OK, a quick apology......I'm always on the Super Duty forum for my truck, but now I'm helping my Dad chase down a problem and this is my first time on this side of the forums. I have read for the last hour but not found the exact issue I'm hunting so please forgive me if this has been posted before.

06 Explorer with around 60k. Dad told me that he is hearing a slight hum that gets slightly louder as he speeds up. Also, feeling a vibration in the floor and in the wheel and Mom says that it has given off a foul odor from time to time.

I jacked it up tonight, tugged on the wheels, spun them, tugged on the front and rear drive shafts and spun them by hand. No play or noise in the wheels that would indicate a bad bearring but the drive shaft would free spin about an eighth of a turn before engaging.

When I drove it I noticed what I would call a faint but high frequency vibration in my right heal (while pressing the accelerator) that would get more pronounced with speed. When you let off the gas the vibration dissapears. I tried jerking the wheel left and right but it didn't make the vibration better or worse.

A few other things I noticed where: rear end noise (new rear end at 20k.....and I assume that you can hear the rear end in all SUV's since it's an inclosed area), the ABS light stays on and the 4X4 light flashes 8 or 9 times........goes blank for a while........then flashes 8 or 9 times.........goes blank for a while....... yadda yadda yadda.

It was dark when I was looking around so I could not verify transmission or transfer case fluid levels. Also, Dad took it to Advanced Auto to have them read the codes.....but it came back blank.

I'm guessing I need to replace the front hub assymblies to clear the ABS light and the vibration but I could be wrong. Can ayone give me some insight as to what I should check next? Has anyone had these same problems?

 

To get the ABS and transfer case codes you'll need either a dedicated ABS scan tool or you'll need a professional scan tool that can access those systems.

While I have not experienced vibration in the floor/accelerator similar to what you describe, I do have the rear end whine from what I assume is from the pinion mesh. What I would try is to rotate tires front and rear and see if the vibration changes. While that wouldn't make sense from the perspective that the vibration seems to go away when you let off the accelerator, some of that could be psychological and due to the rear end whine that goes away when letting off the accelerator.

-Rod