05 Lincoln Aviator

power steering problem.

Could be wheel bearing, either side(sometimes the noise travels), dust cover bent, wheel rotor, either side warped, if this is AWD it could be anything related to that.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NTX1-NctEg

Sounds like a bearing (CV joints make a clicking). Take it to a tire/wheel shop and they will tell you in about 60 seconds.

Jack up the wheel and spin it by hand to feel or hear any rumbling or rubbing and check for any lash while you are at it.

Usually the bearings on the nearside go first (its not 100% by the way), so guessing, you live in a country where you drive on the right.

I would get the bearings on that wheel replaced as a bearing can go suddenly bad and lock that wheel. Seldom, but not worth taking the chance.....Just do it!!

Especially if anyone else also drives this car, wife, children or friends......

Noises like you are describing can come from a couple of different issues:

1. Wheel Bearing, and they are not too bad to replace on on '05 Aviator. To diagnose you will have to remove the Wheel and the Brake Disc & Caliper. You can grab the end of the Hub (the Hub and Bearing are probably integrated on this Vehicle) and check for end play. If the End Play appears to be coming from the Hub --- Its the Wheel Bearing. Remove the 3 x 15 mm (socket size) bolts that attach the Hub &Bearing assembly to the Steering Knuckle and replace.

2. Tie Rod End, Same procedure to diagnose, but the end play will come from the Tie Rod End. These do commonly go bad, and they are not difficult to replace. You will probably need to get an alignment after replacing. Or, measure the distance between the inner and outer Tie Rod Ends, get as close as you can when replacing, and evaluate your steering when taking your test drive. If you got it right, the steering will feel correct, if not it shouldn't be too hard to tell during the test drive ... take it Belle Tire to get aligned.

3. Half Shaft (or Front Wheel Drive Axle). Not difficult to diagnose, but more of a pain repair. However, this is less common and thinking of the moving parts in a front Drive Shaft of a Ford / Lincoln SUV, I would think this is rare. Would have more than likely been a Manufacturing defect noticed years ago.

4. Steering Rack .... You're on your own here :) If none of the above areas have been the root cause you may be dealing with a rack / column issue. Less common and more expensive. I doubt this is your is issue, but ... none the less ... it is a possible cause of your problem.

5. Don't forget... most road noise issues are Tire related! Check for bulging, exposed Belts, Balance, etc. I am assuming you have already looked at these possible causes, but a friendly reminder never hurts.

That's all I have, good luck!

I jacked it up and moved the wheel top and bottom and it is moving so I am guessing that the bearing is bad.

....not necessarily. The top-bottom wobble just means you have excessive lash and that is easily remedied.

Adjusting the bearing lash is normal maintenance. That and grease packing.

Does it rumble or make any other sounds when it is spun? (ignore the sound of the brake pads rubbing on the rotor)

You should get equal play not only up and down, but side to side.

I have seen shops put a motorized drum under the wheel to spin it up to speed and you can easily hear the bearing if it is bad.

Takes less than 60 seconds to perform the test.

However, you could make sure the nut holding the bearing is tight and not too tight if you tighten it down.

If it is loose you may want to replace it anyway as it will degrade the bearing driving it that way.

If you are seeing such "play", and you have no idea how long the bearings have been loose, they could be damaged.

Even if the bearings are adjustable (some are not), its safer to have them replaced.

You do not want a possible seizure at speed throwing you off the road.....very very seldom, but it can happen....

Lost Wheel

I remember when I was young passing a car on the highway and just as I was completing the pass I felt/heard a thump followed immediately by the sight of a bouncing wheel shooting past me on the right.

I had instinctively slowed down and I looked to my right to see the car I had passed had been demoted to a three wheel trike. Brown trouser time for the driver of that car.

The left front wheel was gone and the brake disk was showered in sparks as the driver struggled to bring the car to a halt. Fortunately, he did a good job and did not strike my car. However, his errant wheel left a good sized dent in my rear fender.

We had a good laugh about it all as I drove him and his naughty wheel to a service station. He had just left a tire shop that had over-torqued the lugs.

WOW!! You got lucky, look at the windscreen on the video I posted......

Yes!

In my case we were both going the same direction, so the wheel had a velocity close to mine.

That brings me to my second story of a friend that had a wheel come off a U-Haul trailer on the highway.

After it ejected he pulled over and was on the phone to U-Haul when a guy knocked on his widow.

My friend nodded and said, "I know, I know…"

"No, you don't understand…", said the man at his car.

Turned out that errant wheel crossed the highway and struck this guy's vehicle head on. Actually, it struck the trailer he was towing.

The wheel burst through the wall of the trailer, destroyed the race car inside, and then burst out the back of the trailer.

No one was hurt, so they both got lucky, but the damage is amazing, just like your video.

Interesting.

Its certainly never a good idea to take any risks with wheel bearings, especially ones that show to be loose, even the adjustable ones.

Do manufacturers use adjustable ones nowadays.....? Probably not, too much maintenance with adjusting every 10,000 miles or so.....