02 explorer ticking when stopping.

[cden]

I have a 02 ford explorer xls. 85,000 miles. 4x4. when i come to a slow stop or when i am driving slow there is a ticking noise. it sounds like someone is smacking the ground with a stick. the pads and rotors are fine. i took it to a couple of mechanics and they are not sure what the problem is. it comes and goes. you can hear it around 10 mph. any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Check the wheel bearings, U joints, and the slip yoke.

 

[dford]

It is probably the ebrake shoe linings that have fallen off INSIDE the rear rotors--this happened to my 03 around 87,000 miles. It made the ticking sound you describe.

 

[lrwjr1964]

Ticking Sound

I had the ticking sound also. The ticking increased as i gave it gas and slowed as I let off the gas. Well after 2 hours listening under the hood and in the wheel well i norrowed it down to somewhere around the block. Well after looking and listening i happend to check my spark plugs. Lo and behold, the last spark plug was loose. I checked the the rest. 4 out of 5 were loose. I thightned them up, especially the first one i checked, which was very loose. Walla, no more ticking. So that might be something you want to check.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I'm surprisedd that it started, and had compression with so many loose spark plugs. A neighbor of mine once had a loose spark plug on his Honda. It kept making sputtering sounds. This was the first, and only time I've ever seen a loose plug.

 

[cden]

dford

how did you fix it? my ticking noise is only around slow speeds. under 25 mph. it will tick with or without using the breaks. like i said every place i took it to,they were puzzled.
thanks

 

[dford]

At faster speeds the lining is rubbing continuouly--at slower speeds it is bouncing around inside the rotor causing the ticking sound. Pull the rear wheel on the side that is ticking, remove the caliper, remove the rotor, (the emergency brake shoes are hidden inside the rear rotors) most likely the lining for the ebrake has seperated and will fall out, install new ebrake shoes and reassemble.Should be ham and eggs for a mechanic. Since the ebrake shoes are sold in pairs, replace both sides-- they probably don't fail at the same time. Good luck.

 

[Cdaddy78]

I believe this is actually a known problem with our explorers. If you look at the ebrake shoes, the pad is glued to the shoe, not riveted like most brake pads. This is what causes the pad part form falling off and causing the ticking/clicking sound. And like said above, it doesn't always have to do it when braking, since the pads are loose and rattling around inside the rotor.

 

[psu x]

I have a 02 ford explorer xls. 85,000 miles. 4x4. when i come to a slow stop or when i am driving slow there is a ticking noise. it sounds like someone is smacking the ground with a stick. the pads and rotors are fine. i took it to a couple of mechanics and they are not sure what the problem is. it comes and goes. you can hear it around 10 mph. any help is greatly appreciated.

I think I am having this same issue with my 2004 (70,000mi). When I am approaching a stop, it makes a click, click....click. Sometimes more clicks, but more often it is just 3 clicks. I thought it might be someting in the 4x4 engaging and disengaging as the transmission downshifted through 3rd and 2nd gears into 1st in preparation for accelerating again.

I only hear it on the left side, and it seems to be worse when turning to the right. I do not think it is an e-brake issue since it is most defilitely in the front end somwwhere.

I took it to the dealer and they had to test drive it 3 or 4 times to hear what I heard. They could not find anything wrong! (Surprise?!?!?)

 

[dford]

It would be worth your time to pull the left rear rotor off and look at the emergency brake shoes--it sounds to me like that is where the noise is coming from

 

[Mussin]

My wifes 02 Mounty also did this.. The e-brake shoes cam out in pieces... Put some brake pads on there while you are in there poking around, 20 min job..


Jeremy

 

[02 SILVER XLS]

I believe i am having the same problem, i do have a question though..... what would happen if i didn't fix the problem, can it cause any damage to anything else since i never use my ebrake at all ?

 

[Mussin]

I wouldnt think they would do anything but make noise.. I didn "fix" mine either I just took them out.


Jeremy

 

[Cdaddy78]

I believe i am having the same problem, i do have a question though..... what would happen if i didn't fix the problem, can it cause any damage to anything else since i never use my ebrake at all ?

Not really a problem to not do anything. More an annoyance issue than anything. Unless of course at some point you find a situation where an emergency brake could be beneficial. ie an emergency. But other than that, once the pads break up sufficiently, the noise will go away.

 

[Nytroman]

New Ticking Noise

i had the same problem a monh ago, took apart the rears and sure enough the e-brake shoes fell right out.

now....a month later i have a ticking noise in my front end sounds like driver side....it only sounds at 30+ MPH i have put the truck on the lift and ran up to 50+ MPH in 4wd and no sound, i cant replicate in the shop, only on road. any suggestions? its very annoying like the rear was with the e-brake shoes. im sick of these noises!!!

ill keep searching in forums

 

[cjones101812]

I think I am having this same issue with my 2004 (70,000mi). When I am approaching a stop, it makes a click, click....click. Sometimes more clicks, but more often it is just 3 clicks. I thought it might be someting in the 4x4 engaging and disengaging as the transmission downshifted through 3rd and 2nd gears into 1st in preparation for accelerating again.

I only hear it on the left side, and it seems to be worse when turning to the right. I do not think it is an e-brake issue since it is most defilitely in the front end somwwhere.

I took it to the dealer and they had to test drive it 3 or 4 times to hear what I heard. They could not find anything wrong! (Surprise?!?!?)

check the CV joints. generally, clicking while turning at slow speeds is an indication of a bad CV joint.

 

[cjones101812]

i had the same problem a monh ago, took apart the rears and sure enough the e-brake shoes fell right out.

now....a month later i have a ticking noise in my front end sounds like driver side....it only sounds at 30+ MPH i have put the truck on the lift and ran up to 50+ MPH in 4wd and no sound, i cant replicate in the shop, only on road. any suggestions? its very annoying like the rear was with the e-brake shoes. im sick of these noises!!!

ill keep searching in forums

if you have the time...pull the front half-shafts out and place it in 2wd (if you can't select 2wd then pull the front driveshaft out also). run it on the road and see if the sound is still there (whatever is causing the noise needs to be under load). if it is, then you've isolated it to the wheel, tire, brake or hub. if it's no longer there then it's in the half-shafts or diff.