Late post here... Okay, I feel like a total moron here. I'm in law school and have always been better at arguing than tinkering, although I have done very minor repairs to my X.
When I got the Firestone memo from Ford, I took my X to a tire shop (national chain) and had them put the Goodyears on. This was about October 2001. After they were put on, I started hearing a hum that got progressively louder. Heh. Here I was, thinking to myself, "I've heard of loud tires, but this is crazy." Nearly two years later, I am getting something fixed under the hood and the mechanic jumps in with me to take a trip to make sure it works. He asked me if I had broken bearings, and I told him I didn't know. After reading these posts, it sounds like I do. The hum sounds "circular" if that makes sense... it is almost like there is a bad spot on the tire and that it gets loud as I "roll" over that part of the tire. It gets progressively louder as speed increases, and is causing my dash to vibrate so loud I'm about to put my fist through it.
Someone mentioned "how easy" it was for newbies to do this and offered to post step-by-step instructions. I want to take you up on that... Living in New Orleans, there are very few mechanics here (other than the "Gemini/Pep Boys" chains. I don't have tools other than run-of-the-mill (sockets, etc.). Do I need more? I'd rather do this myself than pay $200-300.
Thanks guys...
