Loud front growl at 60-70 mph

[DoomsdayDiscDyes]

Hey all recently got a sport trac and I love it. When I first bought it on the 2hr drive home heard a growl almost sound like a tire growl. It started getting louder so I changed out the wheel hubs and cv axles. When I installed the cv axles I noticed a lot of play on the axle side. I finally found the fiber glass bushing that go on the axle shaft ends and even with those they have a ton of play. Is this normal?

 

[parker_lansing]

I don't have answers, but I do have a couple of questions. Is it a 4WD with a front-end suspension lift? If so, how high is the lift?
I don't know much about Gen2 Sport Tracs, but with the Gen1 anything over a 2" front suspension lift (torsion lift, I think this is different from Gen2) puts too much angle on the CVs which causes them to wear out prematurely.

 

[DoomsdayDiscDyes]

Zero lift and stock size tires and wheels. Current set of cv axles has maybe 200 miles on em and it's louder than the truck I had before with 35 inch mud tires.

 

[parker_lansing]

Oof, I'll admit I'm way out of my depth here. I'm just brainstorming now to get more info. Someone else more knowledgeable definitely needs to step in here.

- What tires do you have? Are they properly balanced? Do you have an aggressive tread?
- Have you had an alignment?
- Is there anything worn out in the front end? Wheel bearings?
- Is it possible it's coming from the drive train? Like, have you eliminated engine vs. drive train vs. tires?
- Could it be an exhaust leak?

Possibly related:
- 04 Sport Trac Axle Seal Leaks After 4 Repairs

 

[DoomsdayDiscDyes]

Regular street tires. Has new cv axles and wheel hubs and drive shaft. When I put in the new cv axles I noticed the old ones and new ones could be moved up and down an 1/8 to 1/4" where it goes into the front end. On both sides. I put in new seals with the cv axles and they are already ruined from the excess movement in just 200 miles.

 

[Powly]

Is your noise speed dependent? Also the bushings around the rear drive shaft wear out. Unfortunately not serviceable and you need to get a new driveshaft. I did this last year. Was about $1000 Canadian parts and labour but you need to source a drive shaft to avoid getting dinged double that. Do a search on this site or my posts to find info. My drive shaft was from Pat’s drivelines.

 

[DoomsdayDiscDyes]

Thanks for the info. I think I found the problem last night. I took the diff cover off and you can move the cv axle up and down and see it move inside the differential. Look like a axle rebuild in my near future.

 

[Todd Z]

More then likely bad wheel hub bearings... SOOO common on these.

 

[DoomsdayDiscDyes]

Both cv axles move inside the axle. I've been searching for the replacement bushing but no luck.

 

[FoMoCoMotion]

Sounds like a Wheel Bearing and Hub assembly. I've replaced the right front on mine 4 times by 190,000. Left front twice and Right rear once. The 2nd Gen Sport Tracs seem to EAT them on the AWD models.

 

[parker_lansing]

Sounds like a Wheel Bearing and Hub assembly. I've replaced the right front on mine 4 times by 190,000. Left front twice and Right rear once. The 2nd Gen Sport Tracs seem to EAT them on the AWD models.

Holy cow, that seems really excessive. Do you have any modifications to the front end (e.g., suspension)?

 

[FoMoCoMotion]

None, bone stock and never modified.

 

[dvdswan]

What bearing assemblies are you using?

 

[Todd Z]

Sounds like a Wheel Bearing and Hub assembly. I've replaced the right front on mine 4 times by 190,000. Left front twice and Right rear once. The 2nd Gen Sport Tracs seem to EAT them on the AWD models.

Not installing them properly..... Happens all the time, they then fail early. 160K on my Adren, NY roads, replaced all 4 between 80-110. 1 each. Still going strong !

 

[DoomsdayDiscDyes]

Anyone happen to know the best place to get a rebuild kit for the front axle. I need new differential bearings and axle bushings. All the ones I've found are the plastic bushing I can't find the metal ones.