Explorer :: 08 - Front End Grinding Noise / Loudest At Lower Speed
Jan 25, 2016
I have an 08 explorer 4x4 with 90k. I have a front end grinding noise. Noise is loudest at lower speeds and doesn't change with braking or turning. I have read that tires could cause this. I have the spare tire and rim on the front at the moment until I can afford a new tire. My other tires are all pretty new... And the spare is a different size rim but a brand new different brand tire. I'm going to check for play in the bearings tonight and maybe swap the spare to the rear .
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The history: I have a 98 ford explorer 156k miles. V6 automatic AWD w/ 4WD. I recently took it in for a rebuild on the transmission due to 3rd gear slippage. When I picked it up (after business hours) the dashboard lit up like a christmas tree with code lights about 4wd & OD. It drove fine and I needed the vehicle so I took it and called the mechanic the next day. He advised me if they did something wrong they would fix it but he would have to run the codes to know what was going on. He told me if it drove fine it was ok to take my time about coming in. Since it was an hour drive (and time off work) I waited till the following week. They ran the codes and determined that they had forgot to "plug my 4wd in" and it was throwing every code possible for that system. Lol...
The problem: During the week I drove it I noticed a distinct grinding / chunking noise when I punched the gas hard at any speed in any gear. It happens about 85% of the time and is sometimes light noise and sometimes very bad.
I knew previously that I had bad ball joints so I figured it was that issue making a grinding noise based on the truck rocking back when I gassed it hard.
After about 2 weeks of hearing the grinding occasionally, it gets to bothering me so I go get the ball joints fixed. New ball joints and it still grinds... Now Im really worried it the transmission so I go back to the transmission mechanic yesterday (another half day off work and hour drive) and he test drives it. Tells me it is the transfer case going bad. Also tells me it wasnt like that when I picked it up because they 'test drive' every car after the work is complete (but somehow didnt notice the flashing codes on this test drive).
The question:
Is it possible while rebuilding the transmission or installing it, that they damaged the transfer case?
Are these systems connected directly to one another?
Is it possible that my 4WD being unplugged for a week or so of driving could have caused an issue in the transfer case?
Is it possible that if the 4WD was 'unplugged' the AWD may have also been disengaged and as a result caused an issue in the transfer case?
Is it likely that its just normal wear on two closely related systems and I should just suck it up and get it fixed?
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I have a 2005 Explorer XLT Sport 4x4 w/ 118k miles. I am having front end noise when I go over speed bumps, driveway aprons, etc.
I already replaced the Struts/Coils, and ball joints, the sway bar end links are newer. The noise is almost like a noise an old spring mattress would make.
What could the issue be?
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I have a 1996 Ford Explorer (4WD model). Approximately 4 months ago I had a new set of tires put on it, and in the process of replacing the tires the shop noticed that I had a bad ball joint and one of my wheel bearings was going bad. They said the ball joints were known for completely failing, but the wheel bearings usually didn't, so they recommended that the ball joint be replaced first. That is what I had them do. I haven't had the money to get the wheel bearing replaced yet. This past week it got worse to the point where I can hear it now.
At low speeds I can hear a grinding/rattling-type noise from the front drivers side (that's the side that has the bad wheel bearing). At higher speeds the grinding/rattling-type noise fades away due to road noise, but I can still hear a humming-type of noise that is a bit loader than normal - this noise just started a couple of weeks ago so I'm suspecting that this might also be related to the bad bearing.
I won't have the money to get this fixed for another 2 weeks. In order for me to have the money in 2 weeks I will need to continue working at my job 2 days a week. It's approximately 2 hours round-trip from my home to my job. Obviously with the bearing sounding significantly worse I don't want to drive it any more than I have to, but the only way I can get the money to fix it is to keep driving it back and forth to work.
Here's my question. What risks am I running by continuing to drive this? Am I running the risk of the wheel falling off while I'm driving down the freeway at 70 mph? Am I likely to experience other damaged parts in that area of the vehicle?
