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weird droning from driver side engine bay?

H

hmouta

CEG'er
Joined
Aug 9, 2001
Messages
278
Location
Waterbury,CT
so for a few days now i get a humming/droning that starts around 15-20mph and up to 70ish. seems to die down after that. though maybe i cant hear it cuz engine is getting louder. thought it might be some kind of moosing but it would go away from blipping the throttle (like my previous moosing). thought it was tire noise but driving with window open i can hear the driver tire and the noise doesnt seem to be coming from there. it really sounds like its coming from directly in front of me in engine bay. cant be the intake since the noise doesnt appear when the car is parked and i rev it up.

starting thinking wheel bearing but doesnt that only appear when turning? i have heard the slightest squeal when i'm doing a full right turn, but thought it sounded like the tire giving the squeal. i put in the koni kit last fall and was careful to not pull the axle out of the tranny. the halfshafts are splined so they would naturally set themselves back in the grooves even if i did pull it out a bit, right? could i have pushed down the control arm too far to mess up the axle or somehow the wheel bearing? would a bad wheel bearing make a humming noise while driving straight? i'm gonna do the wheel in the air shake test this weekend.

obviously i want to fix this but can it go a few more weeks if it is a bad wheel bearing or axle? i was going to redo my alignment in april before putting on my 18s. might as well wait to take the hub apart until just before i go for the alignment.
 
the last wheel bearing that went bad I could hear while driving in a straight line before I started hearing it on turns. perform the O'clock test and see if the wheel bearing is loose
 
I would certainly confirm that it could be a bearing, sure.

Staight line noise is not unheard of.. or even uncommon..

test the hub with the o'clock test and see what happens.
 
so it seems to be the tie rod. i get a lot of left/right swaying when i do the oclock test. i really dont notice movement when doing 12-6 oclock. i can hear a clicking at the back of the tie rod like it hitting something as it moves in and out. my ball joint on the control arm and the rubber at the front of the tie rod look ok. i dont know how the tie rod connects in the back. would i need to replace it or could it have a loose nut or something? would the tie rod make a humming noise when driving? i've noticed my car for quite a while now that the front end felt loose. it would seem to want to slightly pull to the left or right when going straight and depending on the grooving of the road. it hasnt been fun driving in snow trying to drive straight and the front is kinda getting away from me. bad tie rods would definitely explain this.

now i do notice the slightest movement when doing 12-6 oclock but its so slight i cant tell if its just normal or me forcing it to move. when i checked the right side i noticed that it didnt move at all but the left side is so minimal i'd never give it any thought if i wasnt trying to trace the noise problem.

maybe i can change the tie rods and drive it for a day or two and see if the noise goes away. if it does, then i can get it aligned and call it a day. if not, then i'd next tackle the wheel bearing. changing the tie rods wont hurt anyway. i wanted to do them when i changed my suspension last fall but they looked ok at the time.
 
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The minimal movement in the bearing axis is likely a failing bearing either way.

You shouldn't feel ANY movement and your test on the other side proved it for you.

I'd suspect that your tie-rod/end/etc is failing and allowing a lateral load on the tire (thus the bearing) and wore it out, or vice versa. Either way, one (if left unattended) will cause detrimental effects to the other.

Inspect/Change/repair/replace them both and be done with it, lest you do one and the other ruins your new part in 6 months.
 
yeah i know what u mean. checking the ford cd manual on changing the inner tie rod and its saying i have to drop the subframe and pull the steering gear before pulling the inner tie rod. does that sound correct? what inner tie rod do i get? team ford parts lists 14" or 15" wheels only. no svt 16" listed.
 
F8RZ3280BA is for the 16" SVT tie rod.

EDIT: I have a brand new set that I don't think I need. I can't even remember why I bought them in the first place. :ponder:
 
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CSVT1214 said:
F8RZ3280BA is for the 16" SVT tie rod.

EDIT: I have a brand new set that I don't think I need. I can't even remember why I bought them in the first place. :ponder:
Click to expand...

Is the inner tie rod universal between svt and non svt with 16" rims?
 
if i remember the cd manual, the svt with 16" has shorter inner tie rods to allowing for turning. the 14 and 15" have different size inner tie rods(longer ones?).

tony, i'm gonna take u up on the tie rods soon. gonna order a few things to do at the same time. will pm u when i need them (maybe within a week or 2)
 
I've been having this lately too, it just started yesterday. Drones from about 25 to 40 then goes aways, I can especially hear it if I am putting a load on that side of the car I was thinking it was the bearing too. Guess I'll have to go ahead an fix that soon.
 
how hard is it to replace the tie rods? if you have movement in your wheels at 3-9 oclock, what part of the tie rod do you replace?

