whirling noise from drivers front wheel

[bminder]

Help, I have a 96 ford explorer xlt, 4.0. 4 wheel drive. About a year ago I noticed a whirling noise that seems to come from the drivers front wheel. A first we though tires and they were replaced. My mechanic thought wheel bearing but it does not change in sound with turns. The sound starts at about 15 mph, and and is not as noticable at speeds above 40. The problem does not start at first, rather after the you drive awhile. The warmer the weather the more you notice the problem. I have had my mechanic check this and he said he would be guessing to change any thing. He checked the Universal joints and dust covers. The rotors appear fine, and the 4 wheel drive appears to work OK. Any ideas or previous experiences would be great. Thanks:redexp:

 

[EMStaxi]

It could be a front wheel/hub bearing...I had one making noise at low speeds and continued at high speeds. I wasn't sure where the problem was and figured I would fix the problem until it broke because then I would know exactly what I had to fix. Well the bearing the bearing shredded on my way to visit family out of state and I nearly lost my front wheel and my truck. Luckly I broke down near a junkyard and a pepboys and was able to replace the whole steering knuckle and axle shaft on the right side.

So what am I saying? I would try to replace the hub bearings first and see what happens. If it's not them, then at least you'll have 2 fresh bearings.

Just a thought from me.

 

[orval]

I have the same problem on the exact same explorer...96 xlt.

Did you figure out what the problem was?

 

[Fischer]

I had a similar problem a few months ago. There are some threads that I posted, search for those.

The wheel hub/bearing assemblies are not cheap. The shop that I took mine to mis-diagnosed the 'noise' and replaced the drivers side hub/bearing assembly. Made no improvement. Then I got the thing for free.

Then they thought it was the input bearing on the t-case and said it would go out soon. Took it to Ford and they said no problem. I just figured we'll see. For the last 6 mos. there has been no troubles.

I wrote it up as tire noise.

Good Luck

 

[OneShotBandit]

I have a "grinding" noise coming from the driver's side
front wheel on my '98 XLT 4wd. I had a mechanic install
a new hub/bearing assembly & it still made the same
sounds. They took off the new & reinstalled the old
hub (this IS what they told me) to save me $390.00!
Hmmm? This sound only happens when I make a turn.
I was told nothing was wrong as they "checked" entire
front end: diff.,axle. u-joints & cv joints, everything up
to spec.'s. Oh well!

 

[paul_c_nicols]

i had the same problem on my (older) explorer a few years ago. it was a 1991 and the noise was coming from the drivers side. mechanics (yes, several at ford & at private shops) changed right side bearings several times.

turns out, and i am not kidding, it was the left side. at least 4 independent persons said the noise was coming from passenger side. fixing drivers side bearing fixed the problem though? a lot of time & money later!

 

[orval]

hey oneshotbandit,

i had a similar problem...the noise sounded like it was coming from the front but on mine...it was actually my limited slip diff.

my symptoms were..

grinding noise only on turns, low speeds, usually up a slight grade, and only when hot or the truck had been driven a while.

if your symptoms are similar check to see if you have a LS diff...if so have the gear oil changed and ensure to add the friction modifier....(small 4oz bottle from ford).
relatively quick and cheap fix

 

[OneShotBandit]

Thanks orval, You are the closest to what the problem
I have sounds like. That is the rear diff (I don't mean to
sound stupid)?

 

[orval]

yes...the rear
which is weird, because from inside, it sounds like it's coming from the front.

this really only applies if your diff is a limited slip.
a LS diff is supposed to slip at times, what is happening is..it's slipping too much. changing the oil and adding this friction modifier, stops it from slipping so easily.

it worked great on mine.
you can do it yourself for just the cost of the gear oil and additive...or take it somewhere to get done. still not that expensive...just make sure they have the additive. ..or buy the additive from ford and take it with you. (less than $10)

 

[OneShotBandit]

Okay, Thanks again. I just called my Ford dealer & was
told to crawl under & check a "tag'' on the rear dust
cover (diff.) get the #'s, call parts dept. to see if it's a
LS Differential. Also I was told it would be $80.00 +/-
plus $20.00 for the "modifier", don't forget labor! This
is a lot cheaper then the Tranfer Case they want to
replace!

 

[orval]

there are some posts in the site that will help you to determine if it is LS...just do some searches for LS diff, slip..etc

i believe some of the things to check for was ...if the tag on the diff has 3L73...there is also info on the drivers door, something like D4 ...means it is a LS diff. I'm not a 100% sure so do some searching...there were lots of posts in there.

 

[OneShotBandit]

Thanks, Bro

 

[OneShotBandit]

orval,
Just found out it is not a limited slip rear diff. Back to square one. Thanks for the info anyway!