Cruise Control

[jackieh]

New Here

Hi Everyone, I'm new here and looking for much needed help. I'm not sure where to post my problem, so I'll explain it here and perhaps someone can tell me where to look for help. I just purchased a 2003 Ford Explorer, Eddie Bauer edition. It has almost 133K miles on it. I noticed when I drove it on the freeway, when I got it over 45 mph, I could hear a whistling sound, which sounds like it's coming from the rear-end. I'm not sure if I'm just being a worry-wart, or if it is something that I should worry about. I forgot to mention, that when I let off the accelerator, the whistle would stop until I accelerated again. If anyone can direct me to where I can get some answers, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks ahead of time.
Jackie

 

[Gadget X]

Are you sure that the sound is coming from the rear end? Sometimes it's hard to tell when you're moving. The whistling sound is usually an indication of a vacuum leak, have you noticed any idling or surging problems? Good luck, and welcome to the forum!

 

[jackieh]

No, I haven't noticed either of those problems at all. I've only had it for a few days, and since I'm still recovering from complications from a surgery, I've only driven it a couple of times. I had my son drive it too, and he thinks that it's coming from the rear of the vehicle too. I guess I have a dilemma here.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! It sounds like the pinion bearing in the differential or possibly bad u-joints.

 

[jackieh]

Thanks Brooklyn Bay for the advice. My next question, are the repairs on something like that very expensive? I'm disabled and on a very limited income and don't have much in the way of spending money. If so, I'm thinkin I got screwed buying this vehicle. Thanks again for the help!

 

[BrooklynBay]

U-joint replacement isn't that hard, but the pinion bearing replacement requires disassembling the differential to get to the rear pinion bearing.

 

[jackieh]

So, in other words, it's going to be pretty costly if it is the bearing. Any recommendations? I know that I can't do the work, and the dealer will definitely charge me an arm and a leg.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Do you have any local gas stations with a lift? Maybe they will put it on the lift, and give you an estimate. Ask some friends for a recommendation. Check WWW.ATRA.Com. They are a network of transmission shops. Some of these shops might work on transfer cases & differentials too.

 

[zpn_by]

how about a kink in the exhaust? A whistle is often airflow-related, and my first thought would have been wind noise from the roof rack cross bars, but he said it was less if he lifted off the throttle. (believe it or not, our 2012 RAV4 has a sticker on the rack's rail indicating where to put the crossbar for the least wind noise.)

Maybe there is a leak too, or a walker muffler. I had that once with a 5.0, where a whistle was caused by a walker quiet-flow muffler.

good luck!

 

[jackieh]

Thank you for all of your suggestions. Hopefully I'll be able to have someone check it out this week...keeping my fingers crossed that it's not something that's gonna be very costly, just something simple. I hope everyone has a great week, Happy Hump Day! :yelexp:

 

[jackieh]

Got my rear differential replaced, everything was bad. I have another problem, when I turn my cruise control on, it doesn't light up until I hit the set button, but it doesn't work. It won't set the speed when I press the set button. I'm wondering if, since the light doesn't come on when I turn it on, if it could possibly the switch that's located on the master cylinder? Help Please....Thank you!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Did you check the fuses?

 

[jackieh]

If it was a fuse, why would the light come on when I press the 'set' button, but not when I press the 'on' button?

 

[BrooklynBay]

I went back to read what you wrote again. I originally thought that nothing lit up. Since the buttons are on the steering wheel, did you check to see if the horn buttons are working? Do you have an air bag light flashing?

 

[jackieh]

I'm going to go and check the horn, I haven't seen any lights on. I've looked for where the fuse is in my owners manual, I have a 2003, but the book is for a 2002, I can't imagine that it's different, and I can't find a fuse for the cruise control. Yep, the horn works!

 

[jackieh]

There are no lights lit up on my dashboard, and the horn does work. I was thinking that it might be the deactivater switch that's on the master cylinder, could that be a possibility? I don't have a way to test it, but I was thinking that that might be the problem.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could test that part with a multimeter or a continuity tester. A while back there was a recall on those parts, and the wiring harness since they caught fire. The new harness has a built in fuse. Maybe your harness is the new type with the fuse? If so, then check that harness with a tester too.

 

[jackieh]

Was the recall for the 2003 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition? I don't have any way to test the parts, so I would have to just change them out and see.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I did a search for "cruise control deactivation switch", and this is the first thread which came up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273854

 

[Joe in NY]

the light is only supposed to come on when a speed has been set for cruise control to maintain.