wheel bearings or not?? (trying to get used to my new explorers noises)

[dogodell]

I am sorry if this has already been covered in another post but I searched and couldnt find it... .

my new explorer 97 XL 2 door OHV 4.0 5 spd

makes a sound that led me to believe that I have a bad wheel bearing (sort of rumbling sounds like front end but I know that doesnt necessarily mean that it is)

tested (push pull top/bottom of wheels)... the front end virtually no movement (well except for the fact that I can compress my suspension this way (think it might be time to replace shocks and we all know what thats an excuse for )

the rear end when I push/ pull on the top and bottom of the wheel I get very little movement (bearing wise) but if I push the tire straight in/ pull out I get a loud audible clunk???

Any ideas as to what could cause this.... and also why my car sounds like it has a bad bearing when they're all tight????

thanks in advance

 

[Brandon96]

My father's Expedition had kinda what your talking about. The ABS light came on and a roaring noise developed in the front end, I looked around and found out it could be wheel bearings, but I did the test with one hand at 6 o'clock and one at 12 o'clock and 'shook' it but had no abnormal play in the wheel. BUT, I could push inwards on the wheel and had just a slight amount of play in it. Ended up it waas a bad wheel bearing although it passed the tests I learned online. Got it fixed and it was a heck of an audible difference when driving, and the ABS ligth went away.

You might want to check the front again, the roaring developed by his truck was first notible under right hand turns and braking... and eventually before he got it replace, just in general driving.

 

[Chris K.]

My 97 Sport made that same front end rumbling noise, at slow speeds, from day one. The dealer checked the bearings and said everything was fine. It continued to make that same noise for the next 10 years with no ill effects. Similarly, I had a slight whine in the power steering pump right after setting off first thing in the morning. I had that same power steering pump for eleven years with no problems too.

Chris

 

[dogodell]

hmm ok.... so far no abs lights but I havent slammed on the brakes to check and make sure they actually work... so I guess its either replace the wheel bearings now and hope that it fixes it or drive it until the wheels possibly literally fall off....

is it possible to take the bearings out and just repack/ re grease them???? (i figure if I take things apart to check the condition then I would at least like to extend their lifespan as long as possible)

 

[eXcali]

sounds like your rear tire that pushes in has a possibly worn out bearing. These are easy to check, pull off wheel, use a large enuff socket to fit hub nut, remove break caliper and pull off the rotor, visually inspect the bearings, might also pickup replacement bearings for your rear from discount parts store, they are usually about $12 bucks per for inner and outer.

 

[eXcali]

hmm ok.... so far no abs lights but I havent slammed on the brakes to check and make sure they actually work... so I guess its either replace the wheel bearings now and hope that it fixes it or drive it until the wheels possibly literally fall off....

is it possible to take the bearings out and just repack/ re grease them???? (i figure if I take things apart to check the condition then I would at least like to extend their lifespan as long as possible)

They are dirt cheap, just replace them, if you have noise the metal is already worn.

 

[dogodell]

ok so I guess its most likely worth just replacing the rear.... bad timing because I want to do an axle swap/ re-gear anyway and just need to save up the cash for a new front diff because rebuilding these new fangled ones is a little out of my league)

now just have to figure out if there is anything up w/ the front end or if its just the rear... guess ill find out when I replace the bearing...

thanks for the input so far guys looks like its gonna be a busy weekend of playing in the grease for me should probably be more upset about that....

 

[eXcali]

ok so I guess its most likely worth just replacing the rear.... bad timing because I want to do an axle swap/ re-gear anyway and just need to save up the cash for a new front diff because rebuilding these new fangled ones is a little out of my league)

now just have to figure out if there is anything up w/ the front end or if its just the rear... guess ill find out when I replace the bearing...

thanks for the input so far guys looks like its gonna be a busy weekend of playing in the grease for me should probably be more upset about that....

Hopefully it's just the rear bearings for the sake of your wallet. Good news is it is a very quick fix, you can have them replaced in less than 1 hour. If you have done it before you should get it done in about 15mins.