Mystery Problem : Need Advice or Theories

[Pirate]

I have a 2003 Ford Explorer with a V8..All Wheel Drive Option.. It's got 140K on it and the engine runs like a top.. all maintenance done.. Oil changed religiously...Love it.

About 6K ago I put on some new Firestone all-season tires. (that fact may or may not have anything to do with my mystery). Just pointing out all variables...

They aren't the quietest tires I've used but no issues until a few weeks ago... I started hearing a loud "tire-sounding" noise coming from the right front.. It's only prevalent and kind of loud between 50-60mph... At other speeds the sound is not loud and almost goes away at 60mph and above... Just sounds like a bad tire. Making left hand turns (where all the weight shifts to the right front tire) makes the sound worse.. I thought MAYBE one of the tires broke a belt or something so I took it to Sears (who installs and does all minor work) to evaluate the tire and figure out what the noise is.. The tires are under warranty.

They test drove it and say there's nothing wrong with the tire.. They actually rotated all of them and the sound was still there... coming from the right front area... OK.. One theory down.

The mechanic (who seems competent) said he's 90% sure the right side wheel bearings have just gone bad or are about to. I told him that I'm on a budget, but if that will fix the problem.. go ahead and change the wheel bearings. He did to a cost of $340 all in.... He test drove it and said it did NOTHING to fix the noise. Another theory down. As I can't just arbitrarily afford $310 for a wheel bearings that I don't need... he put the old bearings back in.. Everything is now the same as before.. he charged me NOTHING and I still have the noise...He had no other ideas.

Tire pressure is perfect, BTW.. Tire wear is perfect.. Brake rotors, while not perfect are not warped. Brake pads are fine. So... any idea what can cause a loud tire-like sound that starts at 45-50mph and increases in loudness up to 60mph then almost goes away..? I do plan on taking it to a Firestone store next week to let fresh eyes look at it...

Any ideas? Stumped in Asheville....

 

[boominXplorer]

Front axle stubshaft bearings are somewhat common for going bad. Find somewhere that can run the truck on the lift and try to find the noise.

 

[TechGuru]

Firestone tires on a Ford Explorer...oh the irony...lol. You should get Michelin Defenders.

17" https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/michelin-defender-ltx-m-s/p/11291
16" https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/michelin-defender-ltx-m-s/p/11276

Could be the right rear wheel bearing and it just sounds like it's coming from the front...

Usually when there is a front wheel bearing problem you can feel the hum in the steering wheel when going around a curve.

 

[imp]

@TechGuru "Usually when there is a front wheel bearing problem you can feel the hum in the steering wheel when going around a curve."

Good point! I couldn't feel the hum, but surely HEARD it as I steered in the direction adding load to the bad bearing. Both sides, a year apart, came up bad thusly. imp