2002 Bearing Noise????

[Beachguy910]

My 2002 XLT 2WD has had the rear end howl for probably the last 50K miles. Odometer now says 122K, but it is louder now than ever befrore.

The howl starts at about 40 MPH and continues. When I back off the gas pedal and coast the howl is still there. This leads me to believe based on what I have been reading that it is most likely rear wheel bearings that are bad as the noise is coming from the rear. So I jacked up the rear wheels and pushed and pulled on the wheels by hand and gently with a crawbar but I can't detect any kind of movement at the bearings. If there is any movement is is so so slight it can't be confirmed.

So my question is if the howl I am hearing does not go away when I back off the gas and coast, and the howl I hear only goes away when I come to a complete stop.....could it be the rear wheel bearings going bad even though I cannot detect and movement in the bearings when I tug on the wheels?

Thanks guys!

 

[thepotroast]

So my question is if the howl I am hearing does not go away when I back off the gas and coast, and the howl I hear only goes away when I come to a complete stop.....could it be the rear wheel bearings going bad even though I cannot detect and movement in the bearings when I tug on the wheels?

Yes, the push/pull check is a very rough way of finding a failed wheel bearing. If you had any play, then there would be no doubt that the bearing has failed, however the bad bearings don't necessarily only have an attribute of a loose or wobbly wheel. When my fronts went out, they did not wobble either, but after pulling them off, you could feel that they were absolutely worn out, very gritty and extreme friction, not a smooth bearing at all.

If you haven't already, I would recommend changing your rear diff fluid with a good 75w -140 diff fluid (Royal Purple, Lucas, etc). If you have a LSD (limited slip diff) then you need to add additional friction modifier as well. This may quiet things.

The fact that when you let off your accelerator and no noise goes away, leads me to believe that the sound you're describing is not the common rear diff whine, instead, it's bearings.

Just a line of thought here, remember that sounds can be deceiving. You may swear that the howl is coming from the rear, when in fact it's coming from your fronts. Remember, sound travels...and inside a cabin on a short wheelbase, it may be hard to honestly tell whether it's coming from the front or rears. I've heard of people that have diagnosed the incorrect wheel bearing (quite common), and it's because it's on the wrong side of the vehicle.

 

[sxlvr]

I have 4wd and had similar problem. I would suggest changing the fluid in the differential first to see if that helps. It's easier and cheaper. I've replaced the front and rear wheel bearing in my 02. Not that hard to do just time consuming. When I changed the fluid in my differential it made a difference in the amount of noise coming fro the rear.

 

[Beachguy910]

I forgot to mention in my original post that I did change the diff fluid last week with Mobil 1 synthetic 75-140 and it did not make any difference in the noise I am hearing.

I'll do the push pull test on the front wheels and see how they are.

Thank you

 

[coled43]

I agree, it is hard to tell where it comes from. Check the fronts too. At 122, if you haven't replaced any, they are probably all close. I did all 4 of mine (one at a time) by that time. Then the roar noise that seemed to come from everywhere finally went away. Just a nice muted rear end whine left now. I recommend the royal purple. Also, use the Ford additive (XL-3) if you have LS. I found it took care of my LS chattering issue (where other cheap additive did not).

 

[Beachguy910]

You guys are right. Even though I can't tell for sure the noise is from the wheel bearings it probably is based on the mileage I have on the car. I am going to replace all 4 wheel bearings. It's got to help and they would need to be done soon anyway. After I do the wheel bearings I may even drain the Mobile 1 from the rear differential and put in the purple oil everyone swears by.

I've owned this 02 explorer since it was new 8 years ago and it has been the best car I ever owned. It's never been back to any shop except to flush the tranny once about 3 years ago. Other than that I've installed brakes, tires, and a battery, and new ball joints just last weekend. I've done oil changes every 5k or so. This car has been great and if I put a few hundred into it now I think it will last a few more years. After the wheel bearing noise is gone I may have the diff wine but I can live with that. This is the first Ford I've owned and I am very happy with how reliable it has been.

Thanks for you help