Front end whirr and vibration when accelerating

[anisaparks]

My 2010 Explorer 4wd has a whirr noise from the front end while accelerating which comes in at about 30 mph. It causes a slight vibration which can be felt in the pedal. If you let up on the pedal it goes away and you can then accelerate with no noise/vibration. The condition is there regardless of whether in 4wd high or Auto. Changing gears and turning OD off also do not effect if the noise is there. My initial thoughts were the problem was the front driveshaft.

I removed the front drive shaft and took for a test drive and the noise is gone. I replaced with a new front driveshaft and the noise is back. So the noise only occurs while the front end is under torque but apparently it is not the driveshaft. The front hubs and CV axles all appear to rotate smoothly and I can not detect any play or noise. I also can not feel/hear anything in the pinion yoke or side carrier bearings.

I am curious if anyone has a similar issue because I took it to a Ford Dealership and was told they could not find any problem.

There is definitely an issue somewhere in the front drivetrain but I will just be guessing at this point what to replace next.

 

[FordService]

My 2010 Explorer 4wd has a whirr noise from the front end while accelerating which comes in at about 30 mph...

Hi anisaparks,

I want to see what I can do to help. How many miles are on your Explorer currently? I'll get to work on options.

Crystal

 

[anisaparks]

67,000 miles.

 

[Jfri247]

It seems that while the particulars of the noise dont always match up from person to person, the comment of a whirring noise from the front end means it is probably the carrier bearings in front diff, pinion bearing in front diff, or both. I and a few others on this forum have written about the same noise and we each had our own variations as to when it occured, but my educate guess is this; once bearings start to go the downhill spiral gets steeper so the occurence of the noise evolves.

A good place to start would be to drain a little gear oil into a jar and check it with a flashlight. If there seems to be an abundance of metal shavings, bearings could be your culprit as they were for my front diff. If your unsure of how much metal is too much, take the jar of fluid to a mechanic and see what their opinion is. For me, we had to replace carrier bearings and pinion bearings.

good luck. Cost was about 1200.

 

[Eric0508]

hope you find out what is going on. I am subbed as I am starting to hear this same issue on our Ex. I keep hoping its going to be the wheel bearings but im not that optimistic.

 

[FordService]

67,000 miles.

Thanks for responding, anisaparks. I want to escalate this to your regional customer service manager so they can help. To make that happen, PM me your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealership.

Crystal

 

[anisaparks]

Have been away for a few days. Thanks for the replies. Not sure if my next step will be the front differential or the drive axles. The noise/vibration is not bad enough at this point to just throw money at parts that may not even be the problem.

Still wondering if anyone has any idea why the issue goes away with the front drivehaft disconnected? If it is a bearing going bad It still is turning even without the driveshaft. Makes me wonder if the noise is resonating from the transfer case.

 

[Jfri247]

Have been away for a few days. Thanks for the replies. Not sure if my next step will be the front differential or the drive axles. The noise/vibration is not bad enough at this point to just throw money at parts that may not even be the problem.

Still wondering if anyone has any idea why the issue goes away with the front drivehaft disconnected? If it is a bearing going bad It still is turning even without the driveshaft. Makes me wonder if the noise is resonating from the transfer case.

If it is the pinion bearing, removing the front shaft would remove the noise.

 

[Eric0508]

If it is the pinion bearing, removing the front shaft would remove the noise.

Unfortunately I think that's where mine is leading. Driveshaft off the noise is gone. I rebuilt the front U-joint with a greasable moog one. Reinstalled today and the noise is back. This leads me to either the front diff or transfer case and neither if those options are inexpensive to fix. I think we will be taking it in early this week.

 

[anisaparks]

Unfortunately I think that's where mine is leading. Driveshaft off the noise is gone. I rebuilt the front U-joint with a greasable moog one. Reinstalled today and the noise is back. This leads me to either the front diff or transfer case and neither if those options are inexpensive to fix. I think we will be taking it in early this week.

Let me know what You find out but be cautioned. I have had mine to three different shops and have been told three different opinions from "the noise is normal" to "I need to drop the valve body in the transmission to diagnosis" to "can't tell which bearing is bad".

 

[ArnzCardz]

I have the same issue, I believe. I have had both front wheel hubs replaced. I have 74,000 miles... Could this be the infamous front differential issue?

 

[Eric0508]

Update:

My local trusted Mechanic has been taking a look at it for the past few days. He agrees with me that there is an issue, that the noise is coming from the front end. We had it up on the lift, but couldnt replicate the noise.

Interesting thing is that when going 55-70mph, you can turn the noise on and off with the 4X4 button. Noise does get worse swerving left and right at speed, but equally both directions, and only with 4x4 engaged. I'm not 100% sure how our 4x4 works i guess. I was under the impression that it is RWD until either the button is pushed or slip is detected, but I'm starting to thing some torque is always vectored to the front end. This would explain why it gets worse when 4x4 is engaged, but also why it happens in auto mode.

He was at wits end trying to diagnose it. Eventually He pulled the front Diff cover and everything inside looks great. I guess I'm stumped. Any chance it could be a front wheel bearing? I would think that a wheel bearing would make noise all the time which my Ex does not. Has anyone had the CV end of the front driveshaft go bad? Im pulling at straws here.

 

[anisaparks]

Update:

My local trusted Mechanic has been taking a look at it for the past few days. He agrees with me that there is an issue, that the noise is coming from the front end. We had it up on the lift, but couldnt replicate the noise.

Interesting thing is that when going 55-70mph, you can turn the noise on and off with the 4X4 button. Noise does get worse swerving left and right at speed, but equally both directions, and only with 4x4 engaged. I'm not 100% sure how our 4x4 works i guess. I was under the impression that it is RWD until either the button is pushed or slip is detected, but I'm starting to thing some torque is always vectored to the front end. This would explain why it gets worse when 4x4 is engaged, but also why it happens in auto mode.

He was at wits end trying to diagnose it. Eventually He pulled the front Diff cover and everything inside looks great. I guess I'm stumped. Any chance it could be a front wheel bearing? I would think that a wheel bearing would make noise all the time which my Ex does not. Has anyone had the CV end of the front driveshaft go bad? Im pulling at straws here.

Sound like you are in the same boat as me except I have had three mechanics give me three different opinions. I am amazed how difficult this has been to diagnosis. Your noise may even be a completely different cause then mine. It seems we will just be rolling the dice as to what to try next. As I already posted I replaced the front driveshaft which I thought was the most likely source on mine but the noise remained.

Like jrfi247 suggested my best guess is the noise is resonating from the front differential. For me the best option is putting in a remanufactured differential since my Explorer is a 2010 with 65,000 miles. I have considered just doing the front outer pinion bearing and trying the wheel bearings but I don't want to keep throwing parts at this in the hope that I get lucky. I don't have the specialty tools/experience to do a rebuild myself.

Since a remanufactured front differential runs about $1000.00 I'll be waiting till this gets worse or I just can't stand the noise anymore.

 

[Oudlose]

I read somewhere that the auto 4wd is always on, up to 30-40 mph, and because of this we get strange noises in the front end as the system shifts power around. One person said they removed the auto 4wd fuse and the noises stopped, I haven't tried it , I just live with the noises

 

[VA Explorerlover]

I have a 2006 Explorer and have a humming/roaring noise that is most noticable betwen 40-55 MPH. I had the front wheel bearings replaced and it didn't change it at all. I am now told it is in the front differential. They want almost $1800 to rebuild. I am getting a credit for the one bearing as they said that was the issue and its not. With that credit they want $1300.
Has anyone done a differential and had the noise go away?

 

[anisaparks]

I read somewhere that the auto 4wd is always on, up to 30-40 mph, and because of this we get strange noises in the front end as the system shifts power around. One person said they removed the auto 4wd fuse and the noises stopped, I haven't tried it , I just live with the noises

I removed the 4X4 Module fuse and sure enough the noise goes away. To me this shows the noise only occurs under torque.

So, What to do? Don't want to swap out the front differential only to find out this is a normal condition.

I agree, I'm living with the noise till something gets worse.

 

[Eric0508]

I removed the 4X4 Module fuse and sure enough the noise goes away. To me this shows the noise only occurs under torque.

So, What to do? Don't want to swap out the front differential only to find out this is a normal condition.

I agree, I'm living with the noise till something gets worse.

This is my plan. I'm driving it until the front diff gernades or gets much worse, then throwing a low mileage used one in. I cant justify $1K for a reman on 8 year old vehicle.

 

[engineeering]

Any updates on this problem?
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...whirr-and-vibration-when-accelerating.424122/

I have a 2006 AWD. I have the exact same issue as the initial poster. Vibration on acceleration (in pedal/front end) and if you let-off and step into it again it goes away. No issues with front drive shaft off. I have a slightly different setup however, I have a Manual Swap so I have a shortened front drive shaft... additionally.. I just switched to 4.65 gears. Issue developed after the work. I also have a 2.5" lift (makes is a bit more difficult to diagnose). So here's my logic.... either CVs, Driveshaft, Front diff assembly, bearings.

CVs - Could be an issue here. I would expect harsher vibration on corners while accelerating but I have not noticed this to date (lift can be harsh on CVs. Note also... my truck is supercharged and has an extra 110hp... so that does not help high-angle CVs).
Front Diff Assembly - I suspected that there may be an issue here cause it was just worked on. However, they are all new Yukon parts and was installed by a certified dealer with a good reputation. Also, no issues immediately after install.
Bearings - I would not think this would be affected much by acceleration... rather cornering. So I don't think this is the issue. But I've been wrong before.

So, can people please chime in? I've already taken it to my Yukon installer once (a few months ago) when it was first developing and we couldn't hear/reproduce any symptoms and I have already paid extra shop time. I want to see what I can diagnose soon since I have a 1 year parts/install warranty.

Thanks all!!

 

[vipersinu2]

I have same issue with the mecury v8 AWD 120,000 miles. I have replaced, wheel bearings, axels, and front drive shaft.
I have vibration up to about 35mph, and after 35mph a hard shift bump. I locked in the 4x4 and the vibration is still there and the bump goes away.
Kinda seems like the hard bump is the awd disengaging after 35mph. any thought on how this awd system works?

 

[Gorb]

The noise is probably the transfer case running under load. I get the same noise but without the pop at 35mph... all I do to get rid of it is once I'm up to speed i push the 4x4 high button then put it back to 4x4 auto and the noise disappears