Noise from steering or tires

[Bodicifer]

Hi there. First post on the forum. I live in Australia and drive a 2003 Explorer 4.0 XLT. Recently it has started making a weird noise that sounds a bit like tire noise but through the steering wheel. It generally starts at around 50 miles an hour and above. Sometimes I can turn the steering wheel ever so slightly and the noise reduces. Any thoughts on what it might be? I did have a service and new front pads recently and they probably rotated the tires so I'm wondering whether something has happened then.:australia

 

[spacecadebt]

Sounds like a bad wheel bearing. Jack up your front end and see if there is any play in your wheels.

 

[Bodicifer]

Thanks very much for that spacecadebt. I think I'll take it down to the mechanic who did the service and get him to check the bearings.

 

[ShaunH]

Front hub assembly

I drive an '03 UX XLT, Geelong, Victoria. Had the same noise, was front hub assembly (bearings). Cost about A$600 each at the dealer for the job. It has done a lot of off road in 4x4 and they seem to last about 90,000km. I think mine are ready for a new set. Cheaper to buy the parts from the US. Good luck.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Yes, if the noise you are hearing or feeling is a vibe of sorts, a grinding sensation or a "hum" - it's going to be the front hub bearings. It's best to replace them in pairs if costs allow you to do so, because if one has failed, it will only be a short time before the other fails.

There is a very good thread on here showing how to replace the front hub assemblies. I just completed this fix about 2 weeks ago and now everything is quiet again.

You can tell a hub bearing is bad by doing the following:

Safely jack up the truck, remove the front tires, remove the brake calipers & brake rotor. Grasp the hub and spin it manually keeping your hand on the hub. If the hub is bad you will feel the grinding sensation as the hub is spun. A good hub has NO grinding sensation and will spin smoothly with no harsh resistance.

 

[Bodicifer]

I drive an '03 UX XLT, Geelong, Victoria. Had the same noise, was front hub assembly (bearings). Cost about A$600 each at the dealer for the job. It has done a lot of off road in 4x4 and they seem to last about 90,000km. I think mine are ready for a new set. Cheaper to buy the parts from the US. Good luck.

Thanks Shaun. I actually bought mine about 6 years ago from Rex Gorrell in Geelong! It has served me very well. I don;t do much offroad but I tow a boat behind it.

Do you know what parts they are exactly and where perhaps I can get them? I know if I take them to a mechanic here I will be charged through the backside whereas if I can order the parts as you said from the US it would be much better and I'm reasonably competent in being able to do it myself. The problem I find with Ford parts is getting the catalog number as the dealers are the only ones who seem to have them and are reluctant to give them up!

 

[Cobra Jet]

Bodicifer -

The 2002-up Explorer front hubs are a sealed single assembly. If you buy a front hub bearing, it's a complete assembly which includes the hub bearing, the 5-stud hub, the geared ABS ring, the ABS sensor and most of the time, brand new bolts for the hub & brake caliper. The units are a single unit that is secured to the steering knuckle by only 3 bolts.

The prices range anywhere from $150-$200+ EACH (left or right side) from most online parts vendors. Ford Dealer pricing (at least here in the States) is upwards of $250+ each.

These can be removed & replaced by a "home mechanic", as many of us have tackled the task - it's just a little time consuming, that's all. Pretty simple to replace - hardest part for most is the removal of the (3) hub bolts that secure the hub to the steering knuckle on the truck.

Don't purchase the "cheapy" eBay hubs - as I've read that some folks have experienced issues w/ them failing prematurely.

Definitely replace both L & R hubs at the same time. Once replaced, they should last another 50k-100k miles, depending on your driving & vehicle use.

I'm not sure what the cost is in your region to have a Dealer do the work, but here in the States, to have a Ford Dealer do the L & R replacement, including parts & labor, it can be anywhere from $1,100.00 to $1,500.00 (depending on the Dealer).