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My 2007 Hyundai Elantra SE (Automatic, 69,400 miles) makes a grinding noise when I start to accelerate from 40 mph. I sometimes hear a noise that sounds like an airplane wheel being activated when I'm driving at lower speeds driving around town. Could this be the transmission? Who should I take the car to?
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My 2001 SL2 is making a lot of rattling noise. I think I have isolated it to the A/C compressor. I noticed that on the back side of the A/C clutch the plate where the signal wire connects into is very loose when the A/C is not on. The noise seems to be loudest when the A/C is not on. But when I turn on the A/C, that plate tightens up. But the noise continues. Could it just be the A/C clutch or a bearing or something? Or is the noise coming from somewhere not even related to the A/C? The A/C still works really well. I just notice the noise.
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My 2002 Hyd Elnta GT began making a rubbing type noise it begins about 20 mph and is loudest @ 40 mph I noticed when I make a curve to the right at high speeds it stops but I can still hear like something is still rubbing buts it's a smooth type rubbing sound. When I'm going straight the rubbing is loud like a rib rubbing but when in a curve it's a soft rubbing noise like it's rubbing something smooth.
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I have some pretty bad grinding/growling in the front of my 2005 Explorer XLT 4-door. It is ABSOLUTELY NOT a wheel bearing. The noise seems to be coming from the front left wheel, and you can feel it when turning the hub by hand. I've changed that hub twice now (took a chance that the first one was defective), but neither made any difference. Both were torqued to 184 FtLbs per spec.
I took the outboard end of the left front cv shaft out of the hub and turned it by hand, and something at the inboard end felt crunchy. So then I pulled the shaft out and checked it over, and both sets of splines and CV joints are good. Axle shaft bearing in the differential looks good too---rolls well and no visible damage to the rollers. I'm thinking that it's got to be something in the front differential like a carrier bearing. The odd thing is that when I drove it with my Chassis Ear tool hooked up underneath, the noise was picked up at the left front knuckle, with nothing really audible from three different points on the differential case. I'm stumped on this.
Is there any safe way to drive the vehicle with the front CV shafts pulled? I'd like to isolate the front diff to be sure it's the source of the noise.
The noise does quiet way down in right turns, but the FR hub bearing was pretty quiet with the Chassis Ear hooked up. The noise starts at 20mph and dissipates above 45mph. Not like what the bad bearings on my Escape did...those just kept getting louder.
Are these Explorers known for front diff weaknesses? How can I find out what gear ratio I have, in case I decide to replace the whole unit (a used one is half the price or less than the rebuild quote I was given by a local shop).
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I'm having an issue where when the fan is set to the lower fan speeds it will make a high pitched, harmonic chirping noise. I've isolated it to the operation of the fan, so I know it's something to do with the HVAC stuff.
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I have a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport and after a brake job I noticed that while under braking at slow speed there would be a grinding sound on the front left. I replaced the brakes and wheel bearings the first time. After a while I ended up replacing the caliper itself but it still grinds. I don't notice any wheel shaking, pulling and it hasn't locked up although once I did notice a some smoke under hard braking but only once. I also don't hear any grinding while not braking.
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I was recently experiencing problems with my front brakes. It sounded like it was grinding on something (it doesn't screech) whenever the speed reaches below 15 mph. I called up my dealer to take a look and upon investigation they told me that i needed to do the front brakes job but they could save the rotor (they charged me around $300). Is this common ? It is a daily driven car and i mostly drive on highways. I drive the 2014 RWD IS-350 F-sport model and just recently hit 17.8K miles.
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I have a grinding sound comes from the front of my car when the speed reaches 60 miles, what can cause this sound.also i have a popping sound when putting the gear in reverse is that related?
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i have a Subaru legacy rs 1996 twin turbo, about 6 months ago now i replaced both front outer CV joints and boots due to a grinding when turning at slow speed e.g a car park. the grinding had gone and its was all fine until now the same grinding as come back. its it normal for the CV joint to wear out that fast or could there be a different problem?
