Rear axle bearing squeak?

[Trolling]

Is it possible for a bad rear axle bearing to squeak when it goes bad?

There's this "squeak.. squeak.. squeak.." rotational noise that i'm getting from the rear passenger side wheel area when moving slowly up to 20mph and it mutes down when i press the brakes. It also syncs with the speed i'm going, slow when the truck is rolling and faster squeaks when moving up to 20ish mph and it disappears after that.

I'll get a sound clip soon so you guys can hear it better.

 

[IZwack]

Is it more like a bird chirping? If so, maybe a U-joint on the rear driveshaft. If its not a U-joint, I'd check the brakes first before the axle bearing.

 

[Trolling]

it starts out like when you rub two knives edges against each other then it progresses to that squeak, squeak, eek, eek, eek sound.

 

[rhauf]

sounds to me like the brakes are just squeeking.. maybe you need new pads/shoes. (this one usually give one squeek per revolution of the tires) if it sounds like it's squeaking faster than that, then i'd think U joint as iz said.. usually a u joint squeek will change when you're coasting vs accelerating.

 

[Trolling]

As in the brakes are rubbing? They don't squeal during braking though.

the brake pads (ceramic) are 2 weeks new and the rotors are 3 months old. The u-joints are in excellent condition and were just re-greased last week when the 4406 was installed. I had the squeaking before the 4406 conversion but it was less noticeable.

I'll give a look at the brakes again. Any particular sign/part that I should be looking for?

 

[Trolling]

bumping this one up.

Haven't had the time to crawl under and check the wheels, etc . individually but the u-joints can be ruled out.

New observation:
It seems to be coming from the front passenger tire and not from the rear axle. The squeaking got a bit louder and can now be heard up to speeds of 45 mph..

Question:
Do bad front wheel hubs/bearings squeak?

 

[unclemeat]

My 05 was making a similar sound. It appears to be a emergency brake pad failure.

 

[my pos mounty]

bumping this one up.

Haven't had the time to crawl under and check the wheels, etc . individually but the u-joints can be ruled out.

New observation:
It seems to be coming from the front passenger tire and not from the rear axle. The squeaking got a bit louder and can now be heard up to speeds of 45 mph..

Question:
Do bad front wheel hubs/bearings squeak?

Yes, they can. I have a similar noise coming from the drivers side hub and I know that bearing is on its way out.

 

[TyHarris]

i had this exact same problem and had to swap out my wheel hub assemblies on the front end. however now my back axle is doing it. brakes are good, rotors are good, drive shaft and linkages are good. axle is not bent, gotta be the rear axle bearings. apparently ford (in all their wisdom) didnt make them very sturdy in the first place and it is a very common repair that must be made (expecialy on off-roaders and tow rigs). hope that helps brother. good luck with it.

 

[IZwack]

however now my back axle is doing it...apparently ford (in all their wisdom) didnt make them very sturdy in the first place ..

If you're talking bout the 8.8 solid axle, then I disagree as it is actually quite a stout axle for the Explorer.. it's even used on the F-series and E-series.

 

[TyHarris]

love the 8.8 as a whole. however apparently the bearings in um are the weak link in the chain