Ford - Explorer :: 1997 4x4 - Rumble Up Front Above 90 Km/h - Wheel Bearing?
Sep 20, 2011
My wife's Explorer 4x4 has a noise in the front at around 100km/h. It is not detectable below 90km/h. Its not noticeable from a standstill until around 100, then you hear it a little. I find I can make it more noticeable if I vary my speed from 110 to 105 up and down, then its easier to hear. Once you get below 90 km/h you cant hear it at all.
I have a broken leg right now, and I normally do ALL my own work so I'm a little-limited mobility wise at the moment.
I'm suspecting a wheel bearing. I put the Explorer in the garage and my son jack up both wheels on the drivers side. I started the engine and SLOWLY accelerated up through the gears to 100. I know the hazards with this as I've done it with other vehicles, but this was the first 4x4. Then we jacked up the passenger side (after lowering the drivers side) and did the same thing. I could slightly hear/feel the rumble when the passenger side was jacked up.
I did drive the vehicle on my outdoor ramp/pit so I could use my crutches and get underneath to have a look. I grabbed the cv axles and they feel solid. The propeller shaft was replaced last year, and the cv axles look brand new. (bought the vehicle off a friend two years ago.).
So, are my suspicions correct, is it the pass. side wheel bearing? The Explorer has 294000kms. Never did test it on corners as I didn't want to swerve back and forth on the highway with the amount of traffic.
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I have a 03 explorer with approx 160k, I am experiencing a thumping noise while driving. It gets worse on right turns and gets better on left turns. initially i thought LF wheel bearing so i ordered a hub assy and replaced LF. noise is still there. I guess, thumping noise caused by wheel bearings, i know its usually a grinding kind of whirring noise.
The noise doesn't seem to change with accel/decel so I don't think it is driveline related (diff, drive shaft etc.) should i bite the bullet and replace the rf as well??? I should also mention that there is also a shake in the steering wheel that seems to coincide with the thumping (i.e., my hand shakes along with the thumping, and the shake gets worse when the noise does)...
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1999 explorer Eddie bauer. Front wheel bearing nut size? 33mm?
Looking for a torque spec procedure. Need to replace an abs sensor. Sensor alone was 120 bucks so just bought the whole hub assembly with sensor. Might just put the whole thing on.
Is there a good thread for a complete socket size portfolio on the explorers. Thinking sizes over and above normal socket sizes found in your typical socket set?
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I'm working on a 02 explorer. The front end is howling so I replaced the left side and no change. The howl goes away when braking. Is it the right side then or something else? I replaced both front brakes pads so it's not that.
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I have a 94 Explorer. I recently swapped over from auto to manual hubs. I followed a detailed write-up that I found online. During the process I repacked my outer wheel bearings. Ever since then I hear a grinding noise coming from the front wheels. Sounds like the bearings aren't seated properly. The guide that I followed instructed to torque the spindle nut that sits next the the outer wheel bearing really tight in order to seat the bearing, then loosen it back up and hand tighten it. But when I loosened the spindle nut the wheel bearing would pop back out. What is the best way to get a wheel bearing to stay seated properly?
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I had my front driver side wheel bearing blow on me, out of nowhere, while doing about 70mph on my '03 Supercrew 2wd. it really destroyed my spindle and rotor. i replaced everything from the spindle out (rotor,pad,caliper,caliper mounts, bearings,etc). I packed the bearing really good and put it all back together. Well, it happened again, same thing. Doing about 70 and it just blew out of nowhere. Why it could be happening??
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I'm getting a little rumble in my Lt Rear wheel bearing with just over 50k miles. I'm looking online at parts and the part number for the hub/bearing assy is 4246033030. It's showing up as a Toyota part as well.
Does the same part matches a Camry or Avalon? The Toyota version of the part is about half of the price.
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Grand prix has speed related rumble. Seems to come from RF wheel. Wheel bearing feels tight. LF front is barely loose. Car has 150k miles. Should I trust my ear and change RF? Car is quiet at 30mph. Seems to make noise at 40mph+
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My 'new to me' '97 Explorer has this odd 'rumble' every now and then, as if I just ran over some rumble strips. Very brief, maybe a second or less, as if I hit 5 or 6 of those bumps. It is a V8, XLT all wheel drive and I'm not familiar with it. Is this something I need to get looked at soon or is it just one of those things with the AWD. I only driven it a few times so I don't see a pattern and all else is great. Its a tight truck with less than 100K miles and I really enjoy it.
