Expert: Dennis W - 8/14/2007

Question
My explorer has been making a roaring sound for quite a while now. Lately it has gotten worse and is almost deafening to drive. You can't really hear the noise when it's idling but it increases as you speed up. I haven't had any work done on it in about 1 year but the last things that I replaced were the spark plugs and wires, the O2 sensor, and the fuel filter. My abs light has been on for a little while now. Could that have something to do with it?

Answer
Even without hearing your noise, I would suspect the fan clutch which draws air thru the radiator. If the clutch sticks or doesn't work properly the roar you hear is usually the best sign of it failing. With the engine OFF, grap a tip of the fan blade and see if the blade is stuck or if it turns at all.

The easiest way to confirm this fault is to temporarily remove the fan belt. You don't need to drive it at all, just start the engine briefly, rev up the rpms and see if the noise is gone. DO NOT run the engine any longer than necessary to hear the noise or not, you could overheat the engine and cause other problems.