Ok, this may be a bit long, but I will try to describe what is going on with my Explorer as best I can.

5 Months ago I noticed that when I was on the expressway going up hill, I noticed that the transmission seemed to switch to 4 x 4 mode. It would clunk in and out of gear. I didn't think too much of it because it only happened at higher speed

Once and a while it would happened on roads of 45 MPH

2 Months ago my left front wheel bearing starting to go.

Last week I was driving on 35 MPH roads and noticed that the clunking in and out was happening more and more.

I purchased the new hub and installed it yesterday and made sure the ABS wire was ran properly and plugged in. It took care of the wheel bearing noise.

However, now the clunking happens ALL the time. Probably 10 times per mile at all speeds. I can feel the steering wheel pull left or right when the "clunk" happens. It also sounds like something is binding up right before the clunking sound. Also, today when I was coming up to a stoplight and on the brakes, I could feel the ABS crunching feeling in the brake pedal. It seemed like the ABS was kicking in.

I am not sure what is going on and would love some insight.

Thank you,
Shawn

 

Hi Shawn,
There are a few things you can try to pin down where the problem area might be.
You mentioned doing some work on the left front, what about the right side?
Have had a wheel with loose lug nuts give these symptoms.
After you check all the u-joints for any stiffness or looseness right from the transfer case to the wheels also, do you notice anything unusual with the brake pads and calipers?
If you can't see anything physically wrong , remove the fuse for the ABS and see if the problem stops. If it does we have some idea where the problem is originating.
You can drive it without the ABS available , you would just not have the anti-lock function available, which you might not have ever used.
Once you know where to look you may have a bad wheel speed sensor , but take things one at a time.

 

Hanky,

Thanks for the tips. I pulled the ABS fuse from under the dash this morning and what do ya know...no more binding and clunking. More questions though

1. Is there a long term effect for having my fuse out?
2. Where does the problem now seem to be?
3. My adv.trac. light came on as soon as I pulled the fuse. Could it be an issue with the advance trac system?

Oh yea, so remember I said I just replaced my hub assembly on the left side 2 days ago? Well I still notice a humming noise coming from that wheel when I go around a right curve. What else could that be?

Thank you so much for your help.

 

To ans question 1, no long term effects.
" " " 2 the problem is in the ABS wiring/components
" " " 3 I believe the light came on to make you aware of a problem with the system which is no power to it -----fuse out.
Most of the time a wheel speed sensor /area is the problem. The fact that there is an addl problem with the L/F wheel area noise requires that, that problem needs to be corrected before going any further.
When a wheel speed sensor gives erratic info to the ABS module , the module thinks a wheel is locking up and responds accordingly. There could be a damaged sensor, a wiring connection fault and even a defective sensor giving false info.
One way to help pin down the area would be to have a scan tool check done and that will usually help determine what wheel is involved.