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I have a 2003 Explorer.... 4wd..... and here's my story.. I had a tire blow out (front driver side) and I took it to a tire chain to get it replaced (it was the closest thing to where it happened and I had to get to work)
After the tire was replaced, the truck started to rumble in the front and seemed like the brake was being pressed while I was driving. I called the chain tire store and told them my truck was not doing this prior to them replacing the tire. They said it was fine because I was riding on a better tread tire and the remaining tires were worn.... (okay..maybe so?)
I drive 80 miles one way to work....the whole way there...rumbling and this 'brake applied' feeling. Worked my shift...drove the 80 miles back home...same thing.
Took truck back to store....they said that it was the Front Drive Shaft had cracked at the Transfer case.... I've asked a few people and they think it's just the ABS still locked because I was traveling a high rate of speed when my tire went out. I think the tire store chain screwed up when they replaced the tire....
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I have a 2003 Sport Trac 4wd with 299,000 miles. There is what sounds like wheel bearing noise (grinding) that was noticed after returning from a trip where I flat towed it behind my rv. I did not notice the noise the last time I drove it - before towing it about 450 miles. I have towed this vehicle for many years and miles this way - transmission and transfer case in neutral with key in on position to unlock steering. I stated this part about the towing because the noise may have gone unnoticed for many miles. About 20,000 miles ago, I changed front wheel bearings, brake calipers, upper and lower ball joints, shocks and outer tie rod ends. Also rear brake pads.
I put the vehicle on jack stands and in drive mode couldn't hear anything in either 2wd or 4wd. I held one wheel at a time so the other side would spin. After checking for wobbling wheel bearings, I took off the wheels and did a push / pull on everything - all seems good. I changed driver's side wheel bearing anyway because I thought it to be a little rough. I removed the front drive shaft and took it out on the road. Noise was still there. This makes me think front differential but before entering unknown territory (for me) is there something else I can do to narrow down the problem? At this point, I'm not even convinced it is from the front end - maybe the sound is radiating through the truck.
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So on my girlfriends 2000 echo I get the classic bad wheel bearing noise/vibration on the front left (driver side) wheel. Worsens under load (right turn) and goes away when unloaded (left turn). I've replaced left side bearing, CV axle, brake rotors/pads and the noise still persists. My next thought is maybe the ball joint but humming/vibration tells me something out of rotational balance. Bearing in the transmission? I don't know. I'm stuck.
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This past week I changed out the front wheel bearing hub assemblys on both sides. I'm curious if completely disassembled one of the units? If so what did you use to get the large nut with the 4 notches in it off?
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What is causing the right front wheel bearing to keep going bad on my 06 f-150 2 wheel drive....
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I have been having towing with the X. I have been getting a growl lately sounds like the front left wheel bearing. Today I jacked it up and did the wiggle text. I have a very slight wiggle in both wheels. Is a slight wiggle normal? I know the bearing on the left is more than likely gone as the growl goes away when I jerk the steering wheel. But I haven't heard any noise from the right side yet.
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I have a 2002 Extended Cab F150 2WD 5.4L 3.55 Open. I have recently begun to notice a clunking or "sounds like something mechanical shifting" when I come to a stop or take my foot off the brake before accelerating (as in, when the light turns green.) The shocks are shot, so, some of the noise when I stop is likely due to bounce back, but the noise when I take my foot off the brake is clearly not related to suspension relaxation.
I jacked up the front, passenger corner and checked the wheel play. I immediately noticed wheel play in both 12/6 and 9/3 hand positions. First thought was obviously ball joints, but when I looked more closely I found that the steering knuckle itself was not moving at all. (I only had one corner jacked up, so, the torsion bar might have been stabilizing the steering knuckle to some degree, but...nonetheless, the wheel play is still there.)
So, the wheel play is between the wheel/rotor, and the steering knuckle. To me this suggests wheel bearings. But, I'm not sure how much play is allowable between the wheel and the spindle. Should the rotor/wheel move at all with respect to the spindle/steering knuckle? How much is okay? Does movement suggest I need to replace the wheel bearings? (I installed the rotor and wheel bearings myself last year.)
