Itchy33
Member
- Joined
- November 10, 2019
- Messages
- 11
- Reaction score
- 3
- City, State
- Richfield, WI
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2008 Explorer Limited V6
I posted here months ago seeking help on a hum/roar. The noise started at ~30mph and got louder with speed and was coming from the front of the vehicle. I've heard and experienced the feel of bad front hubs before, and these symptoms checked all the boxes, so in went two new Motorcraft front hubs. The noise didn't go away, though.
Convinced it was coming from the front I replaced:
- Front driveshaft U-joint
- Front passenger CV axle
- Most front suspension components(ball joints, struts, swaybar links, swaybar mount bushings)
- Front diff fluid
Now, some of these were done as "hail marys" as I knew they were not really the likely source of a rotationally speed-dependent hum, but in hindsight I did them because I was so convinced it had to be SOMETHING in front.
At one point I gave up and took it to a shop and they diagnosed it as a front right bearing and recommended doing both at once. They quoted $500 per side using Moogs. I declined knowing I had only a few thousand miles on the new Motorcrafts.
It did cause me to question the fronts again, though. But my troubleshooting philosophy is to trust that the parts you're putting in to be good out-of-the-box(which is why I use quality branded parts when possible), or otherwise you wind up in a viscous cycle of questioning and never getting anywhere when tracking down a tough problem like this one.
So, I was still stuck with the hum/roar and had only a few logical choices left: tires causing the noise, bearing or something in the ft diff, or accepting that it was NOT coming from the front even though everything in my good senses was telling me it was.
I rotated the tires and adjusted the tire pressure a few times and that did nothing. So I ruled out the tires(Firestone Destination LE2's, 50% tread).
Finally, I accepted it could be coming from the rear. Since from the beginning I felt it was a bearing noise, I decided to do both rear wheel bearings. I did the LR bearing first and there was no improvement. Pulled the RR, and praise God, I knew that was it immediately. On the bench when spinning by hand it was extremely gritty-feeling and noisy.
I did receive feedback on a post I made about this issue from a helpful member here a while back, whose name I cannot remember unfortunately, that was spot-on and I want to say thanks. He said sound travels in odd ways in these vehicles front/rear and it can be deceiving so don't rule out the rear. As thanks and a way to hopefully help others I'm making this post.
In hindsight, my advice is if you believe it's a wheel bearing noise, stick with your gut instinct formed from experience. And don't be overly dependent on your ears to tell you front or rear because, at least on these Explorers, it can be extremely deceiving. At one point in this ordeal I contemplated purchasing a chassis ear type device and wish I would have. I believe it would have picked up the roar under driving conditions, and pinpointed the offending wheel. I cheaped out because they're a couple hundred bucks, which if it worked as it's supposed to, would have paid for itself easily in time, frustration, and unneeded parts.
Convinced it was coming from the front I replaced:
- Front driveshaft U-joint
- Front passenger CV axle
- Most front suspension components(ball joints, struts, swaybar links, swaybar mount bushings)
- Front diff fluid
Now, some of these were done as "hail marys" as I knew they were not really the likely source of a rotationally speed-dependent hum, but in hindsight I did them because I was so convinced it had to be SOMETHING in front.
At one point I gave up and took it to a shop and they diagnosed it as a front right bearing and recommended doing both at once. They quoted $500 per side using Moogs. I declined knowing I had only a few thousand miles on the new Motorcrafts.
It did cause me to question the fronts again, though. But my troubleshooting philosophy is to trust that the parts you're putting in to be good out-of-the-box(which is why I use quality branded parts when possible), or otherwise you wind up in a viscous cycle of questioning and never getting anywhere when tracking down a tough problem like this one.
So, I was still stuck with the hum/roar and had only a few logical choices left: tires causing the noise, bearing or something in the ft diff, or accepting that it was NOT coming from the front even though everything in my good senses was telling me it was.
I rotated the tires and adjusted the tire pressure a few times and that did nothing. So I ruled out the tires(Firestone Destination LE2's, 50% tread).
Finally, I accepted it could be coming from the rear. Since from the beginning I felt it was a bearing noise, I decided to do both rear wheel bearings. I did the LR bearing first and there was no improvement. Pulled the RR, and praise God, I knew that was it immediately. On the bench when spinning by hand it was extremely gritty-feeling and noisy.
I did receive feedback on a post I made about this issue from a helpful member here a while back, whose name I cannot remember unfortunately, that was spot-on and I want to say thanks. He said sound travels in odd ways in these vehicles front/rear and it can be deceiving so don't rule out the rear. As thanks and a way to hopefully help others I'm making this post.
In hindsight, my advice is if you believe it's a wheel bearing noise, stick with your gut instinct formed from experience. And don't be overly dependent on your ears to tell you front or rear because, at least on these Explorers, it can be extremely deceiving. At one point in this ordeal I contemplated purchasing a chassis ear type device and wish I would have. I believe it would have picked up the roar under driving conditions, and pinpointed the offending wheel. I cheaped out because they're a couple hundred bucks, which if it worked as it's supposed to, would have paid for itself easily in time, frustration, and unneeded parts.