Thanks,
Adam
 
That's not your tie rods, that's your bearings, and the front bearings are pressed in, they require a special tool to get them out... Rears aren't pressed in, but they are a PITA to get off as well if you ever have to replace them, your going to want someone with the tool to do this, also an air chisel will come in handy...

Front bearing is about 36 from car quest, although I used my uncles discount, should be close to that amount for retail....

That sound will get worse with time as the bearings start to wear out more.... I would suggest getting them replaced ASAP....

Easy way to tell your bearings are going is just to go down the road and start swerving side to side, the side you're putting load on and getting sound on, is the side that is worn out....
 
I purchased some hubs from bagged and I plan on replacing them within a week or two. I am just wondering if the 3-9 is from tie rods or just my bearings being warn out.

~Adam
 
Read up on the bearing/hub removal how-to (Duratec Maintenance, Read-first thread) for the procedure and replacement options spread out for you to review.

Prolonging replacement can and will lead to the bearing failing to the point that it scars (eats) the hub up from the inside, enlarging the diameter of the hub thus making it so a replacement bearing does NOT seal fully and fails in 10K miles or less from then on with every replacement (causing you to have to replace the entire hub/bearing to stop the process
 
Ray, I am going to be installing two new/used hubs from bagged. I will not be using the ones that are in my SVT now. I am wondering if this will tighten up the 3-9 and 12-6 movement I currently have. On the driver side, there is little, to no play, on the passenger side which is the bad bearing side, there is play at 12-6 and 3-9.

Adam
 
A bad wheel bearing CAN produce movement at all four positions of the o'clock test. However, as stated above, there is more than likely wear on the tie rod as well. There are two parts to the tie rod that need to be checked. The outer (most common to fail) tie rod end is the part that has a grease bushing like the ball joint, and the inner tie rod. The tie rod end is easy to check. If the grease boot is torn or leaking, then replace it. This is a cheap part, but it's a good idea (understatement) to have an alignment shop do this for you and reallign the car afterwards. MOOG makes a replacement tie rod end that is around 35 bones that eliminates the grease boot from the equation. It is beefier and you don't have to worry about a boot tearing on you anymore. I'm not sure exactly what a good test for a failing inner tie rod would be. Maybe someone here can chime in on any experience that proved to be helpful. A third part to this equation that can cause movement is failing control arm bushings. If you have never replaced any of these components, then now would be the ultimate time to do so. Luckily you have the 4-bolt control arm which recently started to get a LOT cheaper than it has been ever since any of us can remember. I think I found them for around 89 bones somewhere. I posted about it a few months ago in one of the forums. So for less than 300 dollars total you can have all of the parts needed to be back to perfect, save about 70 bucks for the alignment and some beer and time with friends in your garage to swap in the new control arms. Cheers.

Here is the link to the thread about cheap Control Arms:
http://contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=14686
 
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Ray said:
Read up on the bearing/hub removal how-to (Duratec Maintenance, Read-first thread) for the procedure and replacement options spread out for you to review.

Prolonging replacement can and will lead to the bearing failing to the point that it scars (eats) the hub up from the inside, enlarging the diameter of the hub thus making it so a replacement bearing does NOT seal fully and fails in 10K miles or less from then on with every replacement (causing you to have to replace the entire hub/bearing to stop the process
Click to expand...


I had this exact problem about three times in a row until I pulled my head out of my arse and realized the inside diameter of my hub was out of round. Talk about wanting to off yourself!!!
 
i'm going to buy the wheel bearing puller kit and hub puller/installer. i havent checked if my hub is out of round. but at least if the bearing goes bad again, i can easily pull the bearing and install a new one and new hub since the knuckle wont have to come off the car. and will prevent having to get another alignment. was going to do the passenger wheel bearing too but will wait to see if it gives me noise down the road. with the install kit, i can wait on it.

will the new bearing come ready to press in? or do i have to open it up to grease up the ball bearings.

where did u guys get a breaker bar big enough for the axle nut? rent one from parts store? i dont think my torque wrench goes up to over 200ftlbs.
 
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