Help, 2002 roll over 50 mph

[MI2002EB]

All,

I need some quick help, I have a couple things to try, but was curious if anyone else experienced this problem or know what it is.

My 2002 Explorer EB has 102k miles on it... most things have been changed out, still on orignal shocks/struts though.

Here is the problem... lately, anytime I get above 45-50 mph the car seems to roll from side to side... like a strong wind gust is blowing... it feels very loose and I drive slower and work harder to correct it, and maintain the lane I am in. On curves it feels like it doesn't want to hold them at all.

Seems like a shoock/strut issue right? Howver when I hit a bump or a pothole, the car still seems to dampen the effect nicely... And speeds below 45 still seem very comfortable.

Any ideas... this evening I may have to do shocks/struts, but hate to spend the money on them if this is not the problem.

Thanks,
Roger B.

 

[chrisis]

i would first check if something is broke in the car(sway bars, sway bar links, shocks).

then i would check shocks if they are in good condition by pushing the car down and leave it is should come up and stay there.

if it works great at low speeds and everything seems ok then i would say that explorers is not the most aerodynamic car in the world and when you have winds coming sideways then the car is going to feel unstable.

 

[IAmTodd]

I would definitely check the sway bars front and rear.

 

[High_Order1]

hmmmm

..so, I was reading elsewhere on this site (HUGE place), and I find this in the wheel alignment thread:

Problems and Why

Below is a chart I found, but I am going to add a little to it:

1 Problem: Incorrect Camber Setting
1 Effect: Tire Wear Issues (usually inner or outter), Ball Joint/Wheel Bearing Wear

2 Problem: Too Much Positive Caster
2 Effect: Hard Steering, Excessive Road Shock, Wheel Shimmy

3 Problem: Too Much Negative Caster
3 Effect: Wander (i.e. bump steer), Weave, Instability at high speeds (death wobble)

4 Problem: Unequal Caster
4 Effect: Pull To Side Most negative/least positive caster

5 Problem: Incorrect Toe Setting
5 Effect: Tire Wear (feathering, inner and outter wear issues)

Hopefully that'll help also!

You think that 'death wobble' is whats' up with your car?

-Shawn

 

[410Fortune]

what he describes sounds like body roll, sway bars fight body roll, then shocