Forgive me if this has been discussed already, but here it goes: I am the owner of a '96 Explorer XLT. About a year after we bought the car (new), I started hearing a little noise coming from the front left end. Sounded a little like a tire or something else that normally runs smoothly and round, was out of balance. I brought it in and had them check it, but the techs couldn't a) hear the noise and b) determined since they couldn't hear it, it probably wasn't serious. For the last two years, my wife has been driving the car, and when I drove it recently, the noise was quite a little bit stronger than it had been in the past. If I had to describe it, it's probably something like a "whoopa, whoopa, whoopa" sound that seems to speed up and slow down with the speed of the car. Handling is fine, brakes work as expected. Here's my question: Are there any known issues that might fit these symptoms? have any of you had the same problem in the past; and if so, what was it and how was it fixed? I'd be thankful for any information I could get. Stephan '96 Explorer in Minnesota

  Stephan, Sounds as if your tire has a blister or a flat spot. Take it to a local tire place and move the front tires to the rear. This will determine tire or vehicle problem. Flat spots can occur when the vehicle skids or a blister may occur from hitting curbs or just a tire defect. Normally this will be a tire issue. If the sounds remains in the front it can be several things. Just try the tire rotation and if you don't normally rotate your tires, which I don't, just get the front moved to the rear and not a "rotation". A normal rotation they will move the left front to the right front and the right front to the left rear etc. This is ONLY good if done regularly. If not the tires are odd sizes and cause funny steering.   Chris Robertson (CR)
Forgive me if this has been discussed already, but here it goes:
I am the owner of a '96 Explorer XLT. About a year after we
bought the car (new), I started hearing a little noise coming from
the front left end. Sounded a little like a tire or something else
that normally runs smoothly and round, was out of balance. I
brought it in and had them check it, but the techs couldn't a) hear
the noise and b) determined since they couldn't hear it, it
probably wasn't serious. For the last two years, my wife has
been driving the car, and when I drove it recently, the noise was
quite a little bit stronger than it had been in the past. If I had to
describe it, it's probably something like a "whoopa, whoopa,
whoopa" sound that seems to speed up and slow down with the
speed of the car. Handling is fine, brakes work as expected.
Here's my question:
Are there any known issues that might fit these symptoms? have
any of you had the same problem in the past; and if so, what was
it and how was it fixed?
I'd be thankful for any information I could get.

Stephan
'96 Explorer in Minnesota



"The world is too big to go unEXPlored."

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Chris, thanks for the prompt reply, but I don't think it's a tire problem. Now that you mentioned it, that was the ONE thing they told me at the garage. So, we put brandnew tires on. Didn't make much of a difference. However, I will go and check the tires tonight. Would be kind of odd, though, to be only the left front tire, right? I had the garage religiously rotate the tires every 5,00 miles, too, to avoid problems of uneven wera. I am suspecting it's something more serious... Stephan

Stephan, Well now you now it isn't the tires- The other questions are; Is it 4 wheel drive? (wear in the shaft bearing or sleeve) How does it break? Do you fell your peddle move with the noise? (warped rotors or bad bearings) Does the noise change around corners or curves? (alignment problems change in corners)   Now if it is 4 wheel drive, that would explain some things.     There was a vibration problem in the right front in some, but not the left front.   CR
Chris,

thanks for the prompt reply, but I don't think it's a tire problem.
Now that you mentioned it, that was the ONE thing they told me
at the garage. So, we put brandnew tires on. Didn't make much
of a difference. However, I will go and check the tires tonight.
Would be kind of odd, though, to be only the left front tire, right? I
had the garage religiously rotate the tires every 5,00 miles, too,
to avoid problems of uneven wera. I am suspecting it's
something more serious...


Stephan

No constant 4WD; I can turn it on to an "Auto" mode or have a 4WD low. However, the noise is there all the time; doesn't seem to be worse or better in 4WD. Like I said, the brakes feel fine; I have had some warped rotors ina different car and know what that feels like. Noise doesn't change in corners, either... Stephan

Stephan, But it does have 4wd though. Well the shafts turn all the time (while moving) but only engages when activated. This means that the front shafts are included when trouble shooting sounds that keep with the vehicle speed. My conclusion would then be; Something wrapped around the front shaft Inner/outer bearing wore Hub clutching wore or not working properly.   I did have some noise in mine (when I had 4WD) and the hub assembly was a little dry and the bearings needed packed.   That's all I've got. If that doesn't help I don't know what to say. Please keep us up on what you find. We put it in the collective memory.   CR
No constant 4WD; I can turn it on to an "Auto" mode or have a
4WD low. However, the noise is there all the time; doesn't seem
to be worse or better in 4WD.
Like I said, the brakes feel fine; I have had some warped rotors
ina different car and know what that feels like. Noise doesn't
change in corners, either...


Stephan

Yes, after a while, the original Firestone tires on my 96 EB did that. Cold and around town - nothing, but after running on highway a while, would get that noise and a very faint vibration. The hotter the day, the sooner it would start. Always made me nervous. I suspected tire(s) went out of round when they got hot, which might indicate a defect or weakness. When Ford offered new tires free, I got on line right quick.Present tires (Michelin) have not done this. I rotated tires, had them checked for damage, rebalanced, but always noticed this on LF, maybe because that is closest to where I sit. George    On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 15:40:28 -0000 "Stephan Jennebach" <