Ford - Explorer :: 1996 - Grinding / Rattling Type Noise From Front Driver Side At Low Speeds
Nov 27, 2004
I have a 1996 Ford Explorer (4WD model). Approximately 4 months ago I had a new set of tires put on it, and in the process of replacing the tires the shop noticed that I had a bad ball joint and one of my wheel bearings was going bad. They said the ball joints were known for completely failing, but the wheel bearings usually didn't, so they recommended that the ball joint be replaced first. That is what I had them do. I haven't had the money to get the wheel bearing replaced yet. This past week it got worse to the point where I can hear it now.
At low speeds I can hear a grinding/rattling-type noise from the front drivers side (that's the side that has the bad wheel bearing). At higher speeds the grinding/rattling-type noise fades away due to road noise, but I can still hear a humming-type of noise that is a bit loader than normal - this noise just started a couple of weeks ago so I'm suspecting that this might also be related to the bad bearing.
I won't have the money to get this fixed for another 2 weeks. In order for me to have the money in 2 weeks I will need to continue working at my job 2 days a week. It's approximately 2 hours round-trip from my home to my job. Obviously with the bearing sounding significantly worse I don't want to drive it any more than I have to, but the only way I can get the money to fix it is to keep driving it back and forth to work.
Here's my question. What risks am I running by continuing to drive this? Am I running the risk of the wheel falling off while I'm driving down the freeway at 70 mph? Am I likely to experience other damaged parts in that area of the vehicle?
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My wife's car has a grinding type noise (like a key being burnished on a grinding wheel, but lower in pitch). We've had our regular mechanic check the braking system and he finds no irregularities and also says that he didn't see any loose items underneath the engine area. The sound wasn't one of the ones on your excellent 'noises' list, however. The noise comes from the driver side at the front of the car. The car is 2002 Honda Accord LX with 135,000 miles on it. The transmission was replaced under warranty at 70,000 miles.
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At this point I'm baffled. I've been hearing a grinding/rattling noise from the driver side wheel well for a couple months now. I was positive it was being caused by a bad hub, but the problem persists. Here is what I've done so far:
replaced brake pads and rotors -- twice; once before the hub went bad and once after. The bad hub warped the driver side rotor and afterwards passenger side would not stop squealing for some reason. replaced faulty wheel hub -- The bearing was totally shot, nearly 20* of play in it, should be totally rigid replaced faulty CV axle -- I suspect vibration from the bad hub destroyed the outboard CV joint, making popping/grinding noise while turning or going over bumps filled front differential -- it was a bit low on gear oil The grinding/rattling noise shows up when driving at freeway speed (around 55mph) and gets more pronounced as speed increases. The truck does not do this under acceleration but after speeding up, the rattling is the worst at light throttle (around 2k-2.5k RPM, in 4th gear/overdrive above 55mph).
I noticed that if I shift into neutral at freeway speed, the noise continues until the truck decelerates.
So at this point my thoughts are that it could be a bad differential, but I doubt it because the noise is almost imperceptible in the passenger seat. It could be a bad differential bearing on the drivers side (sounds like a worn out bearing to me). It could be any number of things in the transfer case or transmission.
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I have a 1996 Honda Accord (automatic) with just over 149,000 miles. In the 5 years since I've owned it it's required little more than some new spark plugs and tune up. I currently drive about 30 miles a week, but starting tomorrow I'll be driving much, much more to a new job. Living in Chicago with awful potholes, salt, and traffic, I'm concerned about what may happen in the near future...
I've been getting a grinding noise on the front driver side for years and have never fixed it and never noticed a change...I know it's the tie rod ends/ball joints. I've been warned that the wheel could come off, and as much as I believe them and don't want this to happen, nothing has ever happened. Is this something to do since there has been no change in symptoms or car performance in a couple years?
Other than that, any tips for keeping the car in good, working order? I do oil changes, but are they really necessary every 3000 miles? I have to make it last as long as possible and actually love the car anyway!
