Roar from right side.

[kbsmith_48]

When driving my explorer at 55 mph+ I get a loud roar from the right front. I have replaced and repacked bearings on both sides and now I believe it to be in the 4wd system. I can get under the vehicle with the hubs unlocked and only rotate the axle shafts half a rotation in either way before they quit rotating. With hubs locked in the axle shafts will not budge. When driving I can lock in the hubs with the system in 4x2 and the vehicle still feels like it is in 4wd.
Thanks for the help.

 

[RangerX]

.With hubs locked in the axle shafts will not budge. When driving I can lock in the hubs with the system in 4x2 and the vehicle still feels like it is in 4wd.
Thanks for the help.

With hubs locked and axleshafts not budging, are tires on the ground, or jacked in the air?
When driving in 2hi and hubs locked, you are sort of in 4wd, as the axles, diff and driveshaft are all turning because the hubs are locked. The only difference is no power is coming from the tcase.

If you suspect the hub on the right side, try swapping the hubs side to side and see if the noise follows.

When you redid the bearings, are they properly tight, not too tight or too loose?

 

[kbsmith_48]

I did this test with the wheels on the ground. I locked in each side separately and each completely locked the axle shafts up. I will be switching hubs tomorrow and depending on the result, pulling the front drive shaft to see if that changes anything. With the truck in 4x2 and hubs locked it drives just as it would 4x4, ie. binding under steering.

When you redid the bearings, are they properly tight, not too tight or too loose?

I reinstalled the bearings and tighted everything back up according to the Warn Manual Hub instruction manual.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I recently replaced the spindle bearings on mine that were growling/grinding/howling and changed with speed. Started around 15-20 MPH and got louder up until 40 where the road noise was louder. No vibration or anything, just noise. Seeing how deep they're buried and how they're jammed into the spindle, I can see why not many people replace them.

They're cheap to replace, with the kit too. They're $22 per kit, BRG BK1 from NAPA but that number will interchange. Comes with the seal and other goodies.

*EDIT*
Sounds like you're not actually disengaging at the transfercase.

 

[RangerX]

. With the truck in 4x2 and hubs locked it drives just as it would 4x4, ie. binding under steering.

Manual tcase or electric?

 

[kbsmith_48]

Electric Transfer Case.
I switched hubs side to side and the roar stayed in the same spot. I was not able to remove the drive shaft today. When looking closer at where the axle shafts enter the spindle the rubber seal on the right side is torn into two pieces and riding on the axle shaft. Could this be a sign my spindle bearings are bad?

 

[natenkiki2004]

I'd lay good money on your spindle bearings being toast then. They're just needle bearings with no way to grease or maintain them short of total disassembly and using your pinky with a bit of grease. At that point, you may as well replace them entirely so you don't have to think about them for another 20 years.

In case you missed it, BRG BK1 is the kit you need. Comes with everything. I'd suggest to do both sides. While you're at it, remove the outer axleshaft on the passenger side and clean then grease the slip joint with some thick grease. That's another item that usually doesn't receive much maintenance and can cause thumping. This is all a great chance to check your u-joints as well.

 

[kbsmith_48]

The spindle bearings are on the way. Odd that the local parts store didn't have a part for my vehicle (They remember the exact make and model of my truck). In the meantime I had a race spinning inside the rotor and the race and rotor have been changed also. That was the source of some of my roar although I still have a slight roar. Sorry for the lack of updates. I was at school away from the truck all week. Being a full time student cuts into my hobby of fixing my truck. Lol