Rear wheel bering going?

[amachinistizme]

My 1999 explorer sport is producing a "Whump, Whump, whump" noise as I travel my local roads. There's no flat spot on the tire, So? The noise seems to be coming from the right rear wheel.
Wheel bearing? Or possibly something else? I'm new to this forum as well.
I don't speak "mechanic" well yet.

 

[C420sailor]

Step 1: rotate tires

I’ve been convinced i had a bad bearing...rotated the tires to watch the noise follow the tire. Cheap diagnostic.

 

[XLTrunner]

Bad bearing is generally more of a steady grinding noise relevant to wheel speed. I'm guessing a tire issue, too.

 

[amachinistizme]

A tire issue? Balance, maybe? What else causes the whump, whump, whump?

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Is your spare tire certainly good? Rotate your spare tire through the four corners.

Good luck.

 

[Gary Crist]

Are your tires more than 1/2 worn out? If so, as 420 said, check your tires.
Mfgs. make the tires noisier as they wear out!

Drive next to some "Jacked-up Bubba Mobile" with knobby tires. See of the
whump whump noise from their tires is similar to yours.

 

[J_C]

You could record the noise and post it on youtube. While I had the wheel off, I'd also inspect the brakes.

 

[amachinistizme]

Step 1: rotate tires

I’ve been convinced i had a bad bearing...rotated the tires to watch the noise follow the tire. Cheap diagnostic.

WHAT was wrong with the tire?

Are your tires more than 1/2 worn out? If so, as 420 said, check your tires.
Mfgs. make the tires noisier as they wear out!

Drive next to some "Jacked-up Bubba Mobile" with knobby tires. See of the
whump whump noise from their tires is similar to yours.

I have Firestone discovery street-like tires.

 

[C420sailor]

I didn’t dive too far into it. I suspect that uneven wear was the culprit. I moved it from the front to the rear and while the noise traded places, it was quieter and happier in the back (no camber, I guess).

Those tires are long gone.

I’m not saying that’s definitively your issue, but it should always be step 1. It would suck to pull the axles and do bearings and all that and still have the whump whump...

 

[Mr. Alligator]

^^^ agree. And if you have a bearing making noises like that and hopping around, it is not going bad... it is WAY gone. Still sounds more like tires than bearings.

Good luck with this.

 

[drdoom]

4x4 or RWD? Reason I ask is I had a transfer case failure which was preceded by a wump wump sound.

 

[amachinistizme]

4×4. It's {the whump, whump, whump} not really loud. Seems to be coming from the right rear tire area. Not the transfer case area. Did your transfer case not indicate it was engaged, before it failed?

 

[drdoom]

4×4. It's {the whump, whump, whump} not really loud. Seems to be coming from the right rear tire area. Not the transfer case area. Did your transfer case not indicate it was engaged, before it failed?

I was wondering that very thing, was it engaging. So I added a pigtail to the brown wire to monitor the voltage while driving. It was not engaging itself causing the noise, and operationally all was normal in all modes. 4AUTO, 4LOW, 4HIGH all normal.

 

[JonathanZ]

4×4. It's {the whump, whump, whump} not really loud. Seems to be coming from the right rear tire area. Not the transfer case area. Did your transfer case not indicate it was engaged, before it failed?

I had a 'whump whump whump' noise the first year I owned my 1994 XLT. Ford said it was the Firestone tires, Firestone said it was the Ford suspension. I kept taking it back to both Ford and Firestone and Ford did everything they could -- heavy-duty motor mounts, anti-vibration kit, etc., all under warranty. Firestone would check the tires and tell me they were good and put the blame on Ford. Finally, it got so bad I took the Explorer to Discount Tire and bought four new Michelins as I'd heard they worked well on SUVs. The tire manager called me to the back of the tire shop and showed me where all four -- that's ALL FOUR Firestone tires had slipped belts. Yes, it was 'those' Firestone tires -- the ones they eventually recalled because they were causing rollovers and killing people. The only reason mine didn't fail catastrophically was because I lived in the high desert and ran the tires at 32 psi, not the then-recommended 26 psi. Kudos to Ford for trying. I will never own a Firestone product again. The Michelins run smoothly with a comfortable ride. I just installed my fourth set at 196K.

So check your tires for slipped belts. Most tire shops can do it.

 

[amachinistizme]

I had a 'whump whump whump' noise the first year I owned my 1994 XLT. Ford said it was the Firestone tires, Firestone said it was the Ford suspension. I kept taking it back to both Ford and Firestone and Ford did everything they could -- heavy-duty motor mounts, anti-vibration kit, etc., all under warranty. Firestone would check the tires and tell me they were good and put the blame on Ford. Finally, it got so bad I took the Explorer to Discount Tire and bought four new Michelins as I'd heard they worked well on SUVs. The tire manager called me to the back of the tire shop and showed me where all four -- that's ALL FOUR Firestone tires had slipped belts. Yes, it was 'those' Firestone tires -- the ones they eventually recalled because they were causing rollovers and killing people. The only reason mine didn't fail catastrophically was because I lived in the high desert and ran the tires at 32 psi, not the then-recommended 26 psi. Kudos to Ford for trying. I will never own a Firestone product again. The Michelins run smoothly with a comfortable ride. I just installed my fourth set at 196K.

So check your tires for slipped belts. Most tire shops can do it.

Thank you! Firestone destinations are on the truck NOW! I'll have them checked out.