Roaring noise from tire?

[drsgfire]

Hello all. I just recently got a 2004 explorer and I haven't had it inspected yet. I bought a new battery for it and am just test driving it for right now. What the vehicle does is makes a roaring sound from what appears to be the front tire. When I am accelerating the roar goes from slow and quiet to fast and loud. While going about 55mph I put the vehicle in nutral just to see if it was the engine making the noise. The sound continued with no change. If I have the steering wheel straight while driving the sound is constant at a constant volume. If I turn the wheel to the left the roar gets louder. If I turn the wheel to the right then the roar tends to be much quieter. I can also slightly feel vibrations in the steering wheel when it is roaring.

Again the sound is like driving mudding tires on asphalt. It is only coming from what sounds like the front though. I also filled all tires up with air before I tested this again. I have read a lot about hubs and bearings going bad. Please let me know what you think. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Oh and I noticed that the upper ball joint boots are cracked on both front wheels. Not sure if that would have anything to do with the noise.

 

[swetrid]

Sounds like bad wheel bearings to me which is very common.

 

[drsgfire]

With the way the wheel turns and gets louder when turned left and quieter when turned right, which wheel bearing would say is going bad? My brain is saying front driver side.

 

[hobbitak]

Jack up the front end and grab the tire.....hands at 9 and 3 and wiggle wheel oneside toward you other side away and back again....see if you have play i.e. wheel wobbles (note: if you only jack up one front wheel at a time you will eliminate the chance of steering play) If you have play side to side check your tie rod for that wheel if it is good then it's probably wheel bearing. Next grab the tire at 12 and 6 same wiggle proceedure here. If you have play it is mostlikely your wheel bearing but could also be ball joint try to wiggle while looking behind wheel to see where the play is coming from.

You should do this test on all four wheels because you can sometimes catch a wheel bearing going out before it starts letting you know about it

Also wear gloves and be especially carefull if your tires have sever wear on them...I've done this on an old car of ours that was chewing tires and didn't realise that the belts were showing in one spot and cut my hand.

If you find that you have a wheel bearing problem on onw side I would reccomend replacing otherside as well (when one goes the other is sure to follow and sucks to have put all your tools up and hear the noise in another 5 - 10k)

 

[drsgfire]

I haven't been able to jack the vehicle up yet but here is some more insight.

I drove the explorer last night and it was pretty cold. It was a short drive to pick up some dinner. As I was heading down the road my ABS light came on. First time I've seen this light up. Could that be related to the wheel bearing being bad?

 

[Sedition]

I haven't been able to jack the vehicle up yet but here is some more insight.

I drove the explorer last night and it was pretty cold. It was a short drive to pick up some dinner. As I was heading down the road my ABS light came on. First time I've seen this light up. Could that be related to the wheel bearing being bad?

Probably not, all explorers do that. faulty sensor or sensors (too much internal electrical resistance)

 

[Sedition]

Have a look at the rubber boots behind your front wheels. When mine get muddy or sandy they make that same noise for like 500 miles or so until all the crap comes out from between their folds.

A good blast from some type of high pressure spray will clear them, get right under there and hit them from every angle possible.

Oh, and by the way. That sounds like a nice truck you have there!

 

[esclamada]

I haven't been able to jack the vehicle up yet but here is some more insight.

I drove the explorer last night and it was pretty cold. It was a short drive to pick up some dinner. As I was heading down the road my ABS light came on. First time I've seen this light up. Could that be related to the wheel bearing being bad?

when my ABS light came on, after a couple of weeks I have to replace my wheel bearing on that wheel.




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[kkjb4x4.0]

The abs sensors are in the bearings so it makes sense the abs sensor light is on cause you have a bearing going bad, mine does the same.

 

[drsgfire]

Thanks all who added in on this. I finally got the explorer repaired. Got both the front wheel hub assemblies replaced and now the roaring is gone. Very smooth on the road. There was also a problem with my brake switch. Apparently the owner before me and my brother had installed the brake switch at a vertical angle and secured it with a zip tie... wtf? When the mechanic saw it and noticed that the brake lights only worked when you pulled it toward you then the lights worked and also the gear level would easily shift into gear. He thought it was a bad switch and replaced it and put it in the same exact way.

I searched online after I saw it and sure enough it's supposed to be mounted horizontally. I reinstalled it and now my brake lights work. My gear shifter works great and even my cruise control works now... go figure... lol. I even searched where to find the door code so now that is functional too! It's getting better and better.

One thing I did want to mention though, and I may be over reacting to something that might not be a problem, but I have noticed a small vibration that is audibly a low rumble when first moving the vehicle (in drive or reverse). It never happens at speed. Usually only when we are moving very slow. Sounds kind of like it could be from the rear wheels. Ring any bells?

 

[drsgfire]

So after trying to figure out how to google my problem I think it looks like the clutch pack is bad? Does that sound right. It said that if it does it when turning also and yea, it kinda does a little.