97 X Differential Vibration?

[jseama]

Long time reader, first time poster...
My 1997 Explorer has always had something of a vibration in the front end since I have had it. It drives me nuts on long trips and I have spent a bunch of money and time trying to find the source of the vib's. They seem to happen in about the 30-60mph range and then again in 75+mph. It gets really bad and makes noise around 80. I have replaced all of the normal stuff - tires, halfshafts, driveshafts, lower ball joints tie rods. About 30K miles ago, I had the transfer case rebuilt due to slop in the chain drive.

I can feel the vibration in the wheel. A few weeks ago, I had the exploder on jack stands and was listening to the sounds of the front and rear diffs with a screwdriver. Back sounded quiet, front sounded like a turbine engine. Anybody had any experience with anything like this? Any ideas about what's causing it? Bearings? worn gears? both? The seals on the output shaft look great, no leaks... Could it be bad bearings on the axleshafts?

 

[toypaseo]

Do you have aftermarket wheels?

 

[jseama]

The wheels are the one that came with it from factory. They are the 16" 3 spoke chromes. I have had them balanced and rotated about 4 or 5 times by two different shops. I always ask them if they think that any of them are bent. They all say no. When I pick the vehicle up off of the ground and run the drivetrain, there is some side to side movement of the tire, but I think that the movement is due to the suspension flexing.