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Topic
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Video of the Truck Making the Noise
Sorry about the wind noise in the video… See vehicle and problem information below.
1998 Ford Expedition 5.4 4×4 230,000 Miles
When driving after a few minutes the truck will start to make a grinding noise that sounds like it is coming from the front driver side of the vehicle. The noise happens only when the truck is moving and never at a standstill and the noise changes speed like it is consistent with the revolution of the wheel or a cv shaft or something. The noise also seems to be a little more pronounced when applying the brake, almost like something is rubbing up front from the area the noise is coming from.
I cannot figure out what is causing the noise but I’m hoping it is a bad wheel bearing or something.
Truck has new brake pads, new rotors, and new calipers all around and none of which are “stuck”.
Any input or insight on this noise would help a lot. Thank you.
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Replies
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Check your brake dust shield. Sometimes it can rub on the rotor. They are usually thin and can be pried back with pliers or a screwdriver. When you pop the wheel off have a look and see if anything’s rubbing on the tire, rotor or caliper. Check to see if there are any small stones jammed in the caliper. Finally if this all checks out look at the wheel bearing. I went through this. Jack the tire off the ground and wiggle it holding the tire at 12 and 6 o’clock. Any looseness in the bearing and its scrap. In my case it was tight but still made one hellava racket. I troubleshooted by first isolating that it was definitely periodic with the tire rotation. Then I ran it with the tires off the ground (my car was fwd) and I could here the noise was still there and loudest on the drivers side. Then I took it for a drive and turned corners. In my case when I turned left (or towards the drivers side) the noise went away. Root cause front drivers side wheel bearing. I replaced it and the noise is now gone.
If the noise started right after you did the brakes, it could be a brake part rubbing the rim. I had it happen on my 03 Expedition. First time dealing with the brakes on it, I bent the outside retainer clip. I put it back on when done, but didn’t realize there was no clearance for the bend in the clip and the rim. I took it to a shop, and they pointed out the problem. Grateful they didn’t go through with a repair I didn’t need. I bought a new set of clips and springs and replaced that part.
Anyway, jack it up, set it on a jack stand, and start playing with the wheel to see if you can replicate the noise and locate it. Eric has videos on how to get the wheel to talk to ya.
Thank you everyone for the replies and insight. I have since figured out what the problem was by doing some more testing.
I replaced the wheel bearing thinking that’s what it was. After that didn’t fix the problem I was able to isolate it more. The noise I was hearing ended up being the heat shield by the catalytic converter rubbing on the driveshaft. The shield must have been very close to the shaft and after it was heated up it expanded just enough to rub on the driveshaft. A quick bend and it was fixed. I can rest easy now. haha.
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