2003 Explorer XLT howl from rear

hey Johan,

i just had mine in for the same problem...i rotated the tires thinking i was getting some un-even wear, but that didn't work. i finally took it to the local dealer and they discovered that one of my rear wheel bearings was bad, and they ordered me a new one...it's on "back-order" and they don't know when exactly it will be in. good luck.

robert

Robert,

a bad rear wheel bearing sounds exactly like something that may be causing this noise. It is amazing that a *new* truck has such a problem, even more so if mine has the same defect.

I'll take it to my dealer tomorrow and let you know what they find.

Hope they'll manage to fix the problem for you. Thanks for your swift reply.

Regards,

Johan.

Bob wrote:

Sounds like you are describing a whine in the differential gears. Most will make some noise like this and it becomes something of a judgement call as to whether it's "too much". Generally, if the gears (ring and pinon) are either too loose, or too tight in clearance you can get some sort of whine noise, most commonly it's on the too loose side. Also most commonly, it's not harmful to the life of the differential assuming it's within or almost within, specs for clearance. That doesn't help much if it's driving you crazy. Take it back and complain. They can reset it if it's not quite in spec and may be able to quiet it down.

If you look at the back of the rear wheel well, you'll see daylight where the two pieces of "wheel well material" come together - sort of. At the right speed, the air passing through there might create the howl you are hearing. Although from the outside there appears to be a lot of mass on the vehicle, there is actually a lot of empty space.

Could be rear axle gear noise, which usually comes and goes in these situations:

Drive - Accelerating the vehicle; a definite throttle depression applying engine torque"

Cruise - Maintaining a constant speed with the throttle applied.

Coast - Decelerating with the throttle closed

Float - Controlled deceleration; backing the throttle continually to prevent either braking or accelerating torque from the engine

They are going to replace the whole differential assembly rather than replace the ring and pinion gear set.

The ring and pinion is the main gears in the differential. The drive shaft connects to the pinion gear which turns the ring gear, which (eventually) turns the axles and wheels.

If all goes well, setting up a ring an pinion gear set is straight forward, but takes a while tear it down, replace the parts and reassemble and to get it right. It's faster for the shop (and maybe flags the defect better) to just swap the whole module.

Apparently there is a run of mis-setup ring and pinion gear sets, as I have a friend with the same problem.

Two thoughts on how long.. either they have them in stock because it's a known problem, or non in stock because so many are needed.

If the replacement is good, and it should be, you'll notice the silence.

My friend who has the problem went to the Ford dealer, they said it was "normal" and had her drive one off the lot with the same problem. Just because it does it, doesn't make it right or normal.

rk

(eventually)

Hi Rakster,

I called the dealership yesterday and apparently the "part" hadn't arrived yet neither could they verify whether it had even been shipped. The service department estimated they'd have the explorer repaired by the end of this week, if the part arrives either today or tomorrow.

I am furious that I am asked to make payments on a car which I purchased only 4 weeks ago and has already spent a week in a dealership for warranty repairs.

Can you or anybody here offer advice on how to deal with these cases?

Regards,

Johan.

rakster wrote:

Does this sound like something that would cause a recall?

Why? One sample defect?

Dear all,

just wanted to let you know this problem has been solved. The technician told me they replaced the entire rear to make sure they replaced whatever part was causing the noise.

My explorer runs very quietly now.;-)

I am still surprised something like this could happen to a brand new vehicle but my dealership was nice enough to offer some form of compensation for the inconvenience and I can say I am happy about how this matter was resolved.

Thanks to all for your advice and thoughts!

Regards,

Johan.

Fred wrote:

Johan, Glad to hear you got that fixed. I have to take the wifes 2002 in for a howl. It previously had a higher pitched (I'll call it a whine) noise at about

1. My dealer rebuilt the rear end as a result and removed the 63 whine but installed a 50-55 howl. Anyway, have to take it in soon for that one. Just got it out of the shop today for an airbag light, so I'd like to stay away from Morrie's Ford for a couple of weeks (nothing against Morrie's).