[FC] Bearing noise??

[Charles]

Hi gang,

I heard some nasty scraping from what I thought might be the rear 
brakes. There was no real change in the sound when the brakes were 
applied so at first I thought a rock or some piece of spring had broken 
off and was grinding around in the drum. It happened a couple of times 
for a few minutes and then just stops and then starts up again. I can't 
imagine that the bearings would stop making noise once something goes 
wrong. I pulled the drums and can't see anything wrong. There was no 
evidence of something scraping around. I did notice that the star wheel 
for the self-adjusting brake was not engaging on one side (the side 
where I thought the noise was coming from). I can spin the wheels and 
hear nothing like the god-awful scraping. Before I parked I put it in 
reverse and then applied the brakes and then went forward and the noise 
decreased significantly. I'm beginning to suspect that the differential 
is the problem. The noise is not engine-speed related. I did notice that 
when I pulled on the hub that it moved in and out about an eigth of an 
inch. The bearings aren't great but again I find it hard to believe that 
they could go quiet once they start making noise.

Sorry I haven't given more to go on and it's all in layman's terms but 
the general idea of the situation is there. Thanks for any help and advice.

Charles