Spent $480 Already for Roaring and vibration noise please help

[Eastbird]

Hello
I have 2008 4WD Ford Explorer with 186000miles on it. I have roaring and humming noise with little vibration in the steering wheel and they all disappears completely on turn to the right. I have changed both front bearings with Motorcraft brand, but that didn't fix the problem.
The noise is very clear on 60mph and above.
I jacked up the car and wiggle all tires to see if there is any play, but there is no play in tires.
I have new tires installed a month ago.

Could it be the control arm that does this? Because I have one which make noise in bumps. (That came recently)
Or could it be the ball joints?
Or could it be the alignment?
Or rear bearings?
Or driveshafts?
Please help if you had this issue before.

 

[Explorer_PL]

You have one of the worst problems I have been dealing with every few years for the past 10-11 years. I thought I went thru all but each time I learn something new. And it's always something else.

Your possible issues are:

1. Rear bearings, jack up the car and wiggle the wheels. The rear bearings have a play when they go bad in most cases, but not always. I had one that was making roaring noise and it was solid, no play. Also, I could swear the noise was coming from the front, it turned out to be in the rear.

2. Driveshaft u-joints, especially the front small one. The front u-joint on that went bad on mine, I could not believe how much droning noise it was making. $ 20 and an hour job it was like night and day.

3. Check the rear driveshaft for play on the u-joints as well.

4. Go under the car and shake the front and rear flange on the transfer case to see if you have any play, there should be none. My rear output bearing went bad on the TC and I had also a roaring noise, and I also replaced both front hubs unnecessarily.

5. Put the car on a lift if you can safely, put it in 4wd mode, disable traction control and listen to front and rear diff with a long screwdriver or mechanic stethoscope for grinding noises.

6. And my newest one - I had a crazy noise at exactly 19 mph. Then I saw that my driver front tire is completely bold on the inner edge. last night i swapped the wheels on that side from front to rear, and so far it did not come back, so check your tires for uneven wear.

 

[Eastbird]

Thank you very much for your replay.

Check the rear driveshaft for play on the u-joints as well.

So the driveshift should be solid and no movement at all? Or there is some acceptable movement in it?

Also the flange should be solid and never move to any sides?
I will go under the car today and check.

Thanks again Sir

 

[Explorer_PL]

Yes, the flanges with the driveshaft should be solid. Especially when you grab the flange and try to shake it up and down.

 

[07EddyB]

My vote is on the right rear bearing. When mine went out it sounded like it was coming from the front and there was definitely vibration in the steering wheel. You mention that it goes away in a right turn - when the noise changes due to turning it's usually a bearing. Have the rears ever been changed? At 186K, even if they have been changed before, they are about due again.

 

[michael loibl]

I have had good success pinning down which bearing is bad by jacking up both rear tires at the same time and then very slowly turning a wheel with gentle fingertip pressure on the rim. Or have a helper SLOWLY turn as u gently keep fingertips on a rim. Then repeat on the other side. Really slow like one or two RPM. You will likely feel a slight gritty bumpy feeling that u don't feel if u spin too fast. One side will likely feel worse than the other.

 

[Guard3rd]

Spent 1200 bucks on my '10 2wd
Xlt chasing the same noise. The last thing that I did , that cured it was . Passenger (right) Rear wheel bearing! I swore it was coming from front end, on driver side (left). Drove me battshit- crazy. I vote Right Rear Wheel Bearing for sure.

 

[Dag06XLT]

Yep, rear bearing. i had the same thing as everyone else, after a lot of testing, swore it was a front. Ended up as thr right rear.

 

[Explorer_PL]

There are no rear hubs (assemblies). Rear bearings have different design than front. Not something you can do in the driveway for most .

 

[07EddyB]

Not sure why you sent me a PM asking for help where you basically did a copy and paste from your OP. I've offered my opinion on your problem with detail based on my personal experience. As Explorer_PL noted - rear bearings are different from the front. They must be pressed out and in - after the knuckle is removed.
BTW - if your control arm is making noise in bumps then you might want to look at your sway bar links and bushings.

 

[Gorb]

I had a cracked rear axle shaft that caused similar issues. The weighted part right beside the differential split open causing the weight material to fall out, which threw off the balance of the shaft and caused noise. Have a look at that before throwing any more money at it

 

[Explorer_PL]

Eastbird -

for your benefits and benefits of all members, stick to the public posting. That way, if you find a solution others can use it, and also more people can read your posts and provide ideas. PM is usually used for exchanging some semi-sensitive info like email address or for some off-site discussions. I would love to hear what it was when you find the solution.

 

[Eastbird]

Update

Explorer_PL
07EddyB
michael loibl
Gurad3rd
Dag06XLT
Gorb
Thanks a lot for your replay. I saw every suggestion you wrote here and I really appreciate that you care about other people.

Mr 07EddyB, sorry for any inconvenience that I caused by using PM. I sent you that message one day before I posted this for the public, and when I saw that you did't replay I posted in the public. I saw one of your posts here in this forum writing about a problem similar to mine. That's why I sent a PM. Sorry again.

Explorer_PL, this forum has helped me a lot even before being a member, so I would love to share my experience and who knows, it might help someone like me.

Ok I just finished repairing the rear right bearing. It was it causing all that humming, roaring and vibration. It is easy work if you have tools. For me I followed this youtube video and everything was so smooth. However the three bolts that hold the bearing were so tight that I couldn't open them without air compressor. And of course you need to press the besring.

So now some questions pop up.
After changing 2 front hubs and one rear bearing, and soon I will change the control arm, do I need to do tires alignment?

Later this week I am going to change the control arm, any ideas of how to precisely identify the bad one?

 

[07EddyB]

Congrats on the fix - it sure sounded like the rear. Sorry for the confusion on the PM - I didn't notice the date. Don't have any experience with control arm replacement - but bearing replacement shouldn't require an alignment.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Eastbird -

thanks for getting back to us
That confirms just how tricky those 4WD cars are and how the noises travel thru all the corners confusing everyone.
After the front hubs replacement no alignment needed.
After the rear knuckle was removed, I would say maybe, but I can't see how you could adjust the rear wheels to be aligned. The rear suspension is pretty much "fixed".

I am assuming you are talking about front upper control arm.
It has 2 bushings and 1 ball joint. Lift the car up, grab the control arm and try to move it observing if there is a play in the bushings. Then grab the steering knuckle and the arm and see if you have a play in the ball joint connecting those 2. If you have any doubts, just get the whole arm, preferable brand Moog. It does not cost much, and it will come with all those 3 joints installed. I used Dorman once or twice from AutoZone and it did not last long. After you replace that, you definitely need alignment. Replacement is very easy.

Good luck.

 

[V8Jake]

how did you determine it was that side? Mine is roaring like a bad bearing but all corners pass the wobble test and make no sound if tuned by hand.

 

[07EddyB]

Find a curvy road. Get to the speed that the bearing is roaring at. As you go through curves, notice if the sound increases or decreases. If the sound increases, the bearing has more load on it turning in that direction. That translates into a right bearing in a left turn and vice versa. From there it becomes a probability thing for front versus rear. I usually start with the oldest bearing on that side.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I use this, very useful.
Lift the back up and spin the wheels and listen to the bearings from inside/under the car (be safe):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Auto-Mechan...441892?hash=item23738c7ba4:g:xm4AAOSwmfhX7kA7