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I have a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport and after a brake job I noticed that while under braking at slow speed there would be a grinding sound on the front left. I replaced the brakes and wheel bearings the first time. After a while I ended up replacing the caliper itself but it still grinds. I don't notice any wheel shaking, pulling and it hasn't locked up although once I did notice a some smoke under hard braking but only once. I also don't hear any grinding while not braking.
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Alright so I'm having a problem with my 2003 Ford Explorer. I've recently noticed that when I get to above 40 mph, if my steering wheel is straight, I hear a loud kind of grinding or humming sound coming from my left driver side front. If I am going about 65 mph, it gets even louder and if I crank the steering wheel to the left, that's when it really gets noisy but as soon as I crank it to the right, the problems gone. When I do hear the hummin sound, I can feel it in the steering wheel. I have replaced al of the tires and it didn't work. Also, the car slightly pulls me to the right.
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Yesterday after about a 2hr drive as soon as I got off on the interstate exit and started to slow down my Explorer made this horrible sound that almost sounded like a power drill or the engine over revving. Then it did it every time I would slow down for anything after that. At first I thought it may have been the transmission so I took straight to a tranny shop, and by the time they got around to looking at it (several hours later) they said they could not find anything wrong with it and could not reproduce the noise. So I started driving home and about an hour into the drive it started doing it again. It only makes the noise when you take your foot off the gas. As soon as you touch the gas pedal it immediately stops. Someone told me it may be the bearings in the tension pulley, does this make sense ?
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Started getting a noise a few minutes after startup. I can hear it click on and then it sounds like a loud electric motor/pump/fan type noise. Starts pretty loud, then gets quieter (but not gone) after 30 secs. If I turn off the engine, it stops and if I immediately restart, it's gone for a couple minutes.
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I have a 2013 Elantra. There is a rubbing type noise in the driver front when braking and turning right. It only rubs(catches) in one spot. Almost like a pulsation, however doesn't pulsate. Hard to describe. Has a new wheel bearing. There are new pads and rotors (two sets of rotors). Took to my Hyundai dealer today. They can't find anything visible. They said only option is to start adjusting/replacing parts as trial and error.
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I have a 2003 Camry XLE L4, and there is a grinding type noise when I turn the steering wheel at low to intermediate speeds, and when I go over a bump. I can also produce the noise when the car is parked and I bounce the driver's side up and down by placing my hands on the left fender. The struts, steering rack, and CV axels are all new. Also when the car is cold, turning the steering wheel produces a squeak (a different noise) from just behind the steering wheel.
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I'm new to the forum and Excursion ownership but was hoping someone could save me some time and aggravation chasing a rattle in my 2004 2wd 6.0 PS. It seems to be coming from the front driver's side since I can feel it through the steering wheel. As of now, it's nothing major since it doesn't seem to affect tracking but I'm afraid it's getting worse.
I'm thinking it's a worn bushing but as I'm less familiar with the vehicle as y'all are, maybe you can point out the weak points that may be causing my issue. I plan on jacking up the front end tomorrow and inspecting for play. I'll let you know what (if anything) I find. Are there any known issues I should be aware of?
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First off I have a 2009 F150 4wd 4.6L truck...we have noticed a grinding noise on the front driver side wheel...we have replaced the auto locking hub acuator and the hub assembly but the noise is still there....it has us puzzled now not sure what it could be. I have read many different threads on this issue an it seems that it might be something to do with the vacuum. The noise is only on the driver side and only in 2wd, when its in 4wd it doesn't make the noise at all. Also while in 2wd the noise seems to go away when we let off the gas.
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2011 F150 Limited 4wd 6.2 liter. I just bought the truck a few weeks ago with 26,000 miles. Late last week I began hearing a mild grind/rustling noise that appears to come from the driver's front. It's not terribly loud (loud enough to hear), but it's annoying. It happens when I slow down (on and off the brake and below 25-30 mph) as well as let off and begin to speed up. It doesn't last but a second after I let off the brake and speed up though. The kicker is it does not happen all of the time. I drove it home from work last night and it did not do it one time, but driving to work this morning it happened every time I did what I described above. I have taken it to our local tire/suspension shop and they claim they could not reproduce the sound which does not surprise me. They did a full inspection and found nothing.
