My ford escape all-wheel 2004 has 110k miles. The

i'd go with the wheel bearing , may not be any visable signs ie loose ness but get it changed

lower control arm / ball joint, had same trouble with my work beater

This sounds to me like a broken strut more than anything. As far as i know you can not remove the front differental, because this is the main drive. The rear wheels are only drivin while in four wheel drive. I would sugest to take your car to a mechanic shop and have them "shake down the front end" for any loose parts. A ball joint can also cause a noise as well as a strut mount or strut.

Sounds like a wheel bearing on the right hand side. Service is by replacement only. Its not a bad job to do if you're handy if not I'm afraid its a trip to the local shop.I would suggest you do both of them at the same time.Most of the ones I have done come back within 6 months to have the other side changed. Good luck

It could be your stabilizer bar end link. There common to make noise when the bushings wear out, inspect the end links and replace if needed. You can pick up a up graded end link with urethane bushings that last a life time of the car. They go for around $34.00 for both sides at Part Source. Good luck and keep me posted.

I have a 2002 Escape V6. I had a squeak when turning... even when standing still. It was fairly low mileage: 40,000 miles?
It was the outer tie rod. You could feel it squeak in your hand while someone else turned the steering wheel.
I disconnected the tie rod. I wasn't worn, just squeaky. I squirted a little WD40 inside the boot, and worked it in. Reassembled and squeak gone.
I bought a replacement tie rod, but never had to put it on. I'm now at 110,000 miles.

next time you're going down the road and it's making that noise, just turn slightly to one direction, and then the other. If the noise disappears temporarily, it's probably a wheel bearing.

could it possibly the exhaust bracket in the back

Your Front Sway Bar Links May Be Bad. I have a 2004 Escape, The links on mine started making noise at approx. 60,000 miles.