2008 Explorer 4x4 whirring sound coming from front especially when turning wheels to the right

[relentless85]

I’m having trouble pin pointing a whirring sound coming from the front of my 08 Explorer 4x4.

I can hear the wirring sound while driving. It gets a lot more noticeable when I am driving and I turn the steering wheel to the right or make a right turn. It sounds like it’s coming from the driver side area. When I make a left turn or turn the wheel to the left, I do not hear the wirring sound. This leads me to believe it’s on the driver side somewhere?

The driver side cv axle shaft and wheel bearing assembly has been recently replaced with in the last 2 years. Also the driver side seal on the differential was replaced too. Sway bar link ends have been replaced and bushings too.
Driver side lower ball joint was also replaced this year.

So, basically mostly new parts on the driver side. Front diff fluid was drained and refilled with the recommended gear oil.

I don’t know what else to look for or check now. Unless it’s on the passenger side or possibly the wheel bearing/hub has already gone bad on the driver side I replaced? I used a timken brand assembly for replacement on the wheel bearing and hub.

Any suggestions?

 

[Mbrooks420]

I’d look into the passenger cv/wheel bearing. Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint where sounds are coming from underneath.

 

[Rcflyer330]

How many miles on the wheel bearing?
I put in a timken bearing on the drivers side around 100k around 125k or about 2 years it was bad (yes it was installed correctly and torqued to spec). Many people on the fourm have had bearing go out sooner than expected. Dont rule out the rear bearings either they can sound like the front. From the symptoms of turning right it gets worse that would indicate left side bearing if it was turning left it would be the right side. The reason for this is how the bearings gets loaded and unloaded when turning. Also if you decide to do the shake test with the wheel off the ground don't expect to get any play in the wheel bearing even if its bad they will make noise long before they get any detectable play by hand.

 

[relentless85]

How many miles on the wheel bearing?
I put in a timken bearing on the drivers side around 100k around 125k or about 2 years it was bad (yes it was installed correctly and torqued to spec). Many people on the fourm have had bearing go out sooner than expected. Dont rule out the rear bearings either they can sound like the front. From the symptoms of turning right it gets worse that would indicate left side bearing if it was turning left it would be the right side. The reason for this is how the bearings gets loaded and unloaded when turning. Also if you decide to do the shake test with the wheel off the ground don't expect to get any play in the wheel bearing even if its bad they will make noise long before they get any detectable play by hand.

How do I pin point/troubleshoot the problem part if there isn’t any play in the hub or wheel or any glaring obvious issues with the parts?

Did you go with a different brand of hub since the timken hub/bearing failed 2 times?

Would I just need to jack up the vehicle and spin each wheel and listen for anything abnormal coming from the hubs/bearings?

could it be a front diff gear issue or the transfer case making this whirring noise or are we confident that it is coming from one of the 4 hubs/ bearing?

 

[Rcflyer330]

How do I pin point/troubleshoot the problem part if there isn’t any play in the hub or wheel or any glaring obvious issues with the parts?

Did you go with a different brand of hub since the timken hub/bearing failed 2 times?

Would I just need to jack up the vehicle and spin each wheel and listen for anything abnormal coming from the hubs/bearings?

could it be a front diff gear issue or the transfer case making this whirring noise or are we confident that it is coming from one of the 4 hubs/ bearing?

It is now a motorcraft bearing that the dealer put on. I was not going to do it myself again without having a oxy acetylene torch. The first time I spent 8 hrs (in two days) with a 4 lbs hammer, pb blaster, slide hammer, air hammer, a propane torch (not hot enough), and a mapp gas torch (worked but took a long time), to break the hub free.

I bought 2 timkin bearings to change both fronts at the same time but with the troubles I had thoes two days. The second timkin went to the passenger side by the dealer about 10k miles later still there 45k miles later.

I am not saying that the bearing is the culprit just suggesting not to rule it out as the problem yet. Many times on this fourm people have ruled out a wheel bearing type noise because it was changed a short time ago and it ended up being a wheel bearing. Its one of the most common problems with the 4th gen explorers.


How I diagnosed mine the first time was by driving it between 25 and 45 mph and turning the steering wheel slightly left and right (just enough to that the noise appeared). By doing that I could hear and feel in the steering wheel the vibration comming from the front when turning the wheel to the right. The second bearing it was just making noise I figured it was the tires ( i figured the bearing only had 25k on it cant be that). The car needed something done to it and I took it to the dealer and the service guy said "your drivers side bearing is also bad you want us to replace it?" I said "yes". It was well worth the cost expecially with the trouble i had the first time.

You can diagnose the wheel bearing with a 1 thou or 1/2 thou (.001 or .0005) dial indicator and you measure the in and out play in the bearing. For example (not actual numbers just making them up) new bearing will have 1 thou of measureable play and a bad one is 5 thou of measurable play.
You could also measure the temp of each wheel bearing after driving the bad one should be hotter.

To find the actual numbers it is a spec given by the manufacturer of the bearing.

