Never ending front end roar/grind

[yzrnxkn]

I have a constant roar/grind noise coming from the front passenger wheel/tire. It is there going straight, turning left, and/or turning right. It is always there, but more I can hear it better at low speeds and accelerating from a stop and coming to a stop.
I have been chasing this rabbit for a while now. Here goes the list of the chase:
97 explorer sport, 2wd, 4.0 OHV 210k miles
Replaced upper control arm, upper and lower ball joint, inner and outer wheel bearings, brake disk, new ceramic brakes, caliper is in fine working order, knuckle looks good, shocks, and tires.
Lower control arm looks good, not bent or warped and the bushings look good.
The tie rod ends were replaced about 20 to 30k miles ago...I guess its possible they are bad.
Motor mounts all look good.

There is no play in the wheel at all, it doesnt budge. Tires are balanced, brakes wear evenly, ball joints seem to be ok, but the noise is still there and starting to wear on my mind.

Any ideas?

 

[jobunn]

When you say "inner and outer wheel bearings" do you mean you replaced the sealed hub assembly on both sides?

The roar I had was a combo of the hub assembly and a bad rotor. Would you say the noise is definitely coming from the wheel? Could it be in the engine bay on that side? Any noise while stopped?

 

[dynamite196]

differential?

 

[CDW6212R]

Pull the front wheel/rotor off, and check the two bearings. Note if the wheel spun freely with it off of the ground initially, and how much play there is at the top or bottom(in/out). That is the play in the ball joints and bearings combined. Good luck,

 

[yzrnxkn]

Within the past 2,000 miles I have replaced everything mentioned in the first post. It was all needed, except for the rotor and brakes...but they were part of chasing the noise down.
The sound is coming from the wheel area but only under load of the car. At a stop the noise is gone and I have lifted the rear, put the car in gear and let it run a little to see if it could be from the motor, exhaust, tranny...nothing.
I can jack it up and spin it with no issues and no noise. There is no in/out play and no rubbing on the dust shield.
Just to clear my mind, I think I will change the tie rod this weekend just to see if it is bad.

At least I enjoy working on it and it is still much better than a car payment.

 

[IZwack]

When you say "inner and outer wheel bearings" do you mean you replaced the sealed hub assembly on both sides?

The 2wds dont use the hub assembly.

 

[Schmerb96]

Im having the same noise problems with my 96 explorer 4wd with 124,000 miles. i jacked it up and moved the wheel to see if it was the wheel hub assembly or bearings. and i could spin it freely without any restrictions. were you able to find a fix for the noise since this thread is almost 3 yrs old cuz im about to work on it this wkd and determine the issue

 

[Mountneer1]

You guys better take care of this soon...had the same problem a year ago. Noise had been going for the past 5 or so years, didn't bother with it until it froze the front axle one day. Thank God I was slowing down to a stop light when it happened. Tow truck driver had to put all 4 wheels on skids as he winched the AWD Mounty up the truck bed.

Aside from the driveline noise and the power locks though, our truck's been serving us quite reliably.

 

[biggiesize]

If you search through the site,you will find that MANY 2 generation explorers have this roar problem.Usually it turns out to be the bearings in the front Diff.