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Rear end scraping noise when coasting

mmasire88

Active Member
Joined
September 19, 2014
Messages
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City, State
Martinsville, Indiana
Year, Model & Trim Level
2004 ford explorer XLT
I'm experiencing a sort of grinding noise when coasting, it seems to be coming from the mid to rear end of the truck, very hard to pin point. I just finished replacing front hub assemblies, from sway bar end links, both front axles, and brand new goodyear fortera rubber all the way around. The best way I can describe the noise is as if there were a rusty spot on one of the rotors and as the wheel turns the brake pad scrapes that rusted spot on the rotor, which is not the case.

I'm considering doing the brown wire mod on it to rule out the transfer case. Prior to this I did drive the truck on two different occasions before I had the rear tires put on, so I was thinking that it might be difference in tire tread depth and perhaps the truck was partially engaging the transfercase. BUT since I have put new tires on the rear to match the front, I'm guessing this isn't the problem. (note: tires are exactly the same, and the front tires only have about 15 or less miles than the rear tires have on them). Also, it seems to only do it when coasting. Perhaps a bad rear bearing? I don't really know much about the history of the truck prior to me owning it, so I'm not sure whether the rear bearings have ever been replaced. By the looks of the front hub assemblies I'm guessing none of them have.

Also, I might add that the rear diff does wine pretty loud. Not sure if it could be related or not.
 



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Sounds like you need to replace the differential. Search this site, there is lots of info and options for repair.
 






Short version...

I more or less had the same symptoms. Grinding while coasting, and whine at highway speeds. The differential was leaking at the time, and combined with the additional symptoms, I decided to rebuild. Ultimately, when I disassembled the differential, the passenger side carrier bearing/race was pretty well pitted, while the rest of the races, bearings were fine.. Replaced all bearings, races, seals, and the issue was resolved.
 






What shape is your emergency brake in? Mine was all torn up and it could make that sound and it would be less costly than a rear differential.
 






I'm not really sure what to do with it at this point. I just finished replacing the motor, all 4 tires, front hubs/bearings. I never noticed the scraping/grinding while coasting prior to all this work but than again, it's been quite some time since I've driven it regularly.

What do you guys suggest as a course of action? I'm very mechanically inclined, however, I have no experience with differential work. I'm hesitant to purchase another used differential, and spending over a grand on a new one isn't something I'm overly ecstatic about doing either.
 






I'm not really sure what to do with it at this point. I just finished replacing the motor, all 4 tires, front hubs/bearings. I never noticed the scraping/grinding while coasting prior to all this work but than again, it's been quite some time since I've driven it regularly.

What do you guys suggest as a course of action? I'm very mechanically inclined, however, I have no experience with differential work. I'm hesitant to purchase another used differential, and spending over a grand on a new one isn't something I'm overly ecstatic about doing either.

For sake of time and money, a trustworthy transmission shop would be your best bet. They could readily diagnose these kinds of problems with little time/effort.

Worst case, you spend your own time, money, and effort chasing the miscellaneous things it "could" be, which varies based on your experience, and that of the people and forums you visit.
 






Prior to having the new tires installed, I drove it around town a bit and never noticed the noise. I did the front tires first, and a few weeks later I replaced the rear tires (same brand/size and everything). I feel like the noise came after replacing the tires.

The rear-end has whined the entire time I've owned the truck. I usually just turned the radio up or rolled the windows down to dismiss it. Could the auto 4x4/transfer case have anything to do with the noise? The TMPS indicator flashes for a few miles everytime I start the truck and drive it, than it generally goes off.

I had it out a bit ago and had the windows closed, radio off listening to the scraping noise and noticed every time I came to a stop I'm hearing a, rather hard to explain, like gears winding down type of noise. Almost like how big tread off road tires sound.
 






For sake of time and money, a trustworthy transmission shop would be your best bet. They could readily diagnose these kinds of problems with little time/effort.

Worst case, you spend your own time, money, and effort chasing the miscellaneous things it "could" be, which varies based on your experience, and that of the people and forums you visit.


Honestly, I've just never had overly good experience with transmissions shops. Earlier this year I had taken my Audi in to have the transmission oil pump replaced, a little brass sleeve had frozen up on the torque converter and damaged the pump and TQ. They were going to inspect the clutch packs prior to doing this and when I got the transmission back they said everything was ok. Long story short, the transmission lasted 2 days and started slipping terribly and I was out of nearly 2 grand. I just prefer doing things myself, that way I have a little piece of mind.
 






What shape is your emergency brake in? Mine was all torn up and it could make that sound and it would be less costly than a rear differential.

I'm not really sure, it seems to work ok. I have not had to mess with the rear brakes yet on the truck. I believe they were replaced right before I purchased it. After replacing the motor (it sat all last winter and this spring before I got to it) one of the rear brakes was dragging for a couple of drives, but I had it up in the air last week and it didn't seem to be dragging anymore, spun freely.
 






I'm not really sure, it seems to work ok. I have not had to mess with the rear brakes yet on the truck. I believe they were replaced right before I purchased it. After replacing the motor (it sat all last winter and this spring before I got to it) one of the rear brakes was dragging for a couple of drives, but I had it up in the air last week and it didn't seem to be dragging anymore, spun freely.

