My Explorer sounds like a plane and its not my hub.

[springwater]

At-least I dont think its the hub.

I jacked up the front end and tried to jiggle/wiggle the wheels/tires and there was no play whatsoever, in either direction...

Sounds like road noise from loud tires but theyre the same tires Ive had for the past 20k miles.

Maybe its the harmonic balancer I had replaced? I cleaned the pebbles that were stuck inbetween the tread, maybe it'll be quiet now?

 

[TechGuru]

Are you sure the noise is coming from the front?

 

[springwater]

Are you sure the noise is coming from the front?

I "think" so.

Is the test the same for the rear wheels, grab the 12 and 6 spots and try to wiggle?

Once the front or rear is in the air, should the car be in neutral?

Lastly, when I spin the tires, should they spin freely or should it feel like theres be some "weight" or friction as it spins?

 

[anthonymtz]

I "think" so.

Is the test the same for the rear wheels, grab the 12 and 6 spots and try to wiggle?

Once the front or rear is in the air, should the car be in neutral?

Lastly, when I spin the tires, should they spin freely or should it feel like theres be some "weight" or friction as it spins?

I an 90% sure it's the tires, my dad had some Bfgoodrich ones and after 20k they were crap, made so much noise it was unbelievable, his brake caliper was also sticking, you might want to try and turn the front and back wheels to see if it imitates the noise. I just found out a few days ago that the hub on my 04 explorer is bad, I didn't even have noise, it has a little bit of play though.

 

[Number4]

You can't check for bad bearings by wheel play. That's old school hubs.
Remove the tire, using a crow bar pry on the hub and look for a deflection greater than .07". If you can measure that, your hub is bad.

Now, some people have driven with bad hubs to the point where there is play, but that's few and far between.

The biggest sign of a bad hub is the 'chunky tire' growling sound.

 

[Number4]

Lastly, when I spin the tires, should they spin freely or should it feel like theres be some "weight" or friction as it spins?

If you have 4wd, then all wheels will have axles in them. This will cause resistance and produce sound that has nothing to do with the hub.

You'd need to remove the axle from the bearing in order to free spin it.