makes front end noise

Hi there,

I would start with checking the wheel bearings, the rumble you describe could well be a failing wheel bearing, check out the video below it shows the job being done on a similar car

https://youtu.be/qOAyXfPo7Z0


mark (mhpautos)

When I accelerate hard sometimes it makes a popping noise in front tire I don't know if it comes from the left or right I've changes the upper control arm, wheel bearing ,cv axel on both sides but it still makes that popping noise it's a 2006 explorer please help

I am assuming it is not engine noise and you are sure of that. check the lower control arm bushings as well as ball joints.

My Explorer is making terrible noises when I go over speed bumps, or hit a bump in the road. I also think the handling/ride is rougher than it used to be. Currently, my dad is the only one to have worked on the vehicle. I think that the struts are bad, but he thinks is just the bushings. The noise is so bad, it's embarrassing to drive. Any ideas on what is making the noise?

Hi there,

Best you get this looked at by a mechanic ASAP, there are a lot of things that this could be and any bad noise in the steering or suspension can be very serious indeed, have this inspected now!

mark (mhpautos)

hear a constant rumbling noise coming from the front end when driving feel it in the steering wheel slightly when steer to left it goes away. when steer to the right it continues. any suggestions?

Wheel bearing. You can't go by sound to determine which one. You must run it in gear and jacked up, then listen with a stethoscope.

make sure your wheel lugnuts are all tight.

wow- i have to change again? i changed them already 10 months old....i assume i will have to change the entire hub this time...went to the auto store they said the sell the entire wheel hub assembly with bearing in them...ok ill try it again. someoen said to lift the front and shake the wheel.. if it moves its the wheel bearing.

If it shakes it was really bad a long time ago. Noisy and loose are not the same thing. The single biggest thing that ruins a new bearing is putting weight on it before the spindle nut is tight. To hold the wheel / axle from turning, some people install the wheel then set the tire on the ground to hold it when they tighten the nut. At that point the bearing was damaged. What works much better is sticking a punch in the cooling slots of the rotor to keep it from turning. The torque value is very high too, typically between 180 and 240 foot pounds. Don't rely on feel; use a click-type torque wrench. If you don't have to grunt when tightening the nut, it isn't tight enough.

dont buy the chinese bearings.

while driving, my explorer makes a thud noise when I let off the gas. I receinty had the front seal replaced and thats when I started hearing the noise. My explorer makes that thud noise when i let off the gas similar to a flat tire noise, it also seems to slow my explorer down.....please help

Make sure the bearings are properly adjusted. Also, make sure there are no shifted belts in the tires. You may want to rotate the tires to see if the sound changes to the rear.

Try that and let me know what you find.

Joe

went to the part store in my area..place has a good reputation for quality parts been here forever. they only sell the entire hub with bearings inside already....should i just change them out?
right side?

I took my explorer to the ford dealership, and the shop guys said my auto4x4 is coming on when it shouldnt. They said its my transfer case. But I dont know if thats the case. Is there any other reason my auto4x4 will kick on?

Those complete assemblies cost more than the older pressed-in bearings but are much easier to replace. GM has always used the bolt-on assemblies. Chrysler started on a few models in '87; now they all use that style. Ford took a long time to totally switch over but I think that's all they use now.

On most of these with the bolt-on style, you absolutely can not tell which bearing is noisy even when it sounds like it is coming from a certain corner. You have to jack it up and run it in gear, then listen next to each one with a stethoscope.

I have a 2004 Ford Explorer with approx. 60K miles. It's a V8 4.6L with the 4W Auto, 4W High and 4W Low buttons on the dash. When turning from a stopped or slow start the front end rumbles, like the four wheel drive is sticking. Sometimes when I attempt to put it into 4W Low the indicator blinks several times. It doesn't feel like the front wheel bearings. What do you think? Other then that the vehicle drives great and I love the it. How much do you think I should expect to pay to fix it, just a ball park.

Thank
The Grocery Getter

I have similar problem with my 2002 v6 Explorer. I hope they answer me about it soon since I made a donation.I will share if they do.

have a 04 ford explorer gettin a loud humming from front end replaced the front differential did both upper ball joints did front u joint and its still there the noise is loudest from 25 to 40 mph and does not change when turning idk about to lose it on this truck really is becoming a huge issue

Real common for the wheel bearing to make a noise like an airplane engine. The problem is on vehicles with bolt-on style hub assemblies, it is impossible to tell which one is noisy. It can sound like the noise is coming from the right side and still be the left one that is bad. The good news is if you replace the wrong one you can put the old one on the other side.

To tell or sure which one is noisy, raise the truck so all four tires are off the ground, then run it in gear and 4wd. Listen next to each bearing with a stethoscope. You'll be able to tell the difference between the one that sounds a little noisy and the other one that is REALLY noisy.

caradiodoc

I have also noticed a little clunking sound at a lower speed that another sign of a hub going ??

Typically not. That would be something a ball joint or tie rod end would do. If you don't hear it when the steering is turned to either side, you might suspect an anti-sway bar link. Turning puts a twisting force on the anti-sway bar and momentarily stops the links from rattling.

caradiodoc

I have a Ford Explorer Sport Trac that has been a wonderful truck until the last few months when I have noticed a rumbling noise which seems to come from the front passenger side wheel area. Sounds worse at low speeds and when braking. Also found out that both front tires on the inside tread have wear that is uneven with the tread sort of "cupping" on the tread... but only on the inside of the tires. No issues with the rear tires at all. I suspect a bad wheel bearing on the passenger side wheel but don't know why the tires have worn that way. Any ideas as to what all needs to be repaired?

