Roaring noise in front upon accelerating

[drespecki]

I have a noise up front that sounds like a fan roar whenever I accelerate.. Especially noticable when taking off and it is climbing through the RPMS's in first gear.. It happens then also when just cruising along and giving it more gas.. It reminds me of the 90's S10 blazers with the 4.3... Very loud and noticable.

2002 Explorer Eddie Bauer 80k miles 4.6 liter 2 wheel drive.

 

[PDUBYA]

I have a noise up front that sounds like a fan roar whenever I accelerate.. Especially noticable when taking off and it is climbing through the RPMS's in first gear.. It happens then also when just cruising along and giving it more gas.. It reminds me of the 90's S10 blazers with the 4.3... Very loud and noticable.

2002 Explorer Eddie Bauer 80k miles 4.6 liter 2 wheel drive.

I sure wish someone might know the answer because my 03 XLT does the same thing. I would call it more of a growl on mine. It happens occassionaly when accelerating up a hill at highway speed but stops immediately after dropping the RPM a bit. May be different from what you are hearing.

 

[bookbinder]

I have a noise up front that sounds like a fan roar whenever I accelerate.. Especially noticable when taking off and it is climbing through the RPMS's in first gear.. It happens then also when just cruising along and giving it more gas.. It reminds me of the 90's S10 blazers with the 4.3... Very loud and noticable.

2002 Explorer Eddie Bauer 80k miles 4.6 liter 2 wheel drive.

Mine does same thing. I am thinking fan clutch??

rick:exp:

 

[drespecki]

Upon reading more, it is either the fan clutch, the thermostat that controls the fan clutch, or the transmission PCM. Here is the link, read #13.http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=244300

 

[bookbinder]

That's great stuff. Worth trying the t-stat first don't you think?
Rick

 

[QuadManiac]

My current 02 Explorer and previous 94 Explorer have always done this occasionally. It appears that the fan clutch engages at some times when you might not expect it... and then disengages within 15-45 seconds again, thereafter.

 

[rasputinlv]

Anybody figured it out? I have same thing after my battery was dead.

 

[dsampson]

Roaring Fordies

I read through this entire thread and was surprised to see nobody has had the problems I have had with my '06 Explorer 4.0L. We hear the roaring noise on occasion, and it often follows the engine starting to get a bit too warm. When we turn on the heater under these conditions only cold air comes out. If I pop it into N and rev the engine, the heat comes back on and and the gauge shows that the engine starts to cool again. To me this sounds like a sticky thermostat, and I have replaced the thermo in this engine at least 5 times. Every time it fixes the problem for awhile, but then it eventually comes back. Sticky thermos have caused this engine to overheat multiple times, and the last time it blew the head gasket. Fortunately the heads didn't warp too badly and we were able to put them back in. Beware if you have to replace these heads, as they don't appear to be very rebuildable (we could find no used or rebuilt heads anywhere in the US when we needed them), and a new set will run you around $7K. We have about 120K mi. on this car, and have had to replace the radiator twice. Overall the cooling system on this car has been subject to more failure than any car I have ever owned.

 

[reynoldsohio]

dSampson:
wow... (06, Explorer, EBE, v6, 2wd, 140k miles) - I replaced the radiator, hose, t-stat housing, t-stat at one time (approx. 120k mile mark)....replaced hubs - 3 times (last time was today), all ball joints at once - twice, both struts, tension bar links - twice. No play/wobble in the steering, no uneven wear on tires...yet I still have a roaring (rotating sound) in the front end (I think). Next I'll rotate tires and if still present, I'll replace all four tires to test the tire theory. I've had the front end aligned after replacing ball joints and when I replaced the struts. The rotors are smooth, steering is great, even when braking. I will take more notes during tomorrow's test drive to pinpoint everything going on. Thanks.