Groaning Front End

[rockwell5630]

I have a '02 Explorer XLS with 56k mi.

As I go over bumps in the road or speed bumps there's a groaning sound coming from the front end. Any speed over 3mph going over a speed bump will cause this noise and any speed over 40mph while hitting bumps in the road will produce this noise while driving down the road.

I don't know if it is the coils, wheel bearings, etc that are making the noise.

It mostly makes the noise as the truck is bouncing up and down from the bumps or from the speed bumps.

Could someone help me figure out where the noise is coming from? Or could the groaning just be from the cold (I'm in Chicago)

I searched for groaning noises coming from the front end and couldn't find anything. If there is an old thread regarding this sorry about the duplicate thread!

 

[JCR]

Front sway arm bushings. Do a search for problems with them and you will get all the answers you need to fix your problem.

 

[joecrna]

Agreed

 

[rockwell5630]

Thanks guys!

I ordered the replacement parts for $30. Cheapest repair for the Explorer yet!

 

[joecrna]

Don't thank us until you have it fixed. You might have wanted to try spraying them with a little WD40 to see if you get a temporary fix first. Its the actual anti roll bar mounts we are talking about and not the end links. I still think this will fix it for you though.

 

[rockwell5630]

I looked at the end links and they seem fine. I had already sprayed wd-40 on the sway bar bushings a few hours ago (just a tiny bit) and the groaning stopped and came back nearly immediately (about after 2 miles).

Since I'm not using the truck for the next week or so I took off the bushings, brackets, and the sway bar itself in about 30 min.

One of the brackets was started to crack around the bolt so I bought replacement brackets and bolts too.

Thanks though!