Noise when doing over 65mph

[gsmaclean]

There are members here who have reported that these units have failed them after a year or two of normal driving. Also, they do not come with new installation bolts, which you will need to replace when you change this out....the old bolts are ALWAYS a pain to remove, and by the time they are out, the head is pretty boogered up and the threads are....well....usually in poor shape.

Not necessarily. Use the proper tools, and they come out just fine. I did not have any problems with mine at all - that said, my aftermarket replacement bearings came with new bolts, so I just tossed the old ones anyway.

I wrote about it in this thread.

 

[skidoomxz99]

Here is what Rock Auto (www.rockauto.com) provides for Wheel Bearing / Hub Assemblies for an 02 Explorer:

2002 FORD EXPLORER 4.0L 245cid V6 FI (E) : Brake/Wheel Hub : Axle Bearing and Hub Assembly Price Core Total
TIMKEN Part # HA590259K
4WD; Indep. Rr. Susp.; Kit = Flg, Brg, & Snap Ring; Rear
RWD; Indep. Rr. Susp.; Kit = Flg, Brg, & Snap Ring; Rear
$121.99 $0.00 $121.99

TIMKEN Part # SP470201 {#SP470200}
Limited; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
XLT; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
RWD; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
XLS; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
Eddie Bauer; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front $135.79 $0.00 $135.79


BCA/NATIONAL Part # 515050
Front Wheel $161.89

 

[thepotroast]

Not necessarily. Use the proper tools, and they come out just fine. I did not have any problems with mine at all - that said, my aftermarket replacement bearings came with new bolts, so I just tossed the old ones anyway.

I wrote about it in this thread.

Not necessarily. I did use proper tools....a 15mm wrench. You probably also didn't have bolts that had to have over 200lbs of force to remove either...

The bolts are 2.5" 100% threaded, with yellow threadlocker....after 100k+ miles and 6yrs of age, they tend to get a little sticky.

Also, in case this gets lost in translation, you did your swap less than a year ago (meaning that other members here have reported their aftermarket hubs failing in a year or two could still apply to yours....but maybe not), and your vehicle had 50k miles. My truck has 126k miles, your bolts likely weren't stuck whatsoever.

Proper tools = 15mm deep offset wrench and a hammer. No way around it. I demonstrate this, here: http://explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194002 Post #16 and #17

 

[thepotroast]

Here is what Rock Auto (www.rockauto.com) provides for Wheel Bearing / Hub Assemblies for an 02 Explorer:

2002 FORD EXPLORER 4.0L 245cid V6 FI (E) : Brake/Wheel Hub : Axle Bearing and Hub Assembly Price Core Total
TIMKEN Part # HA590259K
4WD; Indep. Rr. Susp.; Kit = Flg, Brg, & Snap Ring; Rear
RWD; Indep. Rr. Susp.; Kit = Flg, Brg, & Snap Ring; Rear
$121.99 $0.00 $121.99

TIMKEN Part # SP470201 {#SP470200}
Limited; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
XLT; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
RWD; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
XLS; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front
Eddie Bauer; 4WD; 4-Wheel ABS; Replacement Unit Does Not Contain Sensor Cable.; Front $135.79 $0.00 $135.79


BCA/NATIONAL Part # 515050
Front Wheel $161.89

Have you emailed the guy about getting an OEM replacement kit for $100 + shipping? P.S. it comes with a new ABS sensor/cable.

 

[skidoomxz99]

Have you emailed the guy about getting an OEM replacement kit for $100 + shipping? P.S. it comes with a new ABS sensor/cable.

Yes, I did e-mail your contact and he wanted $121 shipped. I am probably going to have my mechanic check it out on Thursday, and then order the parts which I am going to need.

 

[thepotroast]

Yes, I did e-mail your contact and he wanted $121 shipped. I am probably going to have my mechanic check it out on Thursday, and then order the parts which I am going to need.

That's a good price, he uses Priority Mail for shipping and the unit weighs around 8 pounds...

$121 shipped for that part is good

 

[calylove]

Specs are a 2003 Mountaineer with abut 120k.

Ok so last weekend i decided to do my front passenger side bearing. I picked it up from Advanced. Came with all new bolts, sensor, and a 2 year warranty. $130 with 10 off coupon.The first two bolts, forward most and top, were tough but doable. The third rearward was an absolute nightmare. I ended up snapping it off inside after going at it for 45 mintues. I really thought i was screwed unitl I talked to my buddy at the shop and he said the only threaded portion is actually in the bearing hub. The whole bolt is threaded but not actually used that way. In other words even though the bolt snapped off where the threads started, I was still able to remove the hub because the rest of the bolt, although itself threaded, was actually not threaded to anything. This was super cool ,and VERY lucky, because after a few minutes of tapping with a hammer and using a chisel to help wedge it out, the hub came off. Installation was a breeze and took 15 20 minutes.

