Strange Whurring Noise/Thumping

[littlemissbliss]

I got my 2004 Sport Trac XLT not too long ago and it makes this strange noise. It's done it since I've gotten it but no one has been able to tell me if it's of concern or not. The truck has about 42,000 miles on it and runs great.

During initial acceleration, I hear this kind of thumping noise that correlates with the speed of tire rotation. It goes away as I speed up and comes back when I am slowing back down (especially cruising to a stop). It also makes this incredibly odd whurring sound, not very loud, but also happens while slowing down. I've never heard this kind of noise before and kind of cycles like a siren would (whurr -ooh, whurr -ooh) that also correlates with how fast the tires are spinning. I'm not sure if I am explaining the noise correctly, it's just so odd.

The truck drives great though. If I just blasted the radio I'd never have noticed anything ha. Should I be concerned? What could this be?

Thanks!

 

[John_Rock]

I'd have the front wheel bearings checked. And if it's that loud, yeah, I'd worry about it. I have one wheel bearing going bad on my truck and it doesn't make any sound, but an alignment shop tipped me off to it going bad.

 

[littlemissbliss]

Thanks, John. I started looking up signs and symptoms of a bad front wheel bearing. Most things say that the noise stays the same while accelerating or decelerating, but may rise or lower during turning. (I don't know much about cars so I'm just going off what I googled). However, the sound goes away as I accelerate. Is this usual for wheel bearings or could it be something else?

 

[littlemissbliss]

I just youtubed some videos of bad bearing sounds and none of them really sound like the noise I'm hearing.

 

[John_Rock]

In my experience on my two 4x4/AWD Explorers a wheel bearing going bad doesn't always show the same symptoms. I remember one time it being like a thumping that went along with the tire speed. I can't remember if it went away when I got going faster or not. And like I said, I have one right now on my Sport Trac that is going bad that makes absolutely no noise.

A simple check is to jack up the tire off the ground and see if it moves like in the following videos.

 

[littlemissbliss]

Thanks, I'll check that out as soon as I can!

 

[bdmaash]

might have a bad tire too, swap fronts to back or something (when doing the wheelbearing check), see if anything changes.

 

[JkP]

I had a similar problem on my grand prix, it was the hub bearing..

 

[littlemissbliss]

I'll check that too. I've been listening to it more and the whurring noise (it's the strangest noise, it doesn't sound metallic or anything, it's like air being pushed, I don't know how to explain it) isn't come from the wheel area, it just seems to be synchronized with tire rotation. But that noise actually sounds to be coming from under the hood more so. I've seriously never heard this noise on a car before.

 

[jammcc82]

im having the same problem, and ive checked everywhere, have you by chance figured it out? someone told me it may be my cv axle or u joints since i did the tt. but idt thats what it is.

 

[239]

Mine was the same, it would only make the noise when I turned at first, then all the time. Jack it up and spin the wheel, if it sounds 'dry" then it's probably the bearing. Also if one of the tires appears to have more wear on it than the others it's a good sign that it's that bearing.

 

[doublerinnys]

I had the same problem with my Jeep. It would do it while first accelerating and then stop. When you would be coming to a stop, it would start again until stopped. Mine actually turned out to be a busted shock. The vibration from my mud tires would cause it to vibrate at lower speeds then quiet down as I got faster. Just my .02