Has anyone had this noise with their Explorer?

[Cashcrazy]

After reading the post about the body mount rubbers, I was pretty enthusiastic about this fixing it. I went and looked at my rubbers and although pretty damaged they are still there and functioning. My car also only makes the popping going at slow speeds in a very tight turn. Normal driving and turning is not an issue. I would expect to hear sounds during all types of driving if it was the rubbers.

That all said, I mounted my cell phone and captured video of the rubber just in front of the front doors on each side of the car during the noises and I see zero movement in this area or down the side of the car. I am pretty sure the worn out rubbers are not the cause in my case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U9o47GVBa4&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-WXZxljkGs&feature=youtu.be

I really need a way to triangulate where the sound is coming from underneath. It would be great if there was an app for phones that could determine which direction a sound is coming from based on the microphone and noise cancelling microphone.

I also presume there is no safe way to be under the car while slowly moving 10 ft to see if I can narrow it down.

My popping seems to slowly getting worse. I had someone else replicate the noise while I looked at various areas. I can't pin point the exact area. I can now make the sound occur at a low speed, sharp turn, and then bump the gas or brake. I hope to throw some new parts on it this weekend.

 

[tomballpkr]

Best of luck I want to see you get it resolved so I can copy it!

 

[Cashcrazy]

Best of luck I want to see you get it resolved so I can copy it!

Have you replaced the ujoints in the drive shaft? That doesn't seem likely, but I am putting it all on the table at this point. I had another truck that would make a ping noise at times and it was a ujoint somehow doing it at low speeds.

 

[tomballpkr]

No I have not attempted that.

 

[Cashcrazy]

I had some time to change the sway bar end links and sway bar bushings. The sway bar end links needed to be replaced but it's still popping.

 

[Cashcrazy]

Since the sway bar bushings didn't correct the issue I checked out the body mount bushings. They are showing age but the rubber is still in place. I guess it could be the problem. The replacements I am finding are for the sport track. Has anyone replaced these? If so where did you find the replacement?

 

[tomballpkr]

Any updates? None on my end

 

[Cashcrazy]

None. i replace some other non related parts though. Any plans to take yours to the shop?

 

[Cashcrazy]

I finally found the thread where a clicking was caused by brake pads. I'll pull off my passenger side caliper when I get time to see if anything looks excessively worn.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...d-gen-popping-clicking-noise-on-turns.240772/

 

[Cashcrazy]

Any updates tomball? I am still popping.

 

[AK NIMROD]

Just an idea do you have a limited slip rear end. If so might want to change oil and make sure you get oil with limited additive or add a tube of additive. Noises can transfer from strange places

 

[Cashcrazy]

I sent her to the shop today. I'll post the resolution once it's diagnosed.

 

[Cashcrazy]

Well nothing promising from the shop. I've been using this independent shop since around '04 for repairs. They said they couldn't replicate the noise on the lift and couldn't pin point it on the ground. Everything looks great except the boot missing (dry rot) from the upper ball joint. Their suggestion was to replace the front ball joints for $600. That's a lot of money to throw down and not be sure it will fix it. They couldn't get to it that day so I picked it up and they charged me $50 for looking at it. I was pretty shocked since I've gone through the same routine and returned a few days later With an appointment and wasn't charged the diagnostic fee. There were also greasy footprints on my floor mat. Rant over... I ordered MOOG upper control arms w/ball joints to install next.

 

[Cashcrazy]

Update. I replaced the front upper control arms and ball joints with MOOG part RK620224/RK20225 and the loud pop is gone while turning sharp. I am however hearing a similar much quieter pop when lightly turning while the suspension is flexed like turning into a driveway that is inclined. I'm guessing this is the front lower ball joints or possibly the rear joints(haven't checked those yet). I am going to test more and locate the noise.

Side note- I went with the MOOG's RK line that do not have a grease zerk because of the cost. I believe the last joints failed at 56k because the boots dry rotted off. I know the boots where gone a year ago at 44k when I purchased the vehicle. There was nothing left of the boot so I'm guessing the prior owner drove it 2-3 years with the boots rotted off or severely cracked. They are in the perfect location to catch grime and the grease get washed out while driving in rain. MOOG offers the CK line that have grease zerks. I believe the RK line will last the remainder of the time I plan to own the vehicle.

 

[Cashcrazy]

I replaced the lower ball joints today and still have a pop when turning sharp right. The pop is less frequent and seems a little quieter now with all new ball joints, but it's still there. I went with MOOG K8695T lower ball joints. They were noticeably heavier than the factory ones. The old joints had play in the joint, but the boots were still intact and grease still there. They were worn, but still had life left.

Does anyone have any ideas? The shop misdiagnosed the issue and I can't afford to keep replacing parts that aren't the cause. Thanks

 

[Cashcrazy]

Today I gave the front wheel bearings another test. I tried to see if they had any slack before, but I was more focused on the ball joints. I used the methods shown in the video posted on page 1(I think) to test. The wheel bearings are tight. I could not even get a slight wobble. When spinning the wheel I can hear the brake pad rubbing the disc a little but no grinding.

Any other ideas? I'm willing to test anything. I know Tomball and I are not the only ones to run into this problem.

 

[Cashcrazy]

Ok I'm out of ideas and can't locate the noise. I guess I'm going to run it until something falls off.

 

[Cashcrazy]

*Update- I want to report back here since sooooo many threads I found about explorer noises were never updated with a resolution. The culprit was the transmission crossmember. The area around the bolt heads didn't show signs of movement, but the noise seems to have disappeared after loosening and retightening the bolts. I'll report back if the noise resurfaces.

So after $500 in parts, some labor, and alignments the problem was a loose bolt.

Case closed(I hope)

 

[swshawaii]

Did you forget to check back then? Posts #22 & #23

I had someone else drive it while I listened for the noise. I now think it might be coming from the transmission area. Possibly the mount, but I am not sure. The transmission mount is in really good shape. Any ideas? It's odd that it only pops while turning one direction. I'll have to try and narrow it down more tomorrow. As mentioned I crossed the 50k mark last week. I'd like to get 2-3 more years out of it if the rubber parts hold up.

After thinking about yesterday's discovery I will make sure the trans mount hasn't worked itself loose.

WOW, that's great! Crossing fingers for your six months of troubleshooting. Keep us posted.

 

[Cashcrazy]

I checked all the trans bolts for tightness at that time. This time the bolts were actually loosened and then retightened. I do not know why this made a difference. I was about to drop the drive shaft, replace the ujoint at the transmission, and grease the slip yoke because I knew the noise was in this area and now I'm glad I didn't.