To do the job at home - cost of parts only - which is a huge savings over any shop or Dealer expense.

Here is the link on here on how to do the complete job:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194002



Best of luck!

 

[Bodicifer]

Thanks very much for that Cobra Jet (awesome name by the way!). Geez if I Can save about $1K with a bit of my own elbow grease then it makes sense for me to have a crack at it. I used to do my brakes on my older cars and service as well as pulling ht odd gearbox out of my old subaru and changing the drive shafts so I should be right. Now to source the parts.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Thanks very much for that Cobra Jet (awesome name by the way!). Geez if I Can save about $1K with a bit of my own elbow grease then it makes sense for me to have a crack at it. I used to do my brakes on my older cars and service as well as pulling ht odd gearbox out of my old subaru and changing the drive shafts so I should be right. Now to source the parts.

Yes - definitely pays to tackle the job yourself, if possible.

One note: you will need to rent (or buy) the hub nut socket and/or a hub puller. I did not have the proper sized hub nut socket or hub puller, so I rented them from my local Advance Auto (once the job was done, return the rented tools back to the store and get all your $ back - works out well).

So, make note of the hub nut size in that previous linked thread (for my 04 Explorer, it was a 30mm nut) and most auto parts stores will have that socket and/or the hub puller tool.

Pretty simple job as stated before - just read over that entire thread that shows how to do the job. It's not complex at all, if you can do brakes, you can surely do a front hub replacement.

 

[10grw]

Guys, on a related note - I replaced both front wheel hub bearings w/sensors 10 months ago/10,000 miles and the hummimg noise has returned and the ABS light is a constant. Is it due to them being a cheaper purchase from e-bay? Should I have installed Timken brand? Any thoughts would be much appreciated, Thanks.

 

[Bodicifer]

Guys, on a related note - I replaced both front wheel hub bearings w/sensors 10 months ago/10,000 miles and the hummimg noise has returned and the ABS light is a constant. Is it due to them being a cheaper purchase from e-bay? Should I have installed Timken brand? Any thoughts would be much appreciated, Thanks.

Quite possibly from what I've been reading. It seems as though the Timken is the best and that some of the cheaper stuff cops a beating pretty easily and fails.

Got a quote for the bearings. $750 for parts and $750 for labour...cheap at half the price!!!!! I'm trying to order in the parts from the US and will do it myself.

 

[10grw]

Bodicifer, today I bought 2 Timken Front-End assemblies from e-bay at a total cost of $275. I'm going to give these guys a go and hope they last longer than the last ones. Also, after spending hours going through old posts I found that the ABS light problem may be due to a faulty Pressure Transducer. Not to go into detail, but its a cheap and easy fix/try - $24 and a few minutes to replace. Well, I'll see what happens when I install them next week. Thanks for the reply. Have a good weekend.

 

[Bodicifer]

Thought I'd give you an update. All along from your diagnoses I've thoguht wheel bearings. So I take the car to the mechanic who normally services it. One of the bigger chains. He says its not the bearings, it needs a new front left ball joint and a whole new steering rack. $2K !!! I spoke to another mechanic and he said no way, shouldn't need a steering rack, without even looking at it. So then a bloke I know tells me of a mate of his who is a great mechanic and good with 4wd's. I take it to him, he hoists it up, goes over it all, takes it for a drive, comes back, hoists it up again. It needs a front left tie rod and front right wheel bearing. He said the steering rack definitely doesn't need replacing and the ball joint on the left is fine and not shagged. So $320 for the tie rod and front bearing kit then labor sounds a truckload better than the $2K I was going to be hit up with just before Xmas.

The tie rod seems like a very simply piece and easy to fix. Is it as easy as it looks or should I just let my mates mechanic do it?

 

[lynchy wa]

G'day mate, theres a do it yourself video for replacing tierod ends in 1Atony's vendor thread. Heres the link, might help you to decide whether to tackle it or not.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=259405