Pgagt97
New Member
- Joined
- October 19, 2015
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Indiana
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 Mercury Mountaineer
I just bought a 99 mountaineer 5.0 AWD about a month ago. I had previously owned a 96 and 99 XLT Explorer. I bought the truck cheap knowing it needed work but I'm at a point right now where I'm not sure what to do.
Symptoms
There is a speed dependent whirring that sounds like it's coming from the front end. Starts at about 25 mph. Gets louder under throttle and also under deceleration. Not too bad at a constant speed.
I took the truck to the shop and they diagnosed it as a bad front differential.
I continued driving it and the front end began to bind while turning. I removed the front driveshaft and took it for a drive and the binding stopped but the noise didn't change at all.
I pulled a front differential at the junkyard and opened it up. Looked clean, felt tight and had no metal shavings in it.
Pulled the differential on my truck and when I removed it the intermediate shaft fell right out of the diff and remained attached to the passenger side axle. The diff had a ton of play in it and was full of shavings. So I'm thinking, "yep this is the problem.". Everything replaced and the sound is still there. No binding with the driveshaft reinstalled but all the whirring remains. I pulled the rear diff cover and inspected it, in case maybe the noise was coming from the back. It looked good so I changed the fluid and called it a day.
So I'm trying to figure my next move. The noise really sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side. Could it be the CV axle? I'm sure it's not a wheel bearing because turning the wheel does not change the noise. I don't know if since the intermediate shaft connected to that axle was messed up if it somehow ruined the axle or the bad axle messed up the diff. There are no tears in the boots. Or is the transfer case what I should check next?
Thanks in advance.
Symptoms
There is a speed dependent whirring that sounds like it's coming from the front end. Starts at about 25 mph. Gets louder under throttle and also under deceleration. Not too bad at a constant speed.
I took the truck to the shop and they diagnosed it as a bad front differential.
I continued driving it and the front end began to bind while turning. I removed the front driveshaft and took it for a drive and the binding stopped but the noise didn't change at all.
I pulled a front differential at the junkyard and opened it up. Looked clean, felt tight and had no metal shavings in it.
Pulled the differential on my truck and when I removed it the intermediate shaft fell right out of the diff and remained attached to the passenger side axle. The diff had a ton of play in it and was full of shavings. So I'm thinking, "yep this is the problem.". Everything replaced and the sound is still there. No binding with the driveshaft reinstalled but all the whirring remains. I pulled the rear diff cover and inspected it, in case maybe the noise was coming from the back. It looked good so I changed the fluid and called it a day.
So I'm trying to figure my next move. The noise really sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side. Could it be the CV axle? I'm sure it's not a wheel bearing because turning the wheel does not change the noise. I don't know if since the intermediate shaft connected to that axle was messed up if it somehow ruined the axle or the bad axle messed up the diff. There are no tears in the boots. Or is the transfer case what I should check next?
Thanks in advance.
