Explorer makes grinding noises

[pacman99]

Hey,

My '99 Explorer keeps making these grinding noises or chugging noises whenever I'm driving it. First I thought it might be the oil so I got the oil changed and put new oil in. Still the same problem. It's been at the mechanic's for a while but the guy say's it's fixed but when I get it back, it's still the same.
The breaks also squeak when I use them. Any ideas what could be wrong?
Oh and the headlights..i always have to slap them for them to work Otherwise they just stay off :S

Thx!

[Car Pal]

input shaft speed sensor on the tranfercase behind the shift motor.

cheap pads?you get what ya pay for.
loose connections are easy to find.

[nitenrustinarmor]

for the head lights check the sockets i had the very same problem after i put in higher wattage bulbs and it melted the socket pretty badly so check the socket if u have higher wattage bulbs in ur truck id say change the sockets to ones with a higher temp rateing

[nitenrustinarmor]

can find them in auto zone they are grey and haver a thicker gauge wire

[pacman99]

Car Pal: so the grinding noise can probably only be fixed by a meechanic then? Since the sensor is behind the shift motor I guess i'll have to get it replaced?

I'm not sure if the brakes are cheap or not. My mechanic just put 'em in. Guess he put in cheap ones...So I guess i should buy new brakes? It shouldn't really effect braking right? Like the brakes won't give up on me one day right? :P

So you think it's a loose connection? I'll check that out

Nitenrustinarmor: What's the "normal" wattage bulbs for the explorer so I can compare?

[Car Pal]

i'm only tring to help i really could'nt fix a sandwich
brakes today aren't what they used to be.my brakes squek whether im using them or not.
as for the grinding i could be way off.

[nitenrustinarmor]

45/65w

[pacman99]

Car Pal: they never squeaked before so...could it be an improper installation or something?

niten: thx!

[BigBadWimp]

Your brakes may just need to wear down a bit...

[pacman99]

naw, it's been like this for a LONG time...like at least a month or two now. And this car goes at least 200km a day

[Gizrat]

Is your Explorer equiped with automatic 4 wheel drive? and does the grinding sound occur when the vehicle is under stress like when you are accelerating? If you answered yes to all of then check your tires. Tire pressure and physical size. If you have smaller tires on the back the rear drive shaft will spin faster than the front tires and thus cause the computer to think that the rear end is slipping and try to engage your four wheel drive. I just had this problem with my explorer the Ford dealership didnt have a clue but my mechanic told me this over the phone.

[pacman99]

It does have auto 4 wheel drive.
Yes the sound occurs a lot when its accelerating and when basically the tires are rotating (i.e. foot off the gas, just coasting).

Tire pressure and physical size? I think you might have something there. My tires keep on running out of air REALLY fast. Maybe I should try turning off the auto 4 wheel drive feature to see if this really is the case?

If so, I guess I'll have to get four new tires hehe or at least two :P

Thanks a lot!