Which gear ratio? AWD front differential swap.

[MostlyNewExplorer]

I thought my transfer case might have been the problem, but then I thought about how far back the TC is. If it was the TC you'd hear the noise more towards the rear, since the TC is about right under the rear floorboard.

You might want to take it to a tire shop and have them check the tires for balance, if there's an issue with the tires that is causing the noise they'll be way out of balance and hard to correct.

when I had the bad tires, the guy said he put around 12 oz of weight on one to "get it close".

 

[Turdle]

In my experience the "v8 AWD with front drive shaft removed roll in park" is more like a "creep". If it is sitting on a steep enough incline, it will emit moans and low pitched squeals while it creeps about 12" per hour, give or take depending on how steep the hill is. (your mileage may vary)

 

[koda2000]

I thought my transfer case might have been the problem, but then I thought about how far back the TC is. If it was the TC you'd hear the noise more towards the rear, since the TC is about right under the rear floorboard.

You might want to take it to a tire shop and have them check the tires for balance, if there's an issue with the tires that is causing the noise they'll be way out of balance and hard to correct.

when I had the bad tires, the guy said he put around 12 oz of weight on one to "get it close".

^This. It's the way the AWD works, splitting not only the power distribution but the PARK function between the front and rear wheels.

 

[MostlyNewExplorer]

^This. It's the way the AWD works, splitting not only the power distribution but the PARK function between the front and rear wheels.

So you think that the intellitrac system is what caused my tires to go bad? I don't know about that, but I think it's what wears out the upper control arms.

 

[koda2000]

So you think that the intellitrac system is what caused my tires to go bad? I don't know about that, but I think it's what wears out the upper control arms.

I have no idea. We were talking about the V8's AWD system which is completely different from the 4WD intellitrac system.

 

[Blk2kXLT]

If you want a stock AWD front diff w 3.73 rears let me know. Just pay shipping and cost of box/packing. I replaced mine w Torsen T2 and no issues with the stock one. Just need to press on your bearing/shim setup.

Send me a PM

 

[sidneyhop]

If you want a stock AWD front diff w 3.73 rears let me know. Just pay shipping and cost of box/packing. I replaced mine w Torsen T2 and no issues with the stock one. Just need to press on your bearing/shim setup.

Send me a PM

Thanks Blk2kXLT for your offer, I appreciate it. - So I pulled everything down. Inspected the gears in the front differential looking for obvious signs of damage and metal shavings. Nothing that I could see. If something was wrong enough to cause a growling sound and vibration at 30+ mph should I be able to see it?

I ended up reinstalling everything, changed out my U joints, rotated tires and the growling/vibration is still there. I did manage to fix the squeaking with the U joint fix though so some progress

Im kinda at a loss for now. If its the TC causing the issue I may just have to live with it. Can something go catastrophically wrong in a TC letting it go I wonder?

 

[sidneyhop]

Also an update having the front drive shaft removed on an AWD vehicle and MPG.
City driving not much of a difference.
Previously exclusive Hwy driving I could get around 21-22 MPG if I found that sweet spot of around 60mph. With the FDS removed Im getting around 26-27 MPG! Big difference! (I could probably get even better if tire pressure was optimum, new air filter and fresh oil change, etc)

 

[koda2000]

Also an update having the front drive shaft removed on an AWD vehicle and MPG.
City driving not much of a difference.
Previously exclusive Hwy driving I could get around 21-22 MPG if I found that sweet spot of around 60mph. With the FDS removed Im getting around 26-27 MPG! Big difference! (I could probably get even better if tire pressure was optimum, new air filter and fresh oil change, etc)

26-27 MPG is frankly hard to believe. The best I've ever gotten on my 2WD V8, driving in a manner to optimize my MPG, was around 23 MPG. On my AWD the best I ever saw was around 21. All my V8's have the 3:73 gear ratios. Even with the front drive shaft removed you're still carrying around a lot of extra t-case, front diff, axle and hub weight. The EPA MPG estimate for the V8 is only around 19 MPG.

