97 Explorer makes a grinding sound only when turning

Hello !! , and thx for any help in advance ....

I have a 97 Ford Explorer 6cyl. 4.0 4x4, and I get a grinding sound ONLY when I turn . It is completly random , 1 day it will make the sound ,, next day it will not . Wile turning it will start to make a grinding sound ,, then fade away as I straighten the wheel . I have talked to 3 mechanics with 3 different opinions .. 1 said it was the 4x4 shift motor , another said it was the 4x4 shit motor electronics that control the motor , another said it was a bad U joint ...

on a side note ,, the steering wheel does not feel smooth wile driving like it should , seems loose and has a little play ,,very little play ..

any 1 ever have/hear of this problem ? HELP PLEASE !!!

Had same problem Solved by replacing right and left inner rods

I know I have 1 bad tie rod that needs to be replaced ,, didn't think that would cause this problem , neither did 1 of the mechanics that noticed the bad rod , because he said that would not make the sound , but I guess he was wrong ..

you said that you replaced both sides ,, do you think just 1 bad rod would make this sound ? and can you explain why it makes the sound ,,so I can understand it better ..thank you !!

I know I have 1 bad tie rod that needs to be replaced ,, didn't think that would cause this problem , neither did 1 of the mechanics that noticed the bad rod , because he said that would not make the sound , but I guess he was wrong ..

you said that you replaced both sides ,, do you think just 1 bad rod would make this sound ? and can you explain why it makes the sound ,,so I can understand it better ..thank you !!

Had that grinding sound for the last 6 months, 3 differents mechanics did not pinpointed the cause of it.. Finally replaced passenger side and sound was less noisy so I replaced the other one and noise completely dissapeared. It was a grinding noise everytime I turned right or left. Grinding noise very looud at low speeds

sounds about right ... I'm gonna change that rod ASAP ,, see what happens ... thanks for your help !!

AWD? Change any tire lately? AWDs need all tires to be same size or you could see issues with grinding. Could eventually ruin your system.

Well I have a knob that switches 3 ways : auto ,4hi, and 4lo , I assume "auto" means 2wd ? correct ? ,, or maybe it sences when the tires slip , and engages 4wd when it needs it ?

Havn't changed any tire recently , but all tires are the same size ....

At first I was thinking it was the cv joint ( because of a past experience , with close to the same symptoms ) ,, but i'm gonna swap that rod and hopefully it stops ...

thx again for the help !!

I have been told tire size does make a difference. Auto means AWD. Uses it as it is needed. If a wheel slips, others compensate. Different size tire , large one doesn't have the same rpms as the smaller tire. The vehicle senses this as a tire slipping on something. Don't take my second hand word on it. Investigate! Not saying this is your problem, just something that might have saved you time and money if it was the case.
Good luck

I have the same problems except I have a clicking noise coming from my front driver side also, I have been told it is my front CV axles.
The auto on the explorers stand for Auto track which after a % of slippage it will kick in your front wheel drive, be very careful with this, if you blow a tire it will take over you just have to hold the wheel very steady, people have rolled because they have jerked the wheel with a blow out. AWD is ALL the time four wheels have power. If it was a sensor they can do a diagnostic, they also trigger codes and make the 4 wheel drive lights on the dash go off.

well I tried to get the tie rod fixed but it was just a pain in the bumm . I went to "Advanced Auto Parts " and aquired an outter rod , but when my friendly neighborhood mechanic took the wheel of he said it was the inner rod ,, figures right .. Soooo I take it back get the inner rod , and ask for the tool I need to take it apart .. they bring back the tool for the outter rod .. I try to explain to them it looks like a 12 inch socket ,, bla bla bla .. they have no clue what I am talking about ...So I go to " Auto Zone " and get what I think is the tool , only to go back to my friendly mechanic to tell me I got the right tool , but wrong design/model .. As it turns out no parts store has it in stock , So now I have to wait for the mechanic to bring his from where he works ....

For the love of god I hope it is just the rod that is making these noises...

And once again I will say ... Thanks for the help !!!