Rubbing noise

[PL8SWPR]

I don't drive the truck all that often, it's my wife's daily driver. Last time I was in the truck, I noticed a rubbing noise.

It does it while the truck is moving at or faster than 4 MPH. When slowing down, it stops abruptly at 4mph. It does not seem to change volume or tempo with speed. Shifting into neutral does not change the sound. Using the brakes does not change the sound. The sound does not changed when turning.

It is almost as if something kicks on at 4MPH or above that starts the noise. I would expect something physically rubbing would not stop/start at 4MPH and would change with speed variations.

Anyone have any ideas?

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[Dr_Strangelove]

With all the talk about parking brake adjustments on the boards over the last few weeks that pops into my mind first.

I have a suspicion that the sound does not "stop" at 4 MPH, rather, the intensity of the sound diminishes to the point you can no longer hear it. I can't think of a system in the truck that engages specifically at 4 MPH other than the power locks and even those I think engage at a higher speed than 4.

 

[PL8SWPR]

Thank you for the reply.

What is strange to me that is doesn't get lower as I slow down. It abruptly stops.

I'll try to record the sound at some point.

I believe I'll eventually take it to a local shop. Family owned. The mechanic came from a Ford dealership so he sees a lot of Ford vehicles. I'll start there rather than the dealership. Truck has 60k miles.

 

[airline tech]

I suspect the carrier bearing bushing, grab the driveshaft and shake it, can you duplicate the noise?

 

[xplorre]

You may or may not find my thread useful, linked below:

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/21-fx4-rear-diff-whine-solutions.33332/

TLDR, pinion bearings died, new rear end guts and 15k fluid change intervals

 

[ScarzRanger21]

I suspect the carrier bearing bushing, grab the driveshaft and shake it, can you duplicate the noise?

Not related to this post but I just took my wife’s truck to the dealership for what I suspect is the carrier bearing squeaking. Of course, they couldn’t replicate the noise and couldn’t find anything wrong with the truck. They said they did a full inspection and didn’t find anything. I’m going to look at it this weekend. How much play is normal in the driveshaft?

 

[PL8SWPR]

Got my diagnosis. Bad carrier bearing it is.

The mechanic, local shop, is going to call Ford to see if he can get just the bearing or if he needs to order the whole drive shaft.

He also said I may be able to whine to Ford to have them replace it since the truck is 250 miles outside of the power train warranty. Unfortunately I thought that was 50k so I wasn't in a hurry to have to have it looked at the last few weeks. Has anyone had luck in getting Ford to cover something in this situation? I'd hate to pay them the diagnosis fee only to have them tell me to pound sand.

Good news I guess is that the drive shafts don't appear to be crazy expensive. MSRP is in the $500-$750 range depending on which part it actually is.

https://www.fairwayfordparts.net/search?search_str=Drive+shaft

 

[PL8SWPR]

I'm assuming this is the part. Seems like the sell the driveshaft in 2 separate pieces and this one appears to be the half with the carrier bearing.

 

[xplorre]

Another popular option is to get a Tom woods single piece drive shaft. Should eliminate any shudder you have under acceleration, and there's no carrier bearing to go bad in the future

 

[LawnMM]

If replacing outside of warranty, in your own dime, I'd go Tom Woods all day

 

[PL8SWPR]

I looked on their site. They need a specific measurement? Not understanding why they'd need this.

Also saw that ford does sell just the bearing... KB3Z-4W602-A which I've seen for $120 from fairway Ford parts.

 

[Rhart94]

Could be worth checking if it’s the ABS doing a self-check. A lot of Fords kick that on right around 3–5mph, makes kind of a rubbing or humming sound for a second or two. If it’s consistent at that exact speed and not tied to braking, that’s usually it.

 

[PL8SWPR]

Update. Took it into the dealer and received a quote of $795 which include their $200 diagnosis fee. It seemed like they may have waived that when work was done though.

Anyway, following that, I filed a case with Ford customer care. While still on the phone, the care representative called the dealer, got them to offer it at warranty price $632 and then Ford offered to pay $285 of that and my bill would be $347. I asked if more could be done and she said yes, but a decision on that would take a couple days. Apparently they have a review team that looks at them.

The claim was sent up on Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening, I wrote up an email thanking the rep for the initial offer and detailing our brand loyalty (5 fords, 3 new, shareholder, etc). I heard back from her today. She said they needed to charge something as a no charge repair wouldn't have a warranty (2 years). We settled on $50 out of my pocket. She also mentioned that the email really helped my case as she shared it with the review team. Obviously I am happy with only paying $50. Truck will be repaired on Thursday.

 

[canyonslicker]

I hear it too but it’s the transmission hydraulic pump that to me groans when the cab goes quiet. I guess it could could sound like rubbing.. IDK

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