2005 Mercury Mariner carrier bearing or?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Hi all,

I have a 2005 Mercury Mariner, 136K miles, 2.3L 4-cyl engine. I am experiencing a noise that is barely audible at 50mph, but increases at around 60-65mph. It is an intermittent “rrrrrr…rrrrrr…rrrrrrr” (don’t you hate people that describe things like this?) and I can sometimes feel a vibration on the gas pedal and also on the drivers side floorboard. And, maybe related, maybe not, every now and again it is a little “stickier” than it used to be when shifting into park. Not a big deal, hopefully!!!

Could this be a carrier bearing? Can that part be replaced by itself or does the entire drive shaft need to be replaced? Any ideas for something else that might be causing the problem? If it is a carrier bearing problem, is it a safety issue? In other words, can the repair wait awhile?

Thanks! Michele

2

When these AWD vehicles have power train problems, they can be difficult and expensive to repair…Being the same as a Ford Escape, there are plenty of used gearboxes available from salvage yards…But first you need to determine exactly which gearbox is making the noise…

3

Thanks for taking the time to respond, Caddyman. I appreciate it.