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I have a 2wd 2011 F150 90K with grinding noise coming from the drivers side front tire. Even though it was happening when coasting I thought it might be pads but they are real good. Turning the hub with no tire on it I can hear a little grinding. So I suspect bearings. I want to remove the hub but can't find out how to pull that off.
Where I would expect to find a spindle nut there is an area where it looks like you put a puller in. Can't find any videos or other information on the "Internets". Maybe I'm the first to have bad bearings? Anyway, how to remove the hub?
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My 2006 AWD LTD 500 has about 52000 miles on it; a slight rattle/clunking noise is intermittently heard on driver's side in engine compartment. Took it in to dealer who says motor mount is cracked and front stabilizer bar joints are worn and both need replacing. Car has only been driven on highways or for short trips (3-4 miles) and has had no impacts nor been driven over rough roads or run over any potholes or such. Should the motor mount be damaged? At 52K miles?? Never heard of such a thing. Ditto, the stabilizer bar joints: worn out in under 60K miles? What can I do about this? Who seek relief from? Ford warranty is, of course, over, and supplemental warrenty will only cover motor mount replacement but not stab bar. Are these parts routinely wearing out at such an early date that repair shops can reap the rewards???
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First issue started a few weeks ago. When turning left at a speed > 20mph or when turning wheel quickly I get a rattling noise, which is more prominent with the driver window down, so it sounds like it comes from the driver side front wheel, but not quite sure. It is fairly loud as I have had pedestrians look at my car when turning because they can hear the rattle.
Second issue started this morning but has persisted every time since. When the car is cooling down, we get that whirring noise, which I presume is thr coolant pump. That noise also happens now when I enter the car, and it is accompanied by a knocking noise as if somebody is hitting the outside of the car repeatedly. This is quite unnerving as it sounds like something is hitting the bodywork of the car. It stops immediately when the normal whirring stops.
I had the steering and water pump recall done in november last year, could this be related to that? Forgot ti add the car has done 49000miles....
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A year ago I heard occasional metal grinding noise coming from the front, sounding like front driver side. Sounded like CV joints that I heard before. The mechanic said it's transfer case/transmission problem, so I replaced the transmission but the noise came back a few days later. The mechanic said to drive it for a while and the noise may go away, if getting worse he can fix it since it has 2-year warranty.
Now a year later the noise becomes predicable and easily reproducible, I went back and asked them to check. They said it may be passenger side axle. I am feeling being manipulated.
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I'm having horrible squeaking/creaking noises coming from the front drivers side area of my car. I can hear it inside the car with windows up or down. Not sure if you can hear it from the outside or not. It is only when going over bumps or uneven road surfaces at low speeds. If I'm even going like 40mph and there is uneven surface I don't hear anything. It's 85 degrees today, and I notice it has gotten worse with the hotter temps. I just purchased the car a few months ago when it was still winter, and only recall it gradually doing this as the weather has warmed up.
The weirdest thing is that my previous sunfire (also a 2002), made the same exact noise, but never did get it checked out because the head gasket blew and I got rid of it. I tried pushing on the front end while it's parked to see if it makes the noise, but I didn't hear the slightest chirp, unless I'm just not strong enough to give a good enough push. What could be wrong? I don't wanna throw a whole lot of money into it not being sure what it is, and I have read a lot of horror stories of mechanics trying to pinpoint noises and still not being able to find the culprit thousands of dollars later. 2002 Sunfire GT....
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Three days ago my Outback started making this grinding/rattling (hard to describe) noise when shifting and cruising at low speeds. Is this the clutch or the transmission? No trouble shifting though. I got rear-ended by a big Lexus SUV last week, but wouldn't think that would have anything to do with it. Just damaged the bumper a little.
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I'm having a squeak/rattle type sound coming from my front drivers side wheel (more rattle). It only happens when I go over a quick bump and happens going straight and while turning. 2012 f250. 87k miles. 4x4. I have a two inch block level (southern truck) up front..
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Just purchased 2007 Prius Touring model w/ Package 6. Wonderful car.
I hear a buzzing/rattling noise when stopping at low speeds or starting at low speeds. It seems to be coming from the drivers side. Doesn't happen every stop/start.
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