When diagnosing my differential noise, I removed the rear emergency drum pads (since they were worn, and emergency cable was broken anyway). That ruled out the possibility it was the brakes. I also replaced what I though was a bad wheel bearing, and the noise persisted. In the end I gambled it was the differential, and I was right.
 






Here in a bit I'm going to have the wife drive it while I poke around the back of the truck with a stethoscope. See if I can't find a general area as to where it's originating from.
 












Latest status?

Sorry for the late update. I really have not done much with it yet, getting colder out and just not feeling up to sitting out in the cold replacing the diff. I did, however, drain the diff fluid, and replace it with royal purple fully synthetic (was the only fluid I could find locally, in stock) and the whine has significantly decreased. Goes away completely 35mph+. The scraping noise while coasting is still present though. The differential fluid looks as though it was about 173,000 miles old (never replaced), and may have been contaminated as it came out and separated in my oil pan. Didn't see any shavings, just a large amount of sludge. I did disable the 4x4/auto 4x4 for a quick test run to isolate the scraping noise to the rear differential.

I've never been inside a differential before, so I think my plan is to source a new differential over the winter versus attempting to fix the old one myself. Then when it gets decently warm, I'll tackle the rear diff and wheel hubs at the same time. I drive it several times a week and it runs and drives great minus the annoying differential noises.
 






My guess, rear differential carrier bearings.
 






My guess, rear differential carrier bearings.

Yea, you may be right I really do not know. Only scrapes when coasting, and only does it when I'm going more then 20mph. I wish I had to knowledge to rebuild the differential on my own, I've rebuilt several motors, and can do just about every other repair to my vehicles. Bothers me a bit that I am unable to rebuild the differential and have to buy a brand new one.

I have read about "shims" or "spacers" when working on differentials, which has me the most worried about attempting to do it on my own. Is it possible to just put the factory shims/spacers back into the diff and replace the gears/lsd/bearings?
 






You would likely end up with an improper gear contact pattern. That is what the shims do. Personally, I have someone with much more experience do them for my street cars. On the track, Im not so concerned. I do a decent enough job. Gonna rebuild every race anyhow.
 






Rear Axle Bearing?

I was replacing the brakes on my '99 Mounty and found gear oil leaking on the passenger rear. I could move the axle radially about 1/8". The wheel bearing and seal were shot.

"noticed every time I came to a stop I'm hearing a, rather hard to explain, like gears winding down type of noise." This is EXACTLY what I heard after I found the leak. Never while accelerating or at a constant speed, only while coasting at about 30-10 mph.

Take off your rear wheels and unbolt the brake calipers. See how much play you have as you try to move the axle up & down and left & right. "Some in & out movement is normal" from what I read but no one really specified how much!

I spent about a week reading everything on this forum I could find to convince myself I could do the job! Then another week tracking down parts & fluids and renting a few specialty tools. Meanwhile, this is my daily driver . . .

My axle was showing some signs of wear where it rides on the bearings. I used "Axle Repair Bearings". These move the bearing to a different spot on the axle and have an integrated seal (one piece unit). I replaced both sides while I was at it even though the other side wasn't obviously bad. These are the bearings I used:

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...ir-Bearing-Rear-Wheel/_/R-BRGR1559_0074208450

Good Luck,
 






I ordered new wheel hub assemblies for the rear of the explorer, so when I get a chance to replace the rear differential I will replace the rear hubs/bearings while it's apart. I found a nice used rear differential for under 300$ with 80k miles on it, it's not an LSD like it came with but I'm not too worried about that since it is 4x4. I was hoping to get a chance to replace everything before the snow hit but it's looking like it's going to have to wait till spring, sadly. It drives excellent apart from the noisy diff, so hopefully it doesn't give me any trouble over the winter.
 






I'm experiencing a sort of grinding noise when coasting, it seems to be coming from the mid to rear end of the truck, very hard to pin point. I just finished replacing front hub assemblies, from sway bar end links, both front axles, and brand new goodyear fortera rubber all the way around. The best way I can describe the noise is as if there were a rusty spot on one of the rotors and as the wheel turns the brake pad scrapes that rusted spot on the rotor, which is not the case.

I'm considering doing the brown wire mod on it to rule out the transfer case. Prior to this I did drive the truck on two different occasions before I had the rear tires put on, so I was thinking that it might be difference in tire tread depth and perhaps the truck was partially engaging the transfercase. BUT since I have put new tires on the rear to match the front, I'm guessing this isn't the problem. (note: tires are exactly the same, and the front tires only have about 15 or less miles than the rear tires have on them). Also, it seems to only do it when coasting. Perhaps a bad rear bearing? I don't really know much about the history of the truck prior to me owning it, so I'm not sure whether the rear bearings have ever been replaced. By the looks of the front hub assemblies I'm guessing none of them have.

Also, I might add that the rear diff does wine pretty loud. Not sure if it could be related or not.


Read this Thread it may be your issue http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...r-making-grinding-noise-when-coasting.290215/
 



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