samert111
New Member
- Joined
- July 7, 2015
- Messages
- 3
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2008 Explorer
First off, sorry for the long post but I’m trying to get all the details out there and hoping that someone else has been thru what I’m going thru and can point me in the right direction. I’ve been working on a 2008 Explorer AWD for a friend and I can’t figure out what’s causing a whine and slight vibration in what I believe to be coming from the front end starting at approx. 45 MPH and getting worse at higher speeds. It’s felt in the gas pedal and also the steering wheel when going straight down the road and it get a little worse as you move the steering wheel ever so slightly left or right. This condition is speed related and not engine RPM related. I can put the transmission in neutral at 60 MPH and it’s still there. There is also a slight howl coming from what I believe to be the RR wheel but everything seems be tight and rotate smoothly in the rear end.
Following is a re-cap what we’ve done to this vehicle over the last 18 months.
• 18 months ago @ 60K miles both front wheel hub / bearing were bad and replaced with good Timken units. All was fine until last April.
• Last April the front differential was growling and was replaced with a rebuilt unit @ 72K miles. Bearings were going bad. Lots of metal in the gear oil. All was fine after replacing.
• Rebuilt differential warranty required to drive it conservatively for 500 miles and then the gear oil to be changed out. During this first 500 miles it started to develop the whine and slight vibration felt thru the gas pedal and also in the steering wheel. I removed the front driveshaft to inspect the front u-joint and the rear CV joint. Both felt fine and a short drive with the front driveshaft removed the whine and vibration was still present, so that ruled out the front driveshaft. Severe swerves left to right do not indicate a bad wheel bearing again. But just to confirm I removed both the hub bearing assemblies and they both felt fine.
• Car was taken to Ford dealer to diagnose issue. They said left front wheel bearing was bad and left front CV boot had slight cut in it and leaking grease. I felt the bearing was fine but it was still under warranty so it was replaced for free with another Timken bearing along with a rebuilt CV axle assy. Issue was still present.
• The car was ready for new tires anyway so just to rule out any issues with the tires they were replaced with new Goodyear’s. Issue was still present.
• The rebuilt front differential was leaking gear oil at the axle tube where it meets the carrier housing and also the passenger side axle seal was leaking a little. So I’m thinking there is an issue with the rebuilt differential causing a slight harmonics (bearing too loose or too tight) which is causing the whine/vibration and also the leaks. So I discuss the issues with the rebuilder and they agree to exchange the unit with another rebuilt unit. Swapped out the differentials and issue is still there and passengers side axle seal is still leaking a little gear oil. So now I’m thinking the passenger’s side CV axle assy has some issue but it looks and feels fine. So as a last resort I then replaced the passenger’s side CV Axle assy so everything in the front drivetrain is new. Issue is still present.
So that’s about it. I’ve read about some issues with the rear wheel bearings on these vehicles, which I mentioned previously there appears to be a slight howl from the RR but I felt that once I drove the car without the front driveshaft and the issue was still present that would have eliminated anything in the rear end from transmitting thru the drivetrain and felt in the steering wheel.
Any help would be appreciated.
Following is a re-cap what we’ve done to this vehicle over the last 18 months.
• 18 months ago @ 60K miles both front wheel hub / bearing were bad and replaced with good Timken units. All was fine until last April.
• Last April the front differential was growling and was replaced with a rebuilt unit @ 72K miles. Bearings were going bad. Lots of metal in the gear oil. All was fine after replacing.
• Rebuilt differential warranty required to drive it conservatively for 500 miles and then the gear oil to be changed out. During this first 500 miles it started to develop the whine and slight vibration felt thru the gas pedal and also in the steering wheel. I removed the front driveshaft to inspect the front u-joint and the rear CV joint. Both felt fine and a short drive with the front driveshaft removed the whine and vibration was still present, so that ruled out the front driveshaft. Severe swerves left to right do not indicate a bad wheel bearing again. But just to confirm I removed both the hub bearing assemblies and they both felt fine.
• Car was taken to Ford dealer to diagnose issue. They said left front wheel bearing was bad and left front CV boot had slight cut in it and leaking grease. I felt the bearing was fine but it was still under warranty so it was replaced for free with another Timken bearing along with a rebuilt CV axle assy. Issue was still present.
• The car was ready for new tires anyway so just to rule out any issues with the tires they were replaced with new Goodyear’s. Issue was still present.
• The rebuilt front differential was leaking gear oil at the axle tube where it meets the carrier housing and also the passenger side axle seal was leaking a little. So I’m thinking there is an issue with the rebuilt differential causing a slight harmonics (bearing too loose or too tight) which is causing the whine/vibration and also the leaks. So I discuss the issues with the rebuilder and they agree to exchange the unit with another rebuilt unit. Swapped out the differentials and issue is still there and passengers side axle seal is still leaking a little gear oil. So now I’m thinking the passenger’s side CV axle assy has some issue but it looks and feels fine. So as a last resort I then replaced the passenger’s side CV Axle assy so everything in the front drivetrain is new. Issue is still present.
So that’s about it. I’ve read about some issues with the rear wheel bearings on these vehicles, which I mentioned previously there appears to be a slight howl from the RR but I felt that once I drove the car without the front driveshaft and the issue was still present that would have eliminated anything in the rear end from transmitting thru the drivetrain and felt in the steering wheel.
Any help would be appreciated.
