Hello,
First Post. I Have a 2005 Freestar 3.9L.
On hot days, after driving for a while, I hear a very high pitched, almost whistling sound coming from the front end. The noise is very intermittent, and didn't occur all winter. The noise stops when I jank the wheel to the left or right (mostly the right). The pitch of the sound is not dependant upon the speed of the car. It starts around 20 mph, but stops at same. I took of the front left wheel and caliper, and found that the brake pad wasn't wearing on the outer 1/3 of the pad. I didn't think this would cause this noise however. All fluids are fine.


I will replace the rotors and pads and that is the second part of my post. Anybody have any pictures or description of the removal of the rotors? It looks like there is just a nut to unscrew, but that seems too simple.

Any what's that noise?

 

The noise sounds like the infamous hub seal whine. This is caused by the calipers/pads hanging up and causing excessive heat build up. This in turn causes the already hardened bearing seal to get harder and causes the harmonics that you are hearing. The only cure is to replace the hub. The rotors are easily removed by removing the caliper bracket and then the 3 torx screw that hold the rotor onto the hub. I just replaced my right hub assembly last Saturday for the same issue again. The inner bearing area had some heat discoloration. I also replaced all of the pads on all 4 corners with the ceramic pads from Autozone. Clean all mounting surfaces and apply a light coating of high temp grease to the pad ears and slider area. You may also find a couple of the slide pins seized. I always pull the brake system apart every spring and clean/lub everything up.