Hi,

My wife's DD is the 2005 Ford Explorer below in the sig. She told me about an issue she had a couple of weeks ago while driving the Exp to work. She said it only does it at highway speeds above 60. The advance trac warning light flashes for a couple of seconds. The front end jerks around. She felt the steering was out of alignment and something was wrong with the vehicle. However, the strange part is the problem does not regularly occur. The Explorer can run find for 2 weeks and then all of the sudden do this 3 second dance and back to like nothing had happened.

Any thoughts of what to look for? I made an appointment this morning to have the Explorer looked at the local dealership next week. This was my wife's idea since I have been working a ton of hours lately with no end in sight. She didn't want me to have to deal with something else on the weekend. I figured I would jack the truck up and take a peak since I don't hear any noise from the front wheel bearings.

Let me know what you got.

 

Last time my traction control light went nuts at random it was the front hubs. That was on our 2010 though. How many miles on your front hubs? What brand are they?

 

The front bearing assemblies were changed out in 2012. Both of them. In 2013, the right one failed and was replaced under part warranty from the auto parts store. The part itself was a store branded unit from Auto Zone. Mileage wise probably 20K or so. I guess it could be the speed sensor going funky. I have to take a look at everything. The appointment is for Monday but if I can look at the truck on Saturday or Sunday, I might be able to get the problem solved beforehand. Plus less coin out of pocket.

 

Parts store aka china hubs can last anywhere from 0 miles up to about 50k in my experience. I would use nothing but timken or motorcraft hubs (timken bearings are in motorcraft hubs) I have had very bad experiences with a lot of other offshore bearing units lately. They go out and coat your abs sensor in metal particles thereby freaking out your traction control. I went through three sets of "Detroit auto" hubs and none lasted longer than 3k miles and two sets tripped the trac control. They detect wheel speed using the abs sensor inside the hubs.

 

Hi,

Well the troubleshooting should be easier now. The ABS light now stays on. The 4X4 lights flashes on occasion. From what I read, a good code scanner is now required to read the ABS related codes. I do not know if Ford has specific codes for its vehicles like other manufacturers. It was generally advised to seek a Ford specific code reader. The other thing I have seen is multiple sensors could be in failure or failed as well. So I am just going to see what happens on Monday and take it from there.

 

My abs freaked out with bad hubs and I couldn't reset with my code scanner. Thankfully that code will reset itself with no tools at all once you cure what's causing it. It only took a few revolutions of the wheels on the first drive after repair for it to go away. It sounds more like hubs now.

 

You might be right. I didn't have an ABS light when the front hubs failed. Hence my questions about the front as the cause. I just want to make sure the hubs are the problem before I invest good money into them. I figure this time I will spend the 2-240 per hub if that is the case. I agree the chinese hubs can be a weak point as I had one of them fail on me already. However, at the time, I was unemployed and realized the hub had failed on the Explorer. The local Auto Zone helped me out on price since they price matched the hubs and then discounted them on top. I think I paid around 100 a piece which was better than walk in but still probably still pricey over web pricing (Rock auto) I digress.

 

Timken SP470200 hubs are only 119 bucks on Amazon right now. I just put a pair of them in my 04 yesterday. They are made in USA.

 

Hi,

Just a quick update. As they always say, hindsight is 20/20. About 6 months ago, I bought a Harbor Freight Tools professional code scanner. However it did not have the ability to read ABS codes. Originally I was going to buy the reader with the ABS capabilities but say "when will I ever need ABS readings?" This morning I took a ride to the local store and bought the one with ABS code reading capabilities. The reader detected Code "C1155" This means the sensor for the left front speed sensor was screwing up. I was able to clear the code with the code reader. However, the last maybe 100 feet to their house, the ABS light came on and C1155 came up as the code.

I looked up the part online at the local Advance Auto and they had it in stock. Ordered it. Picked it up with the Explorer en route to my parent's place. They have a garage to work in. Took about 45 minutes with interruptions (long story) from tire off to tire on. When I got the original part out, I think there was a problem with the wire insulation. There was something going on. The original sensor looked fine but it could have been corrosion with in the wire or plug. On the way home, I took a very similar length trip back to my home. ABS light did not come on.

Replacing the sensor was pretty straightforward and easy. Without the 2 interruptions, I could have it done in about 20 minutes if that. The appointment with the local dealership will cancelled in the morning. My wife is going to keep an eye on it for the next few days before calling it case closed.

 

Congrats. I hope it stays fixed for you.

 

So far so good. My wife had it up to highway speeds today going to and from work. She said the explorer rode fine. Hopefully it will stay this way. There will be some reps heading your way 05.