I am looking at a 99 Explorer. At low speeds there is a vibration and a bit of a rumbling noise. It goes away at higher speeds.
The owner says it is due to one brand new (drivers side front) tire with an aggressive tread. (the other three tires are worn, but okay) He says the mechanic he just took it to told him it would go away when the tire wore a bit.
Does this make sense? He is selling it with a 30 day warranty, but I sure don't need trouble.
Rotate the ties and see if the noise follows the tire.
Ed
It looks like you already bought it but I'll ask anyway: is it 4WD? If so and if you have Control Trak I've read that one odd tire can mess up your sensors.
I hadn't bought it when I posted, but I have now. Yeh, 4WD. My other 4WD manuals have cautioned against having odd tires, but the Explorer manual doesn't. The other tires aren't all that bad, just not as new as the odd one.
I think it may have been Jim Warman who posted the info some time back. Apparently the Control Trak uses wheel sensors to sense slipping and if the tires are turning at different speeds it will decide that they are slipping and engage 4WD. I guess it would be noticeable while trying to turn on pavement--if the front end is having a hard time turning then it is probably engaged. My '97 with Control Trak doesn't have any indicator when it engages but maybe your '99 does.
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