97 ex awd noise

[rainman38501]

hello! i recently bought a 97 explorer v8 awd! pulled the 5.0,rebuilt and replaced it! not something very easy, ( made up some new words!!).it has r470w and 4404 transfer case.it hase two problems that nobody i talk to has an answer for.the thing hops when you turn the steering wheel. now i cleaned out the power steering res and put a whole bottle of lucas rack and pinion power steering lube,then topped of with reg p/s fluid!could this be a pump problem or a worn out rack&pinion? the other problem is a creaking noise when you go in dr or rev.i tried to verify that the creak matched the rotation of the front dr shaft but i cant confirm this. it sounds like a dry, dirty bearing.this accompanied by a whinning howl that sounds like an old dodge truck transmission.when driving the howl does match the speed of the diff. you can put the trans in neutral at any speed and it doesnt change, with or without power load on the drivetrain. the creaking dissapeares after @15 to 20 mph!sounds to me like the front diff is either dry or worn out.i wonder if the creaking is a bad u-joint or front output shaft bearing on the crank case! anybody been through these issues?

 

[my pos mounty]

It very well could be just a u-joint.
Try taking the front shaft off of the front differential pinion. Twist the u-joint, it should have a nice fluid movement throughout. If it feels like there is a hesitation or feels like something is dry/grinding, replace it.
Do the same check on the rear driveshaft u-joints.
If all the u-joints check out, it may be a wheel bearing/hub on its way out. Typically, when they fail they make a grinding/squeal noise that will change slightly as you take a corner. Some describe it as a sound similar to running an aggressive tread tire on the front.

Your steering wheel shake is likely a simple fix. Try removing the power steering resevoir cap, have someone turn the wheels lock-to-lock, watch for air bubbles and add fluid as needed. This may take as many as twenty times to get all the air out.
What I suspect happened is that the front of the truck was raised and the steering wheel was turned, allowing air to enter the system.

 

[jremington59]

You better check your tires and make sure they are all the same and the tread is worn equally. Sounds to me the problem I was having before putting on new rubber. If just one of them tires is off 3/32nds you can get the famous howl you're talking about.

And I thought they were only trying to sell me a set of tires. It's that sensitive.

 

[my pos mounty]

You better check your tires and make sure they are all the same and the tread is worn equally. Sounds to me the problem I was having before putting on new rubber. If just one of them tires is off 3/32nds you can get the famous howl you're talking about.

And I thought they were only trying to sell me a set of tires. It's that sensitive.

True.
I have replaced, front/rear differentials and my transfercase because of this very thing. Long story short is, tell your wife not to allow someone that doesn't know what an AWD system is, to fix the flat tire.
Certainly don't let them throw a 15inch tire on your truck equipped with 16's. Absolutely don't try to drive from NY city to New Hampshire when it is in that condition. It will not make it in one piece and it gets expensive quick.

 

[safn1949]

First thing I did was a set of new tires on the 2000 AWD,big difference.

 

[rainman38501]

97 awd noise

thanks for the input all! it didnt dawn on me about the tires! i just had an alignment 3 days ago because i noticed the tires in the back were worn through to the belts on the insides only and the front tires were @45% tread and evenly worn! so i knew someone rotated them ! the weird thing is that i took it to find out what i needed to replace in the front end and the alignment guy said all the parts were good when checked and that they were all fairly new moog parts. the alingment was just out bad. it still has a slight pull to the right and i read in the other forums that can be a sign of front diff failure! gonna take it back to shop in the a.m..thanks again

 

[1999 XLT AWD]

I recently bought tires but mine explorer was squelling before they where put on. Today I compeletly greased everything and it countuines to squel. it sound as if my barkes have run out and the warning indicator is scraping my rotor. does anyone have any ideas?

 

[rhauf]

it sounds like binding between the front and rear end (like a 4x4 running in 4wd on dry pavement) remember, there is *always* a load on the drivetrain when all 4 wheels are locked togehter, and one tire has a slightly different diamater (or the vehicle is turning) personally, i'd just remove the front driveshaft and make it 2 wheel drive. if you don't want to do that, install locking hubs (if there is a kit available) on the front so you can lock/unlock it if you need "awd"

have you tried putting it on jack stands (all 4 wheels off the ground) and see if it makes the same noise?

 

[jremington59]

thanks for the input all! it didnt dawn on me about the tires! i just had an alignment 3 days ago because i noticed the tires in the back were worn through to the belts on the insides only and the front tires were @45% tread and evenly worn! so i knew someone rotated them ! the weird thing is that i took it to find out what i needed to replace in the front end and the alignment guy said all the parts were good when checked and that they were all fairly new moog parts. the alingment was just out bad. it still has a slight pull to the right and i read in the other forums that can be a sign of front diff failure! gonna take it back to shop in the a.m..thanks again

You better get 4 tires now before you're replacing the viscous coupler.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Agreed- my buddy replaced his transfercase due to a bad VC, and at the junkyard it was $200+

As far as disconnecting the front driveshaft, do NOT do that- the truck needs it to park. If you disconnect the front driveshaft, your truck can roll away.

 

[rainman38501]

97 ex awd

anyone see a problem with 30x9.50 cooper discoverers on a stock awd ex? i have a set @95% tread on my full size bronco.am selling the bronco but i love the sound and the stiff 6 ply wall of the tires. by the way they all match and are almost new!i think they would look tough on the ex and would probably handle better with the awd than the softer GY wrangler rad tires.what say yall?