I have 96 Explorer Sport 4 X 4, I have a noise coming from the front drivers side, I think its my bearings but i'm not sure, it's sounds like a tire roar and very loud between 10 - 30 mph, I have Uniroyal Laredo's tires. Is there a way I can tell if its my bearings before I take it to the shop, and how much should I expect to spend.

Thanks

How about swapp'n tires? Or just jack it up and feel for a worn bearing.

By 100k these are drying out. Because of the hub design it is about impossible to feel anything. If you pull off the rotor and the wheel sensor, you can grease them through the sensor hole (0.38"). I used an oversize thraded zert fitting wrapped with tape. That allowed me to pump in grease till it came out the wheel seal. Replaced a hub and pressed the old one apart. No obvious pitting or gauling but it sure was noisy. It was evenly worn. When you jacked up the lower arm, the wheel would kick in quite a bit when it lost contact with the pavement. If the inside of the tire isn't worn, greasing could save you $170.

if i were to check by bearing by, ummmm.
jacking the truck and try to jiggle the tire right??:)

I jacked mine up dozens of times and never felt anything. My only hint was the worn inside tire tread and the tire jumping as the weight was removed. Unlike older designs the hub has only 2 inches of bearing length to support the wheel. Only a couple of thou play causes big problems.

Just swap your front wheels with the back ones, take it for a spin and you will know if its the tires or bearings after that.