Explorer makes noise when driving

[tylera23]

while i drive my car makes a noise, like a train "as described by my friends..." might be the tires???? i dont know it mainly only does it while accelerating..... anythoughts........... please help,its annoying and embarrasing...

[pincheyloveclaw]

I have a 2005 with a similar problem. I would describe the noise more like a tank than a train. Sonds like you have a real set of knobby tires but in fact you can hear verry little of that noise out the window. When I get up over 55 you can feel it start thumping through the floor and pedals. Really odd. I was going to guess it to be a wheelbearing or something but is missing classic simptoms (like noticable during cornering etc.) Would really like to know if someone has figured this out before I start my exploratory surgery.

[shorod]

Sounds to me like you have a separated belt in one or more tires. If you're lucky, the wheels are just WAY out of balance. You might be lucky since you don't hear the noise so much out an open window. Often a separated belt will be quite audible outside the vehicle.

You might try rotating the tires front to rear and see if the thumping can then be felt and seen in the steering wheel. If so, the problem tire is on the front of Explorer and you will know that it follows the tires, ruling out wheel bearings, etc. for now. Of course a bad tire could expedite the wear of suspension and wheel bearings....

-Rod

[Pontisteve]

Originally Posted by pincheyloveclaw

I have a 2005 with a similar problem. I would describe the noise more like a tank than a train. Sonds like you have a real set of knobby tires but in fact you can hear verry little of that noise out the window. When I get up over 55 you can feel it start thumping through the floor and pedals. Really odd. I was going to guess it to be a wheelbearing or something but is missing classic simptoms (like noticable during cornering etc.) Would really like to know if someone has figured this out before I start my exploratory surgery.

Mine did it too. It's the wheel bearings, which are sealed and are part of the hub assembly. At first, it makes a noise like you are driving a big jacked up truck on knobby tires. When it really fails, it sounds like a screaching noise. You can pinpoint which one by driving down the road and swerving back and forth. For example, if you turn the truck towards the right, it loads the weight to the left side of the truck. A bad bearing will make more noise under load, and less noise if the load is removed. So whichever way you turn the steering wheel, the opposite side would get the increased load/weight. Turn the wheel to the right, and the left side would make noise if it's bad. And vise-versa. Also, a bad bearing will make less noise when you remove load from it. So if you have a bad left bearing, turning the wheel left would reduce it's noise.

Then you just have to determine front or back. In either case, you buy a hub assembly to replace it. Ebay is a good spot to find one cheap. $120 for a good Dorman or Timken one is recommended. They're about $180 at parts stores, and about $240 at tire shops. Plus big labor. Explorers are known for these to go bad around 80 - 100k miles. And about the time you do one, 3 more aren't far away from needing it. Front hubs aren't so bad to do, but the rear ones require removal of the knuckle and hub assembly, and a press to put the new hub on the old knuckle. You can find instructions on Ebay on some listings for the bearings.

[pincheyloveclaw]

FYI- I also thought tires until the wife went and put 4 new ones on it monday (I was gonna wait til it snowed, but ohwell). Since then it has gotten worse not better. My next guess was wheelbearing, followed by differential - lets hope it doesn't get to that.

[Pontisteve]

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Ex...bs/index.shtml

[fordtech99]

Originally Posted by pincheyloveclaw

FYI- I also thought tires until the wife went and put 4 new ones on it monday (I was gonna wait til it snowed, but ohwell). Since then it has gotten worse not better. My next guess was wheelbearing, followed by differential - lets hope it doesn't get to that.

As a ford tech I have replace both rear and front wheel bearings on 02 and up explorers for that noise. mostly rears though. hope this helps.

[Pontisteve]

Originally Posted by fordtech99

As a ford tech I have replace both rear and front wheel bearings on 02 and up explorers for that noise. mostly rears though. hope this helps.

Hey Ford Tech,

Could you tell me what the thread size is on 03 explorer 4wd rear axle shaft? My axle shaft threads are all gooked up, and I want to order some sort of spindle chase set to try and fix it before removing the nut.

[quixcar428]

What's being discussed here is very similar to a noise problem I've been having with my 2000 5.0 AWD. The noise, which seems to come from the front end, started around 50K as a faint humming noise, very similar to common tire whine. As time went by, the noise got worse and rotating the tires didn't seem to make a difference. I changed the left front wheel bearing hub at 65K - again no affect on the noise. At 80K, I changed the right front wheel hub - noise stayed the same. New tires at 105K didn't make any difference either. Now at 112K, the noise is very loud and descriptions of train,tank,and roaring would all be appropriate. I now suspect a bad bearing somewhere in the front diff. Please post what fixed this problem for you and I'll try that if I haven't already done that. In the meantime, if there are any procedures for R&R'ing a front diff posted somewhere on this forum, I'm sure they will come in handy. Thanks!

[Pontisteve]

Sounds like you've got some bad bearings in the front differential, or possibly the transfer case. A bad wheel bearing (assuming only one side is bad) would be easily found by swerving the car on the highway back and forth. Every time the weight of the vehicle is applied to the wheel with the bad bearing, the noise would get louder. Every time the weight is shifted away from the bad bearing, the noise would get quieter. I did this in mine, and there is no doubt about it that the noise moves. In my case, it's now the left rear.

When I originally bought the truck, it sounded like major tire noise. What was fooling me was that 1 LF and 1 LR wheel bearing were both bad. It wasn't until the LF went real bad and was replaced, that I realised my tire noise was now only coming from the rear. Which made me realize it was not tire noise after all.

You also need to discern between bearing noise and ring & pinion noise. If the gears are bad, the noise would change between acceleration and deceleration. With bearing noise, it wouldn't make a difference. It would only be speed sensative.

For those following my question, it appears that the axle shaft threads are 24x2.0 metric threads. I bought a Kastar Master Spindle Rethreading Kit, and will be trying it out soon.

Even if I can rethread it to get the nut off cleaner, the threads are still really minimal that are left, due to rust. I'm not sure, but I think I'll have to buy an axle anyway. Even if the threads are good underneath the nut, there may not be any way to draw the axle back through the knuckle. And what's worse, I can't find a rear axle online. Knowing the dealer won't be cheap at all.

[rhandwor]

I noticed used rear axles for explorer on ebay some new ones depends on what type you are looking for. http://www.ebay.com/
I put the vehicle on 4 jack stands and use a stethoscope and listen to each wheel. Sometimes I pull the calipers usually you can pinpoint a problem. You can also have somebody help you and use a 2x4 and stop one side and pick up a noise. Harder if you have positraction.

[quixcar428]

Here is a procedure I found to R&R the Explorer front differential (with photos!). Since problems are common between owners, some of you out there may find this handy! In my case, there is lots of noise from the front which I feel is bearing noise.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...threadid=53863