual locking hubs is the way to go. You might as well do the bearing assembly at the same time because they are done at 50K miles anyways. The aftermarket bearings are made by Timkin and the hubs are made of steel. Not only that they are half the price as Ford/Mazda.

Mazda should get as far away from Ford as they can before they go broke too.

I have a 97 B4000.

It runs good most of the time, but has had many problems.

Had to replace:

Starter

Front wheel bearings and seals

Locking hubs

Front rotors and brakes

Rear wheel bearings and seals

Drum brakes

It's got a reliable, although weak engine, everything else on the truck is crap.

I bought a Mazda B4000, 2WD in October of 2009 and have had nothing but problems with it. I think it has been in my mechanics shop for longer than I have driven it. One of the main problems is the check engine light is constantly coming on. The result of this is the sensors. I also had to have the gas valves replaced. The total cost of repairs in owning this truck for 4 months brought me to a grand total of $2,252.48.

I have the same issue except with my brake light and ABS light. A mechanic has looked at both after I have, and they said just take the light out of the dash.

Any "mechanic" who says that is incompetent, at best.