Here is a link to how to diagnose a wheel bearing
www.carparts.com/blog/how-to-diagnose-a-faulty-wheel-hub/amp/
A google search will give you a lot more suggestions also.

Also check your tires for abnormal wear and cupping they can cause the exact same noise as a wheel bearing.

Sorry for the long post but hopefully it helps.

 

[D Hook]

Possible power steering pump going bad?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Possible power steering pump going bad?

You should be able to hear a bad pump when not moving and turning the wheels.

 

[relentless85]

It is now a motorcraft bearing that the dealer put on. I was not going to do it myself again without having a oxy acetylene torch. The first time I spent 8 hrs (in two days) with a 4 lbs hammer, pb blaster, slide hammer, air hammer, a propane torch (not hot enough), and a mapp gas torch (worked but took a long time), to break the hub free.

I bought 2 timkin bearings to change both fronts at the same time but with the troubles I had thoes two days. The second timkin went to the passenger side by the dealer about 10k miles later still there 45k miles later.

I am not saying that the bearing is the culprit just suggesting not to rule it out as the problem yet. Many times on this fourm people have ruled out a wheel bearing type noise because it was changed a short time ago and it ended up being a wheel bearing. Its one of the most common problems with the 4th gen explorers.


How I diagnosed mine the first time was by driving it between 25 and 45 mph and turning the steering wheel slightly left and right (just enough to that the noise appeared). By doing that I could hear and feel in the steering wheel the vibration comming from the front when turning the wheel to the right. The second bearing it was just making noise I figured it was the tires ( i figured the bearing only had 25k on it cant be that). The car needed something done to it and I took it to the dealer and the service guy said "your drivers side bearing is also bad you want us to replace it?" I said "yes". It was well worth the cost expecially with the trouble i had the first time.

You can diagnose the wheel bearing with a 1 thou or 1/2 thou (.001 or .0005) dial indicator and you measure the in and out play in the bearing. For example (not actual numbers just making them up) new bearing will have 1 thou of measureable play and a bad one is 5 thou of measurable play.
You could also measure the temp of each wheel bearing after driving the bad one should be hotter.

To find the actual numbers it is a spec given by the manufacturer of the bearing.

Here is a link to how to diagnose a wheel bearing
www.carparts.com/blog/how-to-diagnose-a-faulty-wheel-hub/amp/
A google search will give you a lot more suggestions also.

Also check your tires for abnormal wear and cupping they can cause the exact same noise as a wheel bearing.

Sorry for the long post but hopefully it helps.

I have a mechanics stethoscope. If I were to jack up the Explorer and put it on 4 jack stands and listen to the hubs/bearing while spinning them, in theory I should be able to hear something abnormal if one of the bearings or hubs was going out.....correct?

it’s definitely when I turn the steering wheel to the right. When I’m driving on the highway I can slightly turn the wheel towards the right and the whirring becomes a lot more pronounced.

last time I replaced the driver side hub assembly I had to replace the cv axle because the axle nut threads were so rusted I couldn’t get a new nut back on. Same thing will have to happen if the passenger side hub assembly is bad.

I hope it’s not the driver side one. I think it has around 15-20k miles on it. I should of followed my instincts and bought a motorcraft brand one. I have not had good luck with any aftermarket parts on this vehicle lately.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Does the noise stop when you let up off the gas? My 2008 has been making a "whirring" sound from the driver side for the last year or two, but only during left hand turns and only at really slow speeds (like 10ish MPH or slower). As soon as I let up off the gas the sound goes away. I was going to check to see if it was low on front differential fluid but haven't made it that far yet.

 

[relentless85]

Does the noise stop when you let up off the gas? My 2008 has been making a "whirring" sound from the driver side for the last year or two, but only during left hand turns and only at really slow speeds (like 10ish MPH or slower). As soon as I let up off the gas the sound goes away. I was going to check to see if it was low on front differential fluid but haven't made it that far yet.

The sound does not completely go away when I let off the gas. I can hear the whirring noise driving straight and it gets a lot more pronounced when I pull the wheel to the right say to change lanes. When I pull the wheel back to the left, I don’t hear the whirring sound.

the whirring sound is at lower speeds and higher speeds.

does the front diff require any friction modifier? Or just straight gear oil

 

[Mbrooks420]

No friction modifier required.

 

[relentless85]

Ok, tonight I jacked up the front of the vehicle and checked for play in the passenger and driver tires. Found none. I spun the tires by hand and did not find any unusual sounds. I got underneath the front axle area and used my mechanics stethoscope and listened to the hubs/bearings as best as I could while spinning the tires by hand, and I did not hear anything unusual. No clicking or ticking or grinding.

I also jacked up the rear and checked for play in the tires, found none. Used the stethoscope on the rear hubs/bearings while spinning the tires, did not find anything unusual. No grinding or clicking/ticking.

Maybe I am not spinning the tires/hubs fast enough to create the noise. Guess the next step would be to check the temps of the hubs after driving it. I have a infrared thermometer that should work....