Hello Gents,

Looking for some insight before I take my dads truck to the mechanic. He noticed a "noise" when running highway speeds, which does not occur often for his truck..a beautiful 2005 Eddie Bauer Explorer with the 5.0 V8. I need this checked as I drag a boat to the Fl Keys from NJ in 3 weeks and the truck needs to be 100%. He just replaced the tires as his mechanic told him it was tire whine, which you hear and dont feel. The wheel bearings have been replaced in the last 2 years and they just did ball joints. I drove it up the highway tonight and felt it right at 62 mph..go faster it got more pronounced and you could feel it in the drivers seat...not vibration on the steering wheel..above 85 and it kind of smoothed out, drop below 62 and it goes away..makes no difference if you are in the gas or not..feels like something spinning out of balance....I ran it for 30 minutes at 75 and then pulled into a Lowes parking lot and drove one set of tires up onto a curb so I could fit under the truck..I started at the back and touched everything in the drivetrain for see if anything was hot..the rear differential was warm, the ujoints were not, the transfer case was warm as was the front differential, but none of the u joints or cv joints were warm...kind of stumped...anyone deal with this before?

 

You might try wiggling the drive shaft up and down and check the pinion bearing.


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-rebuild.html

 

I tried wiggling stuff...nothing seems to have any play....took it over to the local mechanic, who is an ex ford truck dealer maechanic..so we will see what he says...

 

I heard from the mechanic yesterday..he drove the truck and actually felt the vibration..score 1....he is looking into things and told me that the left rear wheel bearing was shot and the tire was ready to fall off..which is odd since another mechanic put new tires on the truck 2 weeks ago...I told him to fix that, which was replaced in March 2013 down in Marathon, FL...wont use that guy again...stay tuned...

 

took the truck for a ride yesterday...still has a vibration at highway speed...although not as bad as before and now I more hear it than feel it..still stumped...he is going to pull the drive shafts on monday...

 

My vote is for wheel bearing. It is a weird noise that can be accompanied by a slight vibration. IF the back one was shot, and the rest have never been replaced, that is where I would start. Good luck!

 

The rear wheel bearings have been replaced 2x already...although I don't believe that we have done any of the front ones...the mechanic pulled the drive shaft and inspected the u joints..he said one looked a little worn and replaced it..he still has a few things to check out...he needs to find what is causing the vibration as I am dragging a boat from NJ to the Keys next week and the truck needs to be 100%...

 

Taking a shot in the dark here, but when was the last time you got the wheels balanced? Usually if they are out of balance, there's vibration at highway speed which become more pronounced the faster you go.

 

All shots are appreciated.....my dad took the truck to another mechanic and that mechanic replaced all of the tires..they were balanced based on weights on the rims....keep the suggestions coming..Happy New Year!

 

Is it AWD or 4x4? I had an 02 Mounty that would vibrate when the transfer case was going out. It was more when I was coasting (accelerate and then take the foot off the pedal)... Other than that, I'm not sure, you said you changed the bearings already. That was front and rear on both sides?

 

DM..it's a 4x4...I first thought that maybe the 4wd was stuck on and maybe the front axles spinning at highway speeds was causing the vibration, but I played with the 4x4 high and low and there was no change.....we have replaced the rear wheel bearings on both side 2x now and the mechanic just replaced the left rear again....

 

If you've never replaced the front wheel bearings, that might be it. My rear ones have me problems to, but that's my vote. Check the front bearings.

What brand of bearings did you use on the rear?

 

We went back and checked the repair history of the truck and all wheel bearings were replaced in 2012 at about 85,000 miles..the rear ones were done again in March 2013 as my dad was hearing noise from the truck while down in Florida for the winter. We are not really hearing any squeeking or gear noise like I heard back in 2012 when I had it done the first time...there was gear whine but no vibration...the mechanic is supposed to look into it again today...I am getting anxious as I am supposed to leave for Florida in 1 week with the boat in tow and I don't diddle along but try to keep up with the traffic due to the length of the trip