Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick?!?!?!? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick?!?!?!?

WizardOfOdds

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Year, Model & Trim Level
92 Explorer
Ok, so every once in a while when im driving, you hear a continuous tick... Its hard to explain, it sounds like a thin piece of metal hitting something... At first, I thought it was the muffler hitting the ground or something but it wasn't.. So Anyways...

I asked the previous owner of the vehicle what it was and he said it was the auto locking hubs and all I had to do was put the truck in reverse and reverse a bit and it would go away... It does not seem to work, or if it is working they hubs are engaging again or something Im not too sure how they work.

I read that the auto hubs have a problem with engaging and disengaging whenever they feel like it. Anyways, my question is this... Is this a sympton or sound that the hub would make? If so, is it possible just to take the from outer hubs off to get rid of the sound (Since I don't do any 4x4'ing). Thanks! The sound is super annoying and worries me too :p
 



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Hello All,

I am new here, and just picked up my explorer a month or so ago. This tick tick tick tick is coming from my truck too!

I had a friend listen and he said he felt like it was the auto locking hub on the front passenger side. He felt like it could be a vacuum tube problem and It may just be as simple as replacing the vacuum tube.

If anyone has any insight on this it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

-Tim
 






first gen trucks dont have vacuum hubs

the auto hubs are problematic, you should consider manual hubs IMO

Do not remove the hub and drive without it

To determine if your ticking is from the wheel/hub I would jack up the tire and spin it while listening.
You can also check the ###ntion of your hubs by jacking up the front end and getting both tires off the ground, do a search on this forum for info on this.

You do not have to back up to disengage the auto hubs

If your ticking sounds like thin metal hitting something I would check your heat guards on your cat converters. Hitting the exhaust with a hammer is a good way to find exhaust related noises.

the "Ticking" may also be lifter noise, the earlier high mileage 4.0L OHV v6 is notorious for this.
It can be leaks in the intake gaskets, it can be poor oiling to some of the valvetrain, etc try searching around here for info on this.
 






Thanks Alot 410Fortune for the response!

I found this great article:

http://www.explorerforum.com/Singleton/web/pages/autohubs.html

That seems to be the solution to my problem there. I will be sure to post back my findings when i do the replacement, hopefully if it stops raining here i can do it today.

-Tim
 






thx for the replies guys... I was to switch to manual hubs when I can afford it...

Hey, DuffyT... Maybe you could take some pictures and do a write-up on it? That would be great and let us know if you have success with getting rid of that sound
 






I got it to stop ticking.. now off to advanced auto!
 






Well i went to advanced auto yesterday and talked with the guy there. He said that it is pretty unrealistic to try and replace the bushings like that. He wanted to sell me the manual locking hubs for $184.xx a piece. (I said no thank you as I caught my breath, lol.)

I took the wheel off and took the hub off and took a look around, got all the grease off any all that jazz and gave her a good cleaning. Nothing really seemed to be 'damaged' in a manor that would prevent correct operation however.

I figure that just replacing the hubs with manual ones should be fine though.


You do not have to back up to disengage the auto hubs

What actually got the car to stop ticking was putting the car in 4x4, and then taking it out, then putting it in reverse and backing up about 35 feet or so at about 5 mph. After looking in the Hanes manual this is what they suggested when the hubs get stuck half why like they did.

Well good luck to everyone, as soon as I do replace the hubs I’ll let you know.

-Tim
 






My first explorer was a '91 and I had the same problem with it on the right side. Mine was more like a buzzing sound. I remember many a night driving home from Eat n Park with people on the sidewalks staring at my X and saying to themselves, "What the hell was that?" Haha :)

I only wish back then I had discovered this wonderful website because I would have tried to fix it myself (using the above mentioned thread) instead of paying that buttload of money ($180 is a lot to a high school student) for new hubs.
 






So did the cleaning get rid of the sound? The sound is not there all the time for me just sometimes... I'd say around 50% of the time if not less... And yeah, the guy I asked who told me to reverse to get the hubs disenganged is usually pretty good when it comes to cars so I was a bit surprised to hear that is not what you do but then again I don't know...

Did cleaning the inside of the hubs do anything do you think?

And yeah, in my opinion, that is what seperates an average mechanic from a good one... A good mechanic will fix the broken part (such as replacing the bearing inside the hub) and your average mechanic will just change the whole thing. I like fixing broken things myself, rather than just replace the whole unit, sometimes it can't be avoided but its more fun fixing stuff :)

Anyways, thanks for the tip on disenganging the hub... That's a big help and it's a big relief I'm not the only person having this problem :p The sound is so annoying at times. Im going to buy manual hubs when I can.

