1996 Blazer front end problem

i havw a 96 blazer lt and out of the blue i started getting a noise from the front end (drivers side). I have not had any recent work done and the tires and the brakes are fine. It sounds like a helicopter and feels like i am going over a raked road right before it gets repaved or that damn strip on the side of the road that is suppose to wake you up when realy it scares the crap out of you but anyway if anyone knows what this might be i could use the help... oh yeah and when i let the steering wheel go the truck goes straight as an arrow.

check wheel bearing, ball joints etc

Jack up that wheel and grab the top and bottom of the tire and wiggle it and check for play.

Sounds like a wheel bearing to me! Two of four wheel drive? You can get the four wheel drive hub assemblies at the parts house but the two wheel drives will have to come from the dealer or gmpartsdirect.com. They cost $ 173.00 plus freight from gmpartsdirect and $478.00 from the dealer!

i am going to jack it up today and check for play in the tire as soon as i get rid of all this snow. It is 4 wheel drive. I am not a mechanic but i have no problems working on the truck, i change the brakes service the engine and i am not afraid of getting dirty so do you think i can do the bearing myself?

It's not difficult at all, It's less dirty and easier than the old cup and cone bearings, but a lot more costly. I don't know about you but I never had to change a tapered bearing. The only reason for the hub assembly is because of the wheel speed sensor for the antilock brake system.

Ah ha a light just went on! after i read your post sparks it dawned on me that the abs light has been on for some time i wonder if the two problems are connected because when i got the truck the light was on and i did the brakes all the way around and everything was sound but the light would not go off even after resetting the trucks power.