Front end "grind"

[Willet]

Hey

New to the board, pretty sweet set-up on here. Im a Dak convert, and so far I'm liking the X a lot better.

Anyway, just bought it last weekend. I notice whenever I slow down, and even more distinct when I'm slowing and turning, that theres almost a grinding feeling from the front driver side wheel area. I can feel it through the floorpan and the brake pedal. Its very faint, and you can barely hear it. It doesnt affect my steering, doesnt pull or anything. Is this just an annoyance, or should I get it checked out before the warranty runs out? Thanks.

Ray W.
00 Explorer Sport
Bone Stock

 

[rocco123]

I recently had to work on a truck (f-250) pick up to find out why it had a loud grind & skreeching from the front end. After lubing everything, and disconnecting the tie rod I determined that the noise was coming from the R balljoints. This noise would only occur with weight on wheels.
After replacing the R upper and lower BJs the noise went away.
Swear to god...the very next day another truck (F-150) had the exact same symptoms, only it was the Left balljoints. Changed them and it's fine now.

That's 2 balljoint jobs in 2 days...we only have 3 trucks, so I'm waiting for the last truck to need them.

Both trucks have around 120,000 miles on them.
I suspect maybe you have balljoint problems.
How many mile do you have on your X?

I have 101K on my X with no ball joint problems, but I keep it lubed every oil change.

Yes have it checked out

Could also be radius rod bushings. They are often found worn on fords. There are many posts on this site about radius rods.

Good luck!