Having a couple issues

[Digitalgp]

Greetings all. I am new to the forum but not to the Explorer. I have a 2007 4.0 limited and its been a great family vehicle as long as I've had it, however recently I have run into a couple issues with it.

First issue is a low pitched droning humming noise coming from the driver's side front wheel. It goes away if I turn the wheel sightly to the right, but comes back when I hold it straight or slightly to the left. Both myself and my mechanic thought and was certain it was the driver side front wheel bearing. It's definitely that kind of noise and I know wheel bearings are a common issue with these so I got a timkin hub bearing for it and my mechanic installed it. The strange thing is the noise is still there. My mechanic says he doesn't see and thing. From what I can tell I don't see any leaks from the axle nor do I notice any difference in the sound when the full time 4x4 is engaged. The 4 wheel drive is still functioning properly got me through some pretty bad storms this year. I have no idea what to check out next.

My second issue just started today. On a cold start the gauge cluster information display turns yellow with the wrench, however once I put it in gear it goes away. Not to come back till a cold start again. My scanner isn't picking up any codes on it. There are no idling or driveability issues with it that I notice. I was told either throttle body or tps sensor (which is part of tb on this). I did notice the end of last week that the coating on a few of the wires on the maf sensor pigtail are cracked leaving the bare wires exposed so I am not sure if the two are related or not. If that was causing the issue I would think that would cause driveability issues. Has anyone had that happen before?

Thanks in advance for be help

 

[SixPonies]

Try replacing the other side front bearing hub. I’ll bet it’s shot too. I experienced similar symptoms/noises, and replacing both front wheel bearing hubs cured the problem.

 

[Digitalgp]

I hope it's just the other hub, but seems strange that the noise is still coming from the driver's side.

As for the wrench light, I individually taped the cracked maf wires with electrical tape. I still got the wrench light on this morning, however again it went away after a minute or two. I know someone that works at the ford dealer near my job so he had one of the techs scan it with the ids. Of course the light wasn't coming back on, but he saw a code still in there for trans temp sensor. I was told sometimes if it's wet out in the morning the connector can get water in it and by the time my engine warms up the heat evaporates the water. I am told it's a common issue with these and there's a fix to basically put silicone around the connector.

 

[brianh]

Could be the other bearing. Vehicles have a strange way of throwing the sounds to opposite sides.

Had the same problem with the wrench on cold starts only. Fixed it with a new battery. The low voltage in the electrical system caused by a dying battery made the truck run like crap and the wrench to come on with no codes. If your battery is old it’s worth a try. This could actually be the cause of your humming noise too. Due to the low voltage in my battery it was messing with my 4x4 and causing it to engage. Strange but true.

 

[07EddyB]

I've said this before and I'll say it again - a bad rear bearing can cause noises and vibrations in the front - even to the point that you feel it in the steering wheel. You will be convinced you have a bad front bearing. If you have a 2007 with 100K+ miles then your rear bearings are due for replacement. Fronts are easy to diagnose - rears are much harder because they will send issues throughout your frame which will travel to the front. They will not necessarily give you the sound difference on turns that we all count on to determine which bearing is bad. Been there done that. A bad rear bearing was physically shaking my steering wheel - you should look into that also.

 

[Digitalgp]

That's interesting about the battery causing the wrench light at startup, but I guess it makes sense. I just replaced the alternator back in November. That caused the battery light to come on and wreak all sorts of havoc with the electrical system. I got it to a trusted local shop as my wife was driving at the time so I didn't experience everything it was doing first hand. At that time they said the battery was still good and fairly new and didn't need replacement just a recharge.

I never thought about the rear bearings, but regardless it is probably good idea to have the remaining 3 checked out. I have no idea if or when the previous owner last replaced them. I've only owned the truck just shy of a year and put close to 30k on it. I currently have 183k

 

[thebrakeman]

Turning side to side is a good way to tell if "a" bearing is bad. But does not always diagnose which bearing. In general, when you say that the noise goes away when you turn to the right, I would first think that the front right bearing is bad, because that is the bearing that gets unloaded when you turn right. But as someone said, that's assuming the problem is in the front. If there is a bad bearing in the rear, it's more difficult to determine by the swerving method.

I don't know your mechanic, or how long you've been with them, but they should have been able to diagnose which bearing is bad, on a hoist, before replacing.

 

[Digitalgp]

I brought it to someone else I trust and it was the front passenger hub bearing. Also found the passenger rear to have a little play in it as well so I'm biting the bullet and doing both. The driver side rear is still good and solid for the time being