Hi purpleraider131. Welcome to the forum. What you're describing doesn't really sound like wheel bearing noise. I suspect the noise is from the tire wear. Two things will cause uneven wear on just the inside edges. The first is excessive negative camber. That means the tire is tilted in on top as viewed from the front or rear. Camber can change on just one wheel without affecting the other one, but Ford had a huge problem years ago with their twin I-beam front suspension. The only good thing that can be said about it is it was tough. Tire wear was always a very big problem, more so on the right front. Further, as the front coil springs sagged with age, (as all springs do), the tires moved up and pivoted on the I-beams which lowered camber. There are repair kits to adjust that alignment angle but it is a very involved repair that isn't done unless absolutely necessary. The easier repair is to replace the springs. If you have the twin I-beam yet, have the ride height checked.

I think long before 2004 Ford switched to the much better upper and lower control arms. They aren't as strong but they give a much better ride and weak springs have less affect on tire wear.

The second thing that causes wear on the inner edges is excessive negative toe. That means the two front tires are steering away from the center, (the fronts of the tires are further apart than the rears of the tires). Even if only one tire is misadjusted, it affects both tires equally. The wear takes place on the leading edge of the tires. If you exaggerate it for clarity, imagine the right tire is turned 90 degrees to the right and the left tire is turned full left. Now it is easy to see that the inner edges of the tires are in front. They are the part of the tread closest to the front of the vehicle. Now take a pencil, hold it straight up with the eraser on the desk top, and slide it sideways. The eraser will bend, the leading edge will scrub off and make eraser crumbs, and the trailing edge will actually raise up off the desk top. All the wear takes place on the leading edge. That's what happens to the tires when toe is too much negative. When something causes toe to change on just one wheel, that will make the tire steer that way. You have to correct by turning the steering wheel. That makes the misadjusted total toe, (two front wheels measured together), split evenly to make the vehicle go straight, but the steering wheel will be off-center.

caradiodoc

When driving down the highway I can hear what sounds like a whinning noise coming from up under the front of the SUV. It seems to be coming from both sides of the front end as I can hear it loudly when in either seat. It reminds me of a kettle of water steaming or when running a fork across a dinner plate. It usually only happens when going faster (ie highway speeds) The dealer has attempted to fix with the springs, tensioners, and tire rotation. Another other ideas? I have seen stuff on noises coming from the rear end, but this seems to be from the front.

belt may be slipping.. also you should check your bearings in the pulleys.

[quote:9f891f5248="blackop555"]belt may be slipping.. also you should check your bearings in the pulleys.[/quote:9f891f5248]

Thanks, will do

6 months ago a front end noise started i replaced the front wheel bearings/hubs and the noise did not go away. The noise has slowly increased and is in front. It feels like the 4 wheel drive. Maybe the transfer case or cv joints any idea's would help. Thanks Wayne.

jack up the front end and try to turn the wheels, with 2wheel drive on the hubs shoudl be unlocked and free turning.

if so and you drive it it shoudnt be with the transfercase or the axles as they are disengaged and not turning.

Grinding type noise is coming from front end and increases as speed increases and is getting worse.
The noise is present when the car is going straight or turning and there is a ever so slight vibration in the steering wheel. Going straight, there is a sweet spot (maybe 2 degrees) where the steering wheel vibration stops. (Noise is still there) I jack-up front (both front wheels off the ground) I could not find any play in wheels top to bottom and side to side. pulled off both brake calibers and turned hubs by hand and could not hear any noise coming from bearing, CVs or diff. If I turn the hubs one direction than reverse there is a small thunk coming from the transfer case--- Front drive shaft universal and CV joint seem OK
Any suggestion on my problem would be greatly appreciated

Jack it up with the front end off the ground on jack stands put it in neutral. Then put one hand on the front coil spring and spin the tire as fast as you can.Compare both sides to each other if the bearing is bad you will be able to feel it in the coil spring. There isn't always play in the bearings when there making noise.

I have a '03 Ford Explorer with ~82000 miles and auto 4WD. A noise has developed that appears to come from the front end which is proportional to speed. This does not appear to be a wheel bearing related noise since simple wheel bearing tests check out ok. There is plenty of fluid in the transfer case and the differential. My concern is that the "auto" 4WD may be stuck on, but I can't verify that. Any suggestions on what could be the culprit?

I first need to know how you checked the wheel bearings. Next, when you turn the steering sharp from a start, does the steering wheel seem to fight you?

To check the wheel bearing, I jacked the front end off the ground, grabbed the top & bottom of the wheel and pushed/pulled on the top & bottom of the wheel. There wasn't a lot of play in the wheel.

When turning the wheel sharply from the start, there doesn't appear to be any fight from the steering wheel.

If the wheel bearing/speed sensor assembly wasn't $200, I'd just replace it to remove it from the list of possible causes.

Does the noise change when you make turns?

The noise and vibration felt in the car does get worse when during to the left (which appears to be the side which the noise is coming from).

If it gets worse on a left turn, you either got a wheel bearing problem on the right or a joint problem on the left.

Thanks for the insight on my problem. I ended up changing out the left front wheel bearing and the problem went away. The old wheel bearing wasn't completely shot, but the seal was toast and you could feel the vibration when you spun it. It was only a matter of time before it completely went.

Other Category problem
2003 Ford Explorer V6 Four Wheel Drive Automatic 73000 miles
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2003 exlplorer 4X4 with 73,000 miles. I have a vibration/howling noise which starts at about 25 mph, seems to be coming from front driver side. When I turn hard left the noise stops momentarily and starts back up once I'm straight. I've replace the driver side hub assembly, recut my rotor and replaced the pads only to find out it did not fix the problem. The boots on the half shaft have no tears. Fluid levels in front pumkin are good.Any ideas?

Is there any strange wear patter on the tire? try rotating that one to the back and see if the noise changes.Usually a bearing would do that, left turn taking the weight off the l/f wheel