Im just blabbering on now so before I write my whole life story I'll let you go, :p thanks again
 






I really can’t say if cleaning them out did anything at all because I did it after I had reversed and disengaged them. It took about 2 or so hours to do both of the hubs and it was VERY messy, haha. Make sure that you have a solid 2 hours or so.. lots of shop towels and the correct grease before you start.

The guys at advanced auto hooked me up with the right kind of grease.. I am sure any auto zone type place would be able to.

I only wish back then I had discovered this wonderful website because I would have tried to fix it myself (using the above mentioned thread) instead of paying that butt load of money ($180 is a lot to a high school student) for new hubs.

I hear ya man, this site is real great, the first time I have really started to post but I have used it several times already and have only had my truck for about 2 months or so.

-Tim
 






There shouldn't be any grease put in the auto hub. The grease that works it's way in there is from the wheel bearing. I've read a thin coating of ATF cleans them and lubricates them. I used ATF to clean out mine and have had no problems since. However, I only use 4x4 a hand full of times in the winter.
 






Exactly what part of a half dozen moving parts engaged by the spinning action of the axle doesn’t need grease? There most certainly should be grease in the hub. Do you own a Hanes manual for your car? They are very helpful.

I may be new to explores, but I am certainly not new to cars. There definitely should be plenty of grease lubricant in the hubs to prevent parts from grinding. There are 8 tightly packed ball bearings inside that hub, and it should be apparent that all bearings need grease to function correctly.

-Tim
 






Exactly what part of a half dozen moving parts engaged by the spinning action of the axle doesn’t need grease? There most certainly should be grease in the hub. Do you own a Hanes manual for your car? They are very helpful.

I may be new to explores, but I am certainly not new to cars. There definitely should be plenty of grease lubricant in the hubs to prevent parts from grinding. There are 8 tightly packed ball bearings inside that hub, and it should be apparent that all bearings need grease to function correctly.

-Tim

Actually it is a known issue that putting grease in the hubs will cause them to have problems engadging and disengagding. You just need to soak them in ATF for 20 minutes or so and you're good to go.
 






I just find that so hard to belive that that much grease would be in there, and that soaking them in ATF would be the solution to that. I hate to say it, but i just cant bring my self to try such a thing, but I thank both of you for the sugestion non-the-less

-Tim
 






believe it hombre the hubs do not get grease, they need to be cleaned of debris, atf cleans them

Packing your auto hubs with grease is different from using a small amount of grease upon assembly but I can assure you there is no grease in there from the factory.
 






hmm... I Remember looking at my hubs and they were really greasy inside... HHMMM... just wondering cause you said that it could cause problems with the hubs disengaging and engaging... could this also be the reason why the auto hubs are engaging without using 4x4?
 






Apparently that is what it looks like he is saying, that the grease has something to do with it.. I dont know how much sence that makes to me.. but if you want to try cleaning it all out and soaking it in ATF then please post back to let us know how it goes.

-Tim
 






um actually auto hubs wear out, its that simple.

I dont know all about the internals but I do know there is a plastic star washer in there that has something to do with the locking mechanism. That sucker wears out.

When your auto hubs start engaging on their own or sticking, its time to either rebuild them (PITA), replace them (ok for some people but they are $$$$) or convert to manual hubs (DING DING DING we have a winner!)

You do NOT have to buy a $200 Warn manual hub kit to get manual hubs either, many D35 equipped Rangers and Explorer's have them from the factory so a junk yard is a great source for used manual hubs and the spindle nuts you need to go with them
 






410 is correct. There's a plastic "spacer" lets call it. Once that wears down, the unit won't engage properly and start that ticking when you hit the 4x4 button. If you take appart the assembly, you can actually rebuild this piece back up to spec with some metal washers, but be careful to use smooth washers, or they will grind down the plastic piece even more (this happened to me lol). You will know what I'm talking about if you've taken apart an auto hub.
With regards to the grease, yes, there's a bearing in the bottom of the hub, but I don't see any reason why ATF wouldn't lubricate it, seems to work fine in the tranny.
 



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I bet it isn't the hubs at all. Is it a manual tranny? IS it a 4x4 with the manual transfercase. When my bro bought his tranny it ticked like crazy. We replaced the tranny with a rebuilt one and it calmed down quite a bit, but we really replaced it because of other problems it was having. After the tranny was replaced the transfercase was making a bit of a ticking nose also. There was no difference in performance, but it was ticking and drives him crazy. It mast extreme when he is excellerating. Just my 2 cents. I hade the manual hubs for quite a while and never had any problem with them.
 






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