 

[sidneyhop]

26-27 MPG is frankly hard to believe. The best I've ever gotten on my 2WD V8, driving in a manner to optimize my MPG, was around 23 MPG. On my AWD the best I ever saw was around 21. All my V8's have the 3:73 gear ratios. Even with the front drive shaft removed you're still carrying around a lot of extra t-case, front diff, axle and hub weight. The EPA MPG estimate for the V8 is only around 19 MPG.

This is according to the onboard console computing system. Ill post a pic doing a 'reset' just before a highway trip. Also to note I live in Florida, so the terrain is relatively flat, a good base for this.

 

[MostlyNewExplorer]

Can something go catastrophically wrong in a TC letting it go I wonder?

That's why things go wrong. If you fix them when the O/D or Check Engine light comes on you don't have near as many problems in the long run.

 

[sidneyhop]

Update: I switched out the front differential and put new tires on and the noise/vibration still persists :{. The only thing I can think of now is the drivers side wheel bearings. Theyre only a couple years old but have no other ideas to pursue.

List of what I did to track down the issue.
New tires
Switched out front differential
New passenger CV axle
New passenger wheel bearings
Removed front drive shaft and put new U joints on rear.

 

[MostlyNewExplorer]

Is there an easy way to determine what the gear ratio is?

Anyway, there should be a metal tag attached to one of the inspection cover bolts, it will tell you the ratio. There may be only a tag on the rear one, but they should be the same ratio.

 

[CDW6212R]

Koda2000 - This is the tag, Im guessing 3.73?
The door jam sticker has an odd VOID across it. I assume someone tried to remove it at one point and only the top layer came off leaving just the void? [

Turdle - I haven't had an opportunity to remove the front drive shaft yet but will this week sometime and post results here.

The tag on the rear diff shows the ratio and whether it's an LS. Right next to the bolt is the ratio, and for the OP he has 3.73's. What is hard to see is the space between the 3 and 7, an LS will have "3L73" there, and the non LS will have a space, so "3 73" is an open diff.

I'd be worried about the VIN tag being removed. I'd check the VIN numbers of the windshield, and the title, and the frame numbers. DMV will go by just the windshield, usually, unless they discover something odd, like a missing VIN tag.

 

[sidneyhop]

I fixed the problem....finally. It was the drivers wheel bearing.
Lessons Learned:
1) Even if the the turning method to determine which side the bearing is failing on points to one side, dont rule out the opposite side.
In this instance when I turned right the noise would go away, indicating a passenger wheel bearing failure. Turns out it was in fact the drivers wheel bearing.
2) DONT buy parts from China! This wheel bearing/hub was less than 2 years old. Thats why I assumed it wasnt the problem. Turns out its exactly what the problem was. I spent SO much time and money just to learn this. Dont save a little just to end up spending a TON later on.

 

[bobflood]

Actually, I thing the turning test did identify the bad bearing. As I understand it, turning one way loads up the opposite side, thus stressing the opposite bearing. Thus, a right turn loads up the left (driver side) bearing.

 

[sidneyhop]

Actually, I thing the turning test did identify the bad bearing. As I understand it, turning one way loads up the opposite side, thus stressing the opposite bearing. Thus, a right turn loads up the left (driver side) bearing.

I believe the opposite is correct. When you turn a particular direction it puts the weight on the other side, reduces the load on that bearing. So if a bearing is going bad and making noise then reducing the load reduces the noise.

 

[SoNic67]

Removed front drive shaft and put new U joints on rear.

Drove like that and you just damaged the TC viscous coupler - the silicon fluid is baked into a solid piece, no more differential function between front and rear axle.
You can't put back the front shaft without replacing the VC, or it will always vibrate and eat tires.

 

[CDW6212R]

Actually I've gotten seven months on my AWD since reinstalling a front drive shaft, plus about 8,000 miles of route driving. My previous owner had removed the front shaft over eight years earlier. The front diff was almost empty and I swapped all of the parts from my Mountaineer into it, but not the TC. That had black fluid in it, and I've drained/filled it three times since I bought it. It's still dark, but less so each time. I'd bet my viscous clutch is in rough shape, but it didn't get destroyed with the drive shaft out for many years, and it is still working now.

 

[sidneyhop]

I just reinstalled my driveshaft today after driving without it for about 6 months. No binding or vibrating thank God!