Odd Sound and Vibration when turning

Well, my '02 Explorer developed the same noise at around 135K. I took it to my mechanic, told him it was a wheel bearing, and asked him to replace it. Next day he presented me with a bill for $25!! Said the noise was caused by a bit of the plastic fender well liner that had worked its way loose and was rubbing the tire when the wheel was turned sharply.

Bill

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brazzle wrote:

Bill,

Thanks for replying. I'm sure I'm going to end up taking this back in and I will make sure they look for that.

Greatly appreciated,

Braden

If you have Control Trac 4WD and your tires are worn the sensor may think they are slipping and go into 4WD. I'm not sure about the '02 but on the slightly earlier Control Trac models there have been reported problems with a dirty sensor in the transfer case that was causing it to go into 4WD. The solution to that problem was to clean or replace the sensor.

Interesting. Is there a way for me to know if I have this feature? Is it the same as Auto 4x4? Mine is one of the earlier 2002 models without some of the features that came out later in the model year.

Appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Braden

When I got my '99, used with 100K miles, it too had a 'slow or from start growl or grind from the rear end. My brother in law has a '99 Mountaineer (sp) and had the same problem. We put a bottle of Ford rear end additive and the next day the problem was gone! As an aside, a friend had a Mercury 4 door car. He lived in Texas and moved to Washington. Whenever he went home, up the mountain, he had a transmission chatter. The dealer told him each time he brought it in that there was no problem. The last time he took it to the dealer it was out of warantee (sp). They told him the transmission needed rebuilding. He got pissed and went to the VW dealer to buy a Bug. When talking to the service manager at the VW place the SM asked him if he had the uphill chatter caused by a LACK OF ADDITIVE! He will never buy a Ford product again!

Unfortunately I can't say for sure if the '02 has the same type of automatic

4WD system but I imagine it still has sensors which determine the speed at which the wheels are rotating. If they are not the same then it determines that something is slipping somewhere and 4WD is probably a good idea about now and engages. If your tires are enevenly worn then they will be traveling at slightly different speeds. That could possibly account for the noise you hear on turns. If it continues something is likely to break. And, like I said before, the other reason it might go into 4WD when it shouldn't is because of the bad/dirty sensor on the transfer case. I can't say for sure if that is what your problem is but those would be the first things I'd look into.

Dave made a good point about differential additives. If you have a limited slip differential and don't add the additive when you change the oil it can cause problems. I've not had this particular problem because I always add the limited slip additive. I've also not heard about an additive for the front differential so that is news to me.

30 psi sounds a bit low to me for the front but maybe Ford has their reasons. I have a new Tire Inflation sticker for my '92 that was issued as a recall. They used to recommend some rather low pressures but someone must have told them that people were actually driving these things on paved roads and raised it after all the blowouts and rollovers. My '91 says 30F and 35R but I keep my front tires at about 33-35 and the rear about 35-37. If your tires are wearing too quickly or enevenly that could mean you need an alignment or new shocks. What kind of tires are they? Probably about 90% of the folks here prefer the Michelin LTX M/S tires. The only ones I've had that I possibly liked better were the recalled Firestone Wilderness tires. They seemed to be a little better on ice and slippery mud but I have limited experience in those conditions.

Thank you guys for your replies.

I took my Explorer back to my dealer today and the shop manager says that she believes it has something to do with the rear differential and she is going to investigate it. I am going to get the oil changed also and have them add differential additives. I'll let you know how it goes and hopefully it solves my problems.

Thanks,

Braden

Alright, update. My Ford dealership wants $1350 to rebuild the rear differential. they say that the clutch packets are worn and need to be replaced and they want to do some other work while they're under there (of course). Unfortunately all the 'other' work is for things I have known about and so I'm not sure I want to decline them. What do you guys think? Any harm in trying some differential additives and seeing how things go for a while?

Thanks,

Braden

Gee whiz. I've not read any posts that I can remember about anyone having any serious rear-end problems on any Explorers. You might want to do a Google search and see if anything turns up. I can't seem to remember exactly what the sympoms are of not adding the limited slip additive to the rear differential but what you described might fit.

My experiences with my local Ford dealer have not been real great. I took my '91 in for a brake booster recall and asked them to check the front locking hubs. They determined that the hubs were bad and it would cost $950 to replace them. They also found about $3000 worth of other stuff to fix. I might have believed them except they also said I needed new radiator hoses. The hoses on there were only about 2 weeks old. This discredited anything they told me from then on. I replaced my auto hubs with manuals for about $165 or so.

The bottom line for me is that the Ford Service Department seems to be in cahoots with the Sales Department. If you have a car worth, say, $5000 they will find $7000 worth of repairs it needs so you'll just go buy a new one instead.

If your tires are worn you need new tires anyway (probably). I just find it hard to believe your rear end is already worn out. Personally I would change the oil and add the additive and see how that goes. Did you check the oil level? You just need (probably) a 3/8" drive rachet wrench and a finger. You remove the plug, stick your finger in there and see if it's up to the plug. Maybe it's just low. To change the oil you normally remove the cover and use black high-temp silicone as a new gasket. This can be difficult sometimes. The other way is to get a gear oil pump and pump it out but you won't get all the oil out and you can't take a look inside and inspect for wear etc.

I you get a Hayne's or Chilton's manual it *might* tell you how to remove the transfer case sensor. They seem to be overcautious when it comes to transmissions and related stuff and figure that no information is better than a little. You can probably find a Ford Service Manual on CD on eBay for around $10. That will tell you how to remove the sensor but it takes a while to get used to finding anything on those CD manuals.

Personally I'd get a couple more opinions before having the differential work done.

Lots of old posts on this issue - "Rear end whining" was a common complaint on the 2002-03's. There was a TSB on it as well. If it wasn't fixed by the original owner you are probably out of luck on any hidden warranty but it couldn't hurt to try.

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Definitely get some other opinions and estimates. I needed the differential rebuilt on my '94 when it had only 50,000 miles on it. Possibly ruined by backing too far into the lake while launching my boat. The dealer wanted some similar price to what you were quoted, I had it done at my local mom and pop shop for $600 for a complete rebuild.