My biggest problem and question though is that this hasn't fixed my frickin noise. I am wondering what else could be some causes. I notice she pulls a bit to the left which causes the hum even when going straight, but turning left gets real loud. Turning right is perfect. I am starting to think an alignment might be in order. I know the wheel is not out of balance as I roatated them and the noise stays with just the front passenger side. Is it possible the axle nut is too tight or any other parts that shoudl be inspected. I hate to shell out 100 for an alignment that doesn't fix it either and my wife is tird of me swerving side to side on the highway to "really hear" it.

 

[bax4bux]

Specs are a 2003 Mountaineer with abut 120k.

Ok so last weekend i decided to do my front passenger side bearing. I picked it up from Advanced. Came with all new bolts, sensor, and a 2 year warranty. $130 with 10 off coupon.The first two bolts, forward most and top, were tough but doable. The third rearward was an absolute nightmare. I ended up snapping it off inside after going at it for 45 mintues. I really thought i was screwed unitl I talked to my buddy at the shop and he said the only threaded portion is actually in the bearing hub. The whole bolt is threaded but not actually used that way. In other words even though the bolt snapped off where the threads started, I was still able to remove the hub because the rest of the bolt, although itself threaded, was actually not threaded to anything. This was super cool ,and VERY lucky, because after a few minutes of tapping with a hammer and using a chisel to help wedge it out, the hub came off. Installation was a breeze and took 15 20 minutes.

My biggest problem and question though is that this hasn't fixed my frickin noise. I am wondering what else could be some causes. I notice she pulls a bit to the left which causes the hum even when going straight, but turning left gets real loud. Turning right is perfect. I am starting to think an alignment might be in order. I know the wheel is not out of balance as I roatated them and the noise stays with just the front passenger side. Is it possible the axle nut is too tight or any other parts that shoudl be inspected. I hate to shell out 100 for an alignment that doesn't fix it either and my wife is tird of me swerving side to side on the highway to "really hear" it.

sounds like the noise mine was making... louder turning one way and could be felt through the floor board in the front. turned out to be a rear bearing.

 

[skidoomxz99]

Here is an update, I still have a "Trembling Noise" starting at 65mph and goes to atleast 80mph, so I have had my mechanic check out the Explorer a couple of times. My mechanic checked out the wheel bearing, front and rear drive shafts, and yolk and everything appears to be fine. He doesn't really want me to buy new wheel bearing since he doesn't know if that will fix this noise.

I am thinking about e-mailing Potroast's contact to buy 2 new OEM wheel bearing and have them installed to see if that fixes the problem. I took this car on a couple trips to Maine recently, and you can feel the steering wheel shake sometimes when its making this trembling noise at speeds higher than 65mph.

Could this still be a bad wheel bearing which is only experiencing problems at certain speeds? My wife is getting a little frustrated and ready to trade this Exploder in.. I had 4 new General Grabbers installed and verified that they are balanced correctly.

Thank you!

 

[pepe501]

97 eddie bauer vibration

I'm having a similar problem with a 97 Eddie Bauer v6 SOHC 4x4 (automatic). Under 50-55mph it drives strong and smooth. As I approach 60 there is a vibration and humming type noise. This vibration/noise tends to be more pronounced when I let off the accelerator when traveling over 55mph. I can feel it in the steering wheel slightly, but doesn't seem like the source. The vibration noise gets worse as speed increases. Haven't tried going over 75 yet. Any thoughts?

 

[phake]

Droning Noise

I'm trying to decide if this is the noise I'm hearing. Let me describe mine:

It's a medium pitch droning noise that starts at about 40 MPH and increases in volume and pitch until about 75 MPH when it starts to go away. It's a very constant "MMMMMMMMM" that is not affected by whether I'm giving her gas - it is solely related to speed. I haven't noticed any change when turning, though a passenger thought it varied slightly over bumps. It seems to come from the front, though it's hard to place front-back or right-left. There are no shimmies or shakes.

I have completely eliminated tire balance as a issue. That leaves me with either:
1) bad wheel bearing or
2) bad rear differential (it's a 2x4)

Thoughts?

 

[phake]

Problem solved

I posted my solution here:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2314379#post2314379

 

[MarkOPKS]

I had this exact same problem, just replace the front left bearing on mine and the problem is gone. 120 bucks for the part from NAPA and 45 minutes and the problem was fixed.