Question about 2000 AWD "grinding" sound/feeling.

[GonzoMustang]

Hi, I'm new here to the forum... Nice place!

I have a 2000 AWD explorer with ~127,000 miles on it. I love this vehicle!

Recently I started to feel and hear a "grinding" like sound coming from front when braking. First guess was brake pads worn out and that metal clip-thingy was doing its thing. But brakes are only about 18 months old and after inspection pads are not even half-way worn. At that same time I had also replaced rotors, and they still look good too.

So, I am wondering if the CV joint half shafts could be causing this sound/feeling (and more pronouced under braking). My Hayne's manual doesn't say much aout how to inspect them. I also read through MountaineerGreen's excellent thread on how to replace them. However, I am not certain yet that is the problem.

Any advice?

Thanks much!

 

[my pos mounty]

Welcome to the forum
Its nice to see someone from my neck of the woods on here.
A sure fire way to find out if it is indeed the Cv's is to go to a wide open area and turn the wheels one direction and give it just a little throttle. If it sounds like a "click-click-click" then it is the CV on its way out. Try turning in both directions.
If the CV is already dead the rubber boot that you see behind the tire would have a tear in it.
Other than that what may be happening (and I think this could be your cause) is your hub/wheel bearing may be on its way out. At the point that I think you are now with it, it is really difficult to nail down as the cause. Typically it would sound like you have a mud tire on the front of the truck, or a grinding "feel" coming thru the floor or steering wheel when extreme pressures are applied to the hub. (braking-cornering)
You could jack the front of the truck up, place it on jackstands so it doesn't fall, take the tire off of the side that the noise seems to be coming from , and check the bearing for slop. If you find slop in it, obviously it is gone but not only is it gone, it needs to be addressed now.

 

[RangRayy]

check wheel bearings/hubs possible those might be going out. when mine went out i heard a grinding noise from up front and it got worse under braking.first thoughts was brakes and rotos but they both checked out fine.

 

[jradsek]

I had a simular sound that sounded like it was comin from the drivers side front tire of my 98 Explorer. I looked into it a little deeper and changed the cv joint.... Nope still made the noise! So i kept going, and droped down the front shaft and looked at the ujoint in the front of it, it looked good so I removed the whole shaft and filled the end that connects to the transfer case with greese and put it back on the truck and it hasn't made the sound since...

 

[loder]

I've been hearing this same type of noise for a long time now. I've heard of problems inherent to the AWD transfer case(4406 or something like that). Mine has 145,000 on it. I just run her, when she breaks, I fix her.

 

[windsors03cobra]

The fact the it only occurs during braking sure does scream "brake problem".
Are the rotors like glass or torn up and rough ?

CV joints grinding during braking ? Nope.
Front differential only during braking ? Nah.
Wheel bearings ? Your due if they've never been done, During braking only ? Doubtful.

 

[Artica]

I heard a very similar noise in my 2001 AWD and when I replaced all four tires with new the noise went away completely.. I also had the same thing with an AWD Jaguar X-Type Sport that went away with four brand new tires. Not sure if this is your noise but I would consider trying four wheels and tires from a like model that all have the same circumference and see if the noise changes before I spent the time and money on drivetrain components.

 

[GonzoMustang]

Hey Guys! Thanks much for the help! Here's what I did... I took the early advice and figured it would be the hub/bearings. When I got it apart, I could see the lower ball joints were also toasty. One of the CV boots had a tear in it, and after calling the parts store realized they were only $60/side. So I decided to do all three components since the procedure for each was similar in terms of tear down. I also threw in some new shocks. Took two days and some running around, but got it all back together Sunday. Drove it today and it is driving fine! I am sure it was probably the hubs giving me the feeling of grinding.

I follwed the proceedures that Mountaineer Green had for CV, Ball Joints, and Hub replacement. Those were GREAT!

A couple of problems that I ran into... First the trick to turn the castle nut upside down on tie-rod end backfired. It somehow messed up the threads and I had to get a new nut to get it back togther. Also, my truck had the dust shield on the CVs. The old ones were really messed up and dried out, and fortunately the local big Ford dealer had two in stock and was open at 4PM on Saturday! Thumbs up for AutoFair, Manchester, NH. Bad news was they were $25/each. OUCH! But they defintely needed to be replaced. I think without this seal the bearing on the inside of the hub would be exposed to the elements.

Anyway, successfull rebuild of the front driveline! Thanks again for the information and the great technique style posts!

I realize now I should just burn the old Haynes repair manual!

Thanks again!
Kevin

 

[my pos mounty]

Congrats on a job well done!
I haven't run the "dust shields" in 5 years though, no problems so far.