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Repeat Front Hub Failures -- 2WD Try this situation -- Purchased 2006 F-150 XL with 57,000 miles. Truck built on 05/24/2006.
Sept 2011 68,621 miles -- Left front hub failure -- Wheel bearing grinding -- Done by Bell Ford in Phoenix.
2013 -- Left front hub failure -- wheel bearing grinding -- done by independent shop.
Sept 2014 -- Left front hub failure -- wheel bearing grinding -- done by independent shop.
Sept 2016 -- Upper & lower control arms, struts, strut mounts, springs replaced -- Quality part used -- Complete front end alignment -- Brake job front and rear.
Nov 2016 -- New performance exhaust system due to exhaust leaks.
Dec 2016 -- Failed automatic transmission -- Remanufactured FORD transmission installed w/ 36 mo warranty. Sanderson Ford gets an A+
March 16, 2017 151,000 miles -- Left front hub failure -- wheel bearing grinding! Verified by jacking up truck and spinning left front wheel -- GRIND! This is coming from down in the hub. This is a 2 wheel drive truck. Yes, you counted correctly, this will be the 4th replacement on the Left side!
NO Towing! NO Overloading! Wheels are 2006 XLT style Aluminum rims with P235/70R17 Michelin XLT M/S (Defender LTX) tires all around.
It only hauls maybe 200 to 300 pounds of electronic equipment at the max, once in a while. This is driving me crazy! I always use FORD PARTS for the HUB ASSEMBLIES. Really loosing faith, the front right hub is OEM original - NEVER CHANGED!
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My Excursion has proved to be a reliable winter vehicle, as was the intention. A few weeks back, at 116,000 miles, the right front wheel bearing started to squeal around left turns. Not very loud, so I didn't think it was all that bad, just an indication it was going. I jacked up the front of the truck anyway for good measure, and found a tremendous amount of slop in the bearing. Yeah, the bearing had disintegrated. Time for a replacement.
I bought a new replacement hub off of eBay, and proceeded to start tearing into the thing. Should be an easy repair... Right.
The repair itself is actually straightforward, but I had a few little snags get in my way. The one I'm facing now is that the new hub did not come with replacement studs, and the old hub's studs will not come out. Yes, I tried using a torch (and failed). I got one removed, only to find it's a fine thread and possibly Metric. Either way, it's not something that they have at Lowes.
Where to get more of these, or what the size is so I can order some from McMaster?
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I was getting a growl/grinding noise from my front hubs (driver's side I think) when I do a slight right turn like going around a curve, not turning around a corner. Just started happening the last week after returning from a 4th of July roadtrip. First thought was wheel bearings going out and started reading up on the forum here to see what was needed. Last night, I started getting a continuous growl when I was 5 miles from the house so just pulled up and parked it. I'm assuming (without pulling anything apart), it's the bearing assembly and I can get the Timken version at Autozone locally.
The problem is I generally do my heavy maintenance at our family shop in San Antonio but I live in Austin so will need to do this in my driveway. I have all the basic tools, just need to know how involved it is to do in a driveway instead of a shop. Thoughts?
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I'm buying a 2003 Ford Explorer, XLS Sport Utility 4D. She's got 150k miles on an automatic transmission (pretty sure this model only came in auto anyhow).I'm mostly concerned about the rear axle, as the title prompted. The rear wheel seems awfully close to the front of the wheel well. Is this normal? I google searched some images of this model and seems to be the norm in some cases, and in other cases not.
Attached is a photo of the concerning placement. Is the rear axle bent? Is this suggesting that the rear end is on it's way to crapping itself?
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We are working on a 97 f250 light duty 4.6 4x4 5spd. Trying to figure out where a bearing noise is coming from in front end. Replaced both front hub bearings from napa. 150 each... the noise is still there. someone said could be cv shafts... although ive never heard a cv shaft make this noise i replaced them anyway cuz one was clickin last time was in the woods. bearing noise is still there..... in a long bank turn to the left the noise goes away till start to straighten out. while replacing the half shafts I grabbed the plates the shafts bolt to and spun them and checked for slack. none found. front diff's full with no leaks. as title says.... what next?
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