Front right wheel wobble at 58MPH and higher | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Front right wheel wobble at 58MPH and higher

burning_soul07

Active Member
Joined
November 19, 2010
Messages
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City, State
Omaha, NE
Year, Model & Trim Level
1994 Explorer XLT
When I am on the interstate accalerating, the wheels and front end starts to wobble visciously. It only happens after I pass 58MPH before that there is no sign of wobble. Once the wobble hits it seems very bad for the truck. It continues to wobble after 58 never stops when the truck is going faster. Any ideas???
 



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wheels out of balance?
wheel bearing lose, front end lose. did you check anything yet?
 






Get them wheel bearings checked! The best bet is to got to a tire shop for a wheel rotation and balancing and when its up in the air check to see if you have excess play.
 






does it slow down evenly when breaking? if not it could be a warped rotor.

i had this issue and it was because of tires out of round (they wouldn't even balance) the tires were out of round because my rotors were warped and i didn't bother to change them.
 






All very good responses, thanks soo much guys. I can tell this site is going to be great. So far, I have
1. Took the tire all the way down to the inner wheel bearings. I was only able to tighten the inner and outer locknuts with a hammer and screwdriver in the slot.( Manual Hubz)
2.Had the tire up on the jackstand and checked for ball joint play and tie rod play, seemed very minimal.
3. The rotors do need a surfacing, but I didnt notice any warp of the mounting surface, could be a good idea to replace, kill 2 birds with one stone.
4. Rotated the tires, front had a horrible roundness and backs were totally square the way they should of been, since then no abnormal wear I can see.
I've never really dealt with wheel bearings, but they didn't seem too torn up and after I tightened everything and retightened after driving it still wobbled, no difference in the amount or speed starting point.
 






To tighten wheel bearings you need more then a hammer and a driver it takes a 1/2 breaker bar or a ratchet with a cheater bar on it to get that outer nut to proper specs. Unless you get the nuts set right (inner = seat bearing then back off and then set to 16 inch pounds outer 150 foot LBS) you could still be to lose. Also the only real way to see if bearings are still good is to remove them and clean them of grease and then look them over but do not roll them dry as that will wreak them also.

A wrapper rotor if you can see it its way warped normally you need to measure it with a dial indicator as it only takes a small amount to make a shake .( have warped two set of rotors on my ex in 13 years both in the last 3 years)
Also lose or worn ball joints tie rod ends, radius bushing can all also do the shake.

Best way to check tie rod ends is to get under there and move them or try to by hand and look them over by eye for bad grease boots and such. Try moving the ends up and down also left and right

An out of round tire or one that out of balance can also do it. Best thing to do is as I said get under it and look it over really good. Grip things and try to move them (suspension parts that is) when checking your wheel bearings it’s also a good time to repack them also
 






To tighten wheel bearings you need more then a hammer and a driver it takes a 1/2 breaker bar or a ratchet with a cheater bar on it to get that outer nut to proper specs.

You can buy a $30 torque wrench which has a 17" lever arm to act as a breaker bar a sears. I recommend the beam style 1/2" drive 150 ft-lb craftsman one (link). I do not recommend any of the other style craftsman torque wrenches as that is the only type that carries the lifetime warranty. The supposedly better "Microtork" type has only a one year warranty and many online reviews report it breaking quickly. If you want a better wrench with a higher limit then you'll have to look around a bit.

Torquing the axle nut at the upper limit of the wrench will mean the accuracy starts to get off. But at least you'll know when you're pretty close. When torquing down fasteners you want to do so in a smooth motion to get accurate readings. Hammering with a breaker bar is fine for loosening stuck fasteners, but if used to tighten could damage the threads. The momentary force applied by the hammer's impact can exceed the rated specs.
 






Sounds like something I am going to leave up to my backyard garage mechanic. I am going to check everything really good and check for play in all the components listed. I might buy some new rotors and wheel bearings and the torq wrench from sears and check that. I am pretty sure its those wheel bearings.
 






I know a lot do not like them but I use a 1/2 inch torq wrench (click type) from Harbor freight and find it okay. Meaning you can pay more and get better but for my usage it works fine. I got it on sale for $10.00. Plus tax here at a local store of there’s. (I now have a lot of there tools after finding them lasting as well as my craftsman’s but a lot cheaper to buy).

I have had walking beam one before and they work I just found it hard to look at the scale and also keep an eye on what I was doing so that I pulled in a straight line also. With the click ones I can both feel and hear when I hit my spec. a big plus for me but no matter what its way better then a hammer and driver or a big old wrench and well that feels good enough.
 






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