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I just recently bought a 2000 Explorer, 4.0 OHV, 4x4 with about 150,000 miles.
I've had the vehicle for about a month, and ever since I bought it, it's had a grinding sound (sounded like wheel bearing) coming from the front right side. I replaced both right and left bearing/hub assemblies, and took it out for a drive. The initial sound that I thought was bearing noise is still there, and at about 65mph I started to get a little bit of steering wheel shake. I took my foot off the gas and it stopped. I accelerated up to about 70mph and it seemed ok.
I hit a VERY small bump in the road and the steering wheel started shaking like hell. So bad that I almost lost control. I slammed the brakes and the shake stopped instantly. I took it home and put it up in the air, half expecting to see something loose or broken, and everything looks perfect. I re-torqued everything that I had taken apart for the initial hub/bearing replacement, and took it out again. Same issues.
I never had ANY of these problems before I replaced the hub/bearing assemblies, so I'm completely confused. I was thinking CV joints, but I have no clicking at all when turning, in forward or reverse, everything is smooth. Outer tie rods were done about 6 weeks ago..
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Alright so I'm having a problem with my 2003 Ford Explorer. I've recently noticed that when I get to above 40 mph, if my steering wheel is straight, I hear a loud kind of grinding or humming sound coming from my left driver side front. If I am going about 65 mph, it gets even louder and if I crank the steering wheel to the left, that's when it really gets noisy but as soon as I crank it to the right, the problems gone. When I do hear the hummin sound, I can feel it in the steering wheel. I have replaced al of the tires and it didn't work. Also, the car slightly pulls me to the right.
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Just put on eibachs and car is randomly making a grinding noise when slowly accelerating or braking.. Also noticing a fairly loud clicking noise when going in reverse. The noise isn't consistent and seems to happen more right after startup. I haven't gotten the alignment done yet and was wondering if this could be the problem. Will try and post a video soon.
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V10... Suspect it's the power steering pump...
Seems to come from left of centre of engine. Not taken any covers off yet to see what can be seen..
Scans clear. It's arguably too loud even to drive! So needs some attention very soon.
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Bought my Prius (2005, with 160K miles) about a month ago and since I've had it I am hearing a metal on metal grinding noise when braking at low speed. How loud the sound is depends on how hard I am on pushing on the brakes. One of my co-workers has the same model and said that his does not make that sound. Not sure if its just because it has after-market brake pads or something? This noise only occurs when braking at low speeds (below 10 MPH) so I assume its an issue with the front brakes.
Is this something I need to get looked at by the dealership? I had a local mechanic that worked on my old Honda beater take a look and he said that the rotors and brake pads looked new and wasn't sure why they'd make noise.
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Driving at hwy speeds and head a pop noise in front end. Stopped and couldn't find anything, heard it a couple of more times, still nothing found, now I have a grinding noise left front wheel. What the issue may be. 2001 Ford EX 4X4.
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Would bad lower front ball joints freeze and creak when turning. I have noticed that my car(2010GLS) with 108k miles has a creaking sound when turning the wheels left to right. I poked a hole in the rubber boot covering the joint and sprayed WD 40 in there and now it seem to creak even more. Guess I am going to replace the l and r lower ball joints.
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A sort of honking/grinding noise, like really loud squealing brakes - but a lower sound, when at low speed, with the wheel turned right for maximum turning. Generally located in the front end.
It occurs consistently when I am returning home, slowing to a stop to pull around a curve in the road, right before I back into my driveway. It occurs with the clutch in or out, and with the brakes on or not. I tried doing slow sharp turns in a parking lot and I can't replicate it there.
It's happened for almost as long as I've had the car, and there's only about 1300km on it now. I've just been trying to track it down to replicate for the dealer. Taking it to the dealer is obviously my next step. I think I'm going to have to take a tech for a ride to my house to replicate it!
Car is completely stock so far.
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