2011 Banging noise in front, need help | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

2011 Banging noise in front, need help

KlausJ

Active Member
Joined
October 11, 2011
Messages
79
Reaction score
0
City, State
Frankfurt, Germany, Europe
Year, Model & Trim Level
2011 Explorer Limited
Callsign
DG6FCR
Hi to all,

for some months now I have an increasing very unhealthy sounding bang in the front car of my 2011 Explorer.
Problem: Most of the parts are brand new and my Ford dealer cannot find the root cause.

What was replaced: Front Axle left and right, wheel bearings, strut mount bearings, shock absorbers, stabilizer bar links, stabilizer rubber mounts, whole both lower control arms, tie rod end assemblies.
Nothing changed, I am really frustrated now. This sound is on both sides of the car and only appears when I am driving over bumps at slow to medium speed.
I put a camera under the car to see what is moving around or not thight: nothing.

https://youtu.be/lWs-R_qAx1E

on 0:31 - 0:46 min the sound can be heard and sometimes I can feel it with my feet on the driver side.
Currently I do not want to drive the car until I at least know what the problem is but I need to.

The only suspicion would be a worn transmission/engine mount but I cannot replace everything I can think of.
Dealership was no help at all. They confirmed it but were not able to locate the problem.

Same on the other side:


2:40, 2:46, 2:55

I really apprechiate, if anyone has an idea or had the same problem and found a solution.

Thanks
Klaus
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I fought this battle several years ago on my 2011 and even the 2014 I replaced it with. In your video? See that large donut bushing that the lower control arm connects to? That wears out and can cause clunking noises as the arm shifts around in that bushing. When it gets real worn, it can lead to vibration, too. You used to be able to replace JUST that bushing, but it's now part of the entire lower control arm. Not real expensive - last I looked, the entire arm is like $120. I do happen to have two (right and left) of JUST the bushings sitting in my garage. Never used, if you are interested?

Regardless, with what you've replaced, that's all that's really left - assuming the work on the rest was done right. I would check the strut bearings/mounts as those can be installed backwards. But, I do think that bushing is worn on yours. The video shows an awful lot of movement.

Shumax
 






@SHUMAX I thought the same thing(looks to be moving around a lot), but the OP did say the front control arms were replaced. I was assuming that meant the rear bushing as well.

@KlausJ did you replace the control arms with that bushing Shumax referenced?
 






Thanks. Unfortunately the lower control arms were already replaced including the bushing.

But yes even a replaced part can be faulty.

I am really kinda helpless with this. So you think the movement is too much?
 






I do think that’s a lot of movement in that bushing. But, looking closer, it seems to happen when you hit a bump and the wheel goes UP quickly and then back down. That suggests, to me, a bad strut mount/bearing.
 






Thx, what worries me is that it is on both sides. And both have been replaced.
 






Well, for what it’s worth? I had mine done and the noise continued. Another dealer showed me that the mounts were backwards and on the wrong sides. They swapped things around? Noise gone. Maybe try another dealership and tell them nothing and see what they come up with. The only other thing I can think of are subframe bushings. Mine were replaced but it did no good. How many miles do you have?
 












Yup. That’s what was screwed up on mine. They flipped them around and that noise was gone. Then I chased down the clunk from that lower control arm bushing.

Did you replace with all OEM parts?

Good luck!
 






Yes everything was replaced with oem parts except the wheel bearing. But they are good. Thanks for the advice. I try to check the fitting from above under the hood or at least try to figure out which way they should be mounted.
 






Is it mainly when hitting a sharp bump? Mine had a clunk sound when turning the wheel, and a louder clunk over sharp bumps. I assumed bad strut mounts and since the car has 100K miles I replaced the whole strut assembly with quick struts and that eliminated both clunks.

What exactly was replaced on your struts? Could there still be something worn or defective left that wasn't changed out?
 






Small bumps on low speed, like bad roads in town cause the bang noise on both sides. And it is an increasing problem now. Even ob highways (30-50mph) it is there.
Steering does not causes a problem until very aggressive steering left to right. The strut and the mounts were replaced. Not replaced were only the springs but they were not damaged. The other things not replaced were the steering gear and transmission.


From 0:36 - 0:44 you can see something big moving in front of the axle. It that a part of the transmission?
 






I just had a 2012 edge with a similar situation. Knocking noise on bumps and a ton of new parts. Ended up being the strut nut was a hair loose causing the strut shaft to rattle. Probably didn't tighten the upper nut enough or the nylock nut didn't hold as tight the second time.
 






Thanks everyone. The problem has been identified and resolved.
1. It was a bad idea to buy third party parts (Front drive shafts and front suspension arm).
These parts failed about 2 months after they were installed. OEM was hard to get gere in Germany, but finally I had to buy twice. (lessons learned).
2. The banging noise was finally caused by worn out rubber boots holding the stabilizer bar in place (AA8Z-5484-A and -B). I had replaced them about two months realier and used again third party products (since OEM Motorcraft was not availaible to be sent to Germany) made of polyethylene (sold as an improvement over the OEM ones). So I just did not have them in mind to be faulty after only 2 months. But I could see a small gap in the rubber and replaced them again. Since then the banging noise is gone. (well it was gone for 2 month since they were again not OEM parts (not available)).Now I have replaced them again and will buy OEM parts when I am in my next trip to the US.
 






Glad to hear you resolved It and appreciate the follow-up.

I would tell you that I, too, learned the hard way. Using MOOG parts, which were supposed to be highly respected, resulted in my replacing two control arms in 3 months due to bad ball joints. Never again. OEM, or I won’t do it.

Glad it’s solved for you!

Shumax
 






Back
Top