2000 expedition eb 5.4l

when i got the truck it had a dead battery. jumped fine after some coaxing. drove it to pepboys to heck the bat. and alt.. said alt. has low output. driving away from the place i start getting this grinding/chatter coming from what i think is the right front ie: wheel bearing, cv joint, etc. it pulls to the right just enough to motice it. i get a check engine light after 75 miles or so. then going up a slight hill the sound is louder then ever. sounds like the runign board is falling off. i pull over and this is the first and last time i can make it do the noise in park. cel light was misfire cylinder #3, so i swapped out coil and all plugs now its not nearly as bad as that time. when it makes the noise it is during acceleration up hill but not every time and only twice while comeing to a light. i used a dr lub. additive and didnt help at all. after going on an hour trip it doesnt make the noise at all even when stopping the gas. this morning it did it after making a right, so i snapped the wheel left a sec and it stopped. for a while i thought it was while not in over drive (3rd?) and about 2100 rpms. but that isnt consistant but being i cant make it do it even at the same place and run time it did it previuosly at.

my findings:
i found i need to replace the idler arm. im thinking it being lose it is letting the tire turn in or out during acceleration. and maybe its lose enough and with the mis it had enough vibration to make the idler chatter. i really hope its not the torque converter cause i wanna use it to tow my jeep. if it was the torque converter wouldnt it make the noise all the time??

 

Torque converters will generally chatter if make any noise before experation. Usually a converter symptom will be hesitation between shifts, odd shifting in & out of gears, slippage or the like.
This sounds like a bearing and/or CV if you have 4x4 which it sounds like you do. When you make turns the rotor presses against caliper causing squealing. The idler arm won't give you the grinding/chattering. It will create a vibration in the wheel and pulling on certain road conditions.

 

thanks


i replaced the idler and the noise is completly gone

 

so after replacing teh ilder arm the sound went away for about 20 miles and it came back after filling the tank. so i figured it could be the fuel filter causeing a weird mis. teh filter was pretty blocked. but its still there.

so i jacked up each fron wheel and they both spin free as can be with no noticable wobble or roughness. are the wheel bearings unit bearings where you replace the whole hub or do they come apart?

what is the best way to trouble shoot the cv and wheel bearings?

thanks for the help

 

On a 2x4's the wheel bearing race and rotor hub are one assembly. On 4x4's the rotor comes off and you simply have the hub to deal with.
Just spinning the wheels to check for 'free' won't tell you about the bearings completely. You need to jack one side up at a time, so as to try to keep the other side fixed, and put a palm on the top of the tire on the sidewall and grab the tire from underneath and pick up and a let go a few times and listen or feel for a slight clunking if its a bearing problem. Look at your rotors to check for grooves worn in and check the thickness of your pads. It could be a hanging caliper wearing pads down.

Do the same thing sideways only grabbing both sides at the same time. The sideways motion should tell you more of a tie rod or steering component problem.

To check the CV's, the easiest way is to put it in 4 wheel and do slow turns and listen for that dreaded sand grinding noise. Or you can get under it and grab the half shafts and try to move them. Try to make short movements by rotating the shaft and check for play. Check the front drive shaft CV's also....

 

it is a 4x4. i know i need ball joints. the driver lower and upper and passenger lower. could that be the noise? i just put pads on it and the rotors where fine. its alwd and i dont get any aditional noise while turning. will 4wd make a difference?

o and i did the top and bottom thing like you mention. and the ball joints dont even move under that little tension. it was on a lift and we used a pry bar to pick up on the tire to find the ball joints.
i need to do a rear pinion seal tommorow so ill pull the wheels and see what i can find. the cv is cheaper then the bearing.

 

Sure ball joints can cause this, they can make a clacking noise if dry and worn enough. They can make a chattering noise when going down to road and should create a vibration in your wheel, like your tires were out of balance.

 

thanks i replaced the drivers ball joint and wheel bearing most of its gone but i think the other side will fix the rest of my noise

 

ok im back thanks for the info so far

i replaced both lower ball joints and both wheelbearings. wow they are a bit pricey. the wheel bearings had some play and a bit of binding they might not have been bad now but by winter they would be. only thing is i still have the noise. i think its getting either worse or more isolated. it does it occasionaly while slowing down and it feels like its pulling to the right like torque steer.

the family vacation is in 2 weeks so i need to figure this out. thanks alot again

couls it have to do with the front 2 tires being different tread and type then the rear 2? they are the same manufactured size but 2 are worn more then the other 2

 

thanks for the info so far


i replaced both lower ball joints and wheel bearings

i still have the noise. it occansionaly does it when slowing down. when accelerating it feels like torque steer pulling to the right. i checked the cv's and they are solid. the rotors fit good and flat the calipers are free.

it feels like either the noise is getting more isolated or its getting worse.

could it be that the front to tires are newer and a different make? they are the same manufactured size but they are worn different? i wasnt sure if the awd was that fussy.

our family vacation is in 2 weeks so i need to figure this out.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...ml#post5067723


new info.