Cargo van making strange noise.

muttly · Dec 26, 2018

My 2005 Ford E350 cargo van is making a strange noise while I'm driving. Hard to describe. I guess it's a little like a rumbling sound. It only makes the sound when I'm driving around 65 mph to 70. It's coming from the front of the vehicle. No noticeable negative performance issue while driving. Just experiencing strange noise. Any ideas? Thanks.

danthewolf00 · Dec 27, 2018

Bearing hub or you lost a wheel weight.
Get the tires balanced and if it still makes the noise its the hubs

brokcanadian · Dec 27, 2018

Level the van / block wheels, rotate the driveshaft (trans in neutral engine off) while watching your u joints...it always felt like it was under me, starting with a shudder, when mine went. (Noticed it first around 65 mph) I started carrying spares and a balljoint press in my 2003 E350 for side of the road fixes

Above suggested is good too. A good push on the topmost part of the front wheels will thunk if it's really bad or loose (even without jacking up, but you really should, and check the rest of the steering / tierods while you do)

If it's the tires, the wear pattern should let you know

muttly · Dec 27, 2018

Thank you both for suggestions.

guido4475 · Dec 29, 2018

danthewolf00 said:
Bearing hub or you lost a wheel weight.
Get the tires balanced and if it still makes the noise its the hubs

By saying bearing hub, You actually mean the rotor, right? Econolines dont have bearing hubs. Spindles and rotors. Anyways, you are on the right track as I would be replacing all bearings and races in the rotors. I swear by Motorcraft bearings and races. When is the last time they have been repacked? If you are going to go that far, spend the money and just put new Motorcraft dotors and severe duty semi metallic pads on. Pads are 60 bucks an axle at Ford. Rotors at 100 bucks a side at Ford. Motorcraft rotors are considerably thicker than aftermarket rotors and balanced better. A rumbling noise will most likely be a bearing.

brokcanadian · Dec 29, 2018

Dollars to doughnuts it's a u joint, wheel bearings usually make noise at all speeds.

(Had lots of experience with wheel bearings in my Dodge vans, every 3 to 6 months @ 500 miles a day. When the races break and round metal rollers start pinging off the fenders, fun times)

Mailer · Dec 30, 2018

Owned a 2004 E350 Ext in the first few years of expediting.

Front end bushings/alignments were common problems(wearing out). Had alignments twice a year. When it was out of the alignments, the front tires slowly sarted to show the uneven surface like dips, ridges, bumps, etc. These may not be noticeable unless you take a real close look. They make rumbling and humming noises at highway speed.

Realignment and new tires usually take care of the problem. Cheapest solution would be rotate the rear tires to the front(if they are in good condition) and see if you still hear the same sounds.

If the sounds from the front changes, and the sounds moved to the rear wheels, then it could be the tires problem which caused by out of the alignment, balance or....the tires just getting old, Lol...

guido4475 · Dec 30, 2018

brokcanadian said:
Dollars to doughnuts it's a u joint, wheel bearings usually make noise at all speeds.

(Had lots of experience with wheel bearings in my Dodge vans, every 3 to 6 months @ 500 miles a day. When the races break and round metal rollers start pinging off the fenders, fun times)

In most cases, yes bearings make noise at all times when bad.

When I bought my first 7.3 diesel powered van from Ryder, (30 day whole vehicle warranty nationwide from Ryder), it made a rumbling noise. They did everything to it. The noise was still there. The mechanics wre stumped. I suggested the bearings. The mechanics told me what you said, that if they were bad, they'd make noise all the time. The other mechanic said we replaced everything else, why not that? So they pulled the rotors, while discovering bad ball joints. They gave me another van to drive home. Next day, everything was new, steering, ball joints, brakes, rotors, bearings. No noise. I bet they were glad to see the 30 day warranty expire on that van.

I loved that van. After Bill Hewlitt at powerstrokehelp.com in Buford, Ga got done resetting the ECM, it really was fun to drive.

FlyingVan · Dec 30, 2018

Reading this thread reminds me how thankful I am that I had a Sprinter. 790k miles on it, never had an alignment done, and of course the wheel bearings are still original to this day. I had to change the driveshaft once though.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

brokcanadian · Dec 30, 2018

Good. I've regreased the bearings once on my sprinter, and never touched them again

790k. I can't stop myself from visiting the configurator on mercedes sprinter site (new weight capacities) so it's good to know I have time to save up

scottm4211 · Dec 30, 2018

I was surprised at how stout sprinter front ends were.

brokcanadian · Dec 30, 2018

Yeah, I know. One word: Michigan

I used to break E350 shock mounts off going there. Sprinters still ok

guido4475 · Dec 31, 2018

FlyingVan said:
Reading this thread reminds me how thankful I am that I had a Sprinter. 790k miles on it, never had an alignment done, and of course the wheel bearings are still original to this day. I had to change the driveshaft once though.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Lnao....me reading those $printer threads nakes ne glad I own a Ford.

Ford Econolines gave a twin I bean suspension. A completely different animal than a $printer front end. A Ford us on a full solid frame. A $printer is a unibody that crumples easily. Ford Econolines dont go into limp mode, nor do they rot out before being paid for.

Do I hate a $printer? Absolutely not Just the over engineered mechanic aspects of it. The room, ride, hvac of a $printer is unsurpassed. Ford should of done better with the Transit. They dropped the ball.

If I won the lottery, I'd buy a new $printer, rip the engine, trans, rear end, and put all Ford in it. Than you'd have something. ....lol..

FlyingVan · Dec 31, 2018

guido4475 said:
FlyingVan said:

Reading this thread reminds me how thankful I am that I had a Sprinter. 790k miles on it, never had an alignment done, and of course the wheel bearings are still original to this day. I had to change the driveshaft once though.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Lnao....me reading those $printer threads nakes ne glad I own a Ford.

Ford Econolines gave a twin I bean suspension. A completely different animal than a $printer front end. A Ford us on a full solid frame. A $printer is a unibody that crumples easily. Ford Econolines dont go into limp mode, nor do they rot out before being paid for.

Do I hate a $printer? Absolutely not Just the over engineered mechanic aspects of it. The room, ride, hvac of a $printer is unsurpassed. Ford should of done better with the Transit. They dropped the ball.

If I won the lottery, I'd buy a new $printer, rip the engine, trans, rear end, and put all Ford in it. Than you'd have something. ....lol..

I guess I am just lucky. Hehe.

brokcanadian · Dec 31, 2018

I was working on my Ford E350 every few months. Later in life I realized the empty weight of 7400 lbs (diesel) did the suspension no favors.

It did however last a million miles for the engine and tranny with no repairs

muttly · Jan 2, 2019

Ok, so I took it to a shop to have it looked at. Told them about the mysterious rumbling sound at over 60 mph.
They found the problem.(s)
I had a new windshield replaced a couple months ago. The rubber molding at the top of the windshield came loose and unglued so it was flapping at high speeds. So problem solved.
But also needed tie rods replaced AGAIN.

Michigan roads; Gotta love em.

Thanks for all the suggestions though!