Whining from front end

[pergolies]

Whining from front end/Steering rack problem

Hi all, this is my first post and i hope someone can help. I have a 1999 Explorer with 44000 miles on the clock. Two days ago it just started to make a faint whining sound at the front end. By the next day it has got much loader and i can feel a very slight vibration through the steering wheel. My first thought it might be a wheel bearing as i've heard this kind of sound before on another car and that was a rear wheel bearing. To me it sounds like the noise is coming from the right side of the car. I jacked the car up and grabbed hold of the right hand tyre at the usual 9 and 3 position and checked for any play, NONE. Checked everything, no play anywhere and everything else looks fine. Done the same to the left hand side, loads of play from side to side, none top and bottom so my thoughts where its the left side bearing. On closer inspection, i noticed that the when you rocked the wheel from side to side the steering rack/track rod end moved in and out with it. If the bearing is shot, will the rack move in and out like that or is the rack shot too? Any ideas what it could be????
Cheers Ken

PS. This is just one of the problems it has.

 

[Homerexplorer]

Some play in the rack is normal. Have you checked the tie rod ends and ball joints. I doubt they would cause this noise but they could contribute to worn wheel bearings. I assume the noise is when you are driving? Slow or fast - does it go away? Sound like a low grinding? Does it change with speed? It was very hard to diagnose my bearings when they went bad. When I jacked it up and took the load off the bearings, I couldn't feel or hear a problem. It helped to have somone else drive slowly while I walked along the outside. Good luck

 

[pergolies]

Yeah, like a low growling sound when driving slow and gets higher pitched the faster you drive till it gets to the point you cant hear it above general road noise. When i pull on the right wheel there is no play at all in the bearing or the the rack. The left side has lots of play at the wheel but it looks like its all coming from the play in the rack. Need to renew the tie rod end as the rubber boot has a split in it. This may of contributed to the bearing going bad perhaps????

 

[pergolies]

Sounds got louder and you can feel a vibration through the floor pan on your feet. ????????????
Looking at the rack closely, the tie rod end which goes into the main body of the rack moves back and forth a good 1/4 inch. Obviously when you grab the wheel to check for bearing wear, you get an enormous amount of play, this cant be right surely?

 

[pergolies]

Still none the wiser

 

[1998xltX]

Any luck?

 

[ExplorerDMB]

a stress test from 9 to 3 will only check tie rod play. you need to hold it at 12 and 6 and pull up on the bottom. if you feel some play it could be ball joint or wheel bearing. you'll probably need an extra set of hands to move the tire while you're lookin at the ball joints. if the ball joints don't have any play - then a wheel bearing could be bad

-Drew

 

[gt_2001]

Hi all, this is my first post and i hope someone can help. I have a 1999 Explorer with 44000 miles on the clock. Two days ago it just started to make a faint whining sound at the front end. By the next day it has got much loader and i can feel a very slight vibration through the steering wheel. My first thought it might be a wheel bearing as i've heard this kind of sound before on another car and that was a rear wheel bearing. To me it sounds like the noise is coming from the right side of the car. I jacked the car up and grabbed hold of the right hand tyre at the usual 9 and 3 position and checked for any play, NONE. Checked everything, no play anywhere and everything else looks fine. Done the same to the left hand side, loads of play from side to side, none top and bottom so my thoughts where its the left side bearing. On closer inspection, i noticed that the when you rocked the wheel from side to side the steering rack/track rod end moved in and out with it. If the bearing is shot, will the rack move in and out like that or is the rack shot too? Any ideas what it could be????
Cheers Ken

PS. This is just one of the problems it has.

I've got the same problem! My 2000 XLS has a slight viberation and noise starting around 30 mph and gets slighty more noticeable with speed. It does however go away when I turn right at speed. (Freeway on-off ramps) The noise and viberation does seem to come from the right front. Would this be a cv or u joint or both? Something else?
Thanks

 

[pergolies]

Mine doesn't go away when i turn at speed. It just drones on and on. I am now thinking it might be a cv joint as it makes a rubbing sound at full lock turning right. Never noticed it before as never really turned at full lock till today.

 

[pergolies]

All fixed now. Replaced the righthand front hub and its oh so quiet, untill the chains start rattling that is