Noise at higher speeds under constant engine load

[pickles1107]

New owner here. 2020 expedition max 4wd with HD tow.

When on the freeway, cruise control on, if the turbos engage (I.e. going slightly uphill on interstate), I start to get a strange noise coming from under the car/hood area. It can be heard on both driver and passenger sides. Sounds like a grinding/rubbing noise and it continues until the cruise control lets off the throttle or if I manually tap the gas pedal to accelerate or tap the brake to decelerate. I can only replicate the noise while keeping the gas pedal at constant load or in cruise.
I’ve experienced this in 2A, haven’t tried in 4A yet.

Any ideas??

 

[2020FordRaptor]

New owner here. 2020 expedition max 4wd with HD tow.

When on the freeway, cruise control on, if the turbos engage (I.e. going slightly uphill on interstate), I start to get a strange noise coming from under the car/hood area. It can be heard on both driver and passenger sides. Sounds like a grinding/rubbing noise and it continues until the cruise control lets off the throttle or if I manually tap the gas pedal to accelerate or tap the brake to decelerate. I can only replicate the noise while keeping the gas pedal at constant load or in cruise.
I’ve experienced this in 2A, haven’t tried in 4A yet.

Any ideas??

Welcome to the forum! Sorry I wouldn't know.

 

[sjwelds]

New owner here. 2020 expedition max 4wd with HD tow.

When on the freeway, cruise control on, if the turbos engage (I.e. going slightly uphill on interstate), I start to get a strange noise coming from under the car/hood area. It can be heard on both driver and passenger sides. Sounds like a grinding/rubbing noise and it continues until the cruise control lets off the throttle or if I manually tap the gas pedal to accelerate or tap the brake to decelerate. I can only replicate the noise while keeping the gas pedal at constant load or in cruise.
I’ve experienced this in 2A, haven’t tried in 4A yet.

Any ideas??

Try 4A. If the noise goes away odds are it's a vacuum leak that's letting the hubs partially engage. Lots of info about it here.

 

[pickles1107]

Thanks a lot. Based on my reading that does sound like my same issue.
I am in the middle of a long road trip, still have a thousand miles til home. Would you recommend driving in 4A the rest of the time to prevent any further damage to the gear teeth while trying to engage?

 

[sjwelds]

Yes.

 

[Deadman]

very possible the IWE like mentioned above....

 

[pickles1107]

Update: drove another 350 miles today in 4A and couldn’t get the noise to replicate at all so I suspect o have a leak trying to engage the hubs.
Any suggestions on what I need to mention specifically at the dealer? Is this part of the power train warranty?

 

[oldfordguy]

We have the identical vehicle. First, to be sure it is the IWE on the front axle, as you drive, position your hand above the 4WD button. When the noise presents, don't change speed or driving condition, just press the 4WD button. If the noise disappears, it is the IWEs. My contact at Ford says that they are noisy, not dangerous and it is OK to drive as usual until you can get in for service. No need to keep it in 4WD. There is much written about the IWEs on the forum and there are multiple service bulletins (not recalls) if you feel like reading up. Don't worry.

 

[Deadman]

If you drive too long on them, they contaminate the wheel bearings with metal. Dealer swapped my wheel bearings with the IWE's to prevent this as it was warranty

 

[FordExped2018truk]

I have some of the exact same issues. I have a 2018 Ford expedition Limited with heavy duty tow package. Also the four-wheel-drive and 4 wheel low range. When traveling at highway speeds 75 miles an hour or faster, I get the sudden noise that appears about one hour into my trip. It’s a loud wind type noise, maybe a little bit of grinding that comes from the front of the car. Seems to always be when the turbos come on. When the turbos go off or I go down the hill, the noise goes away. last for anywhere from 5 to 15 to 20 minutes. Normally always happens on every long trip. I have taken some videos of the instrument cluster and you can actually hear the noise somewhat and see how it correlates with the turbo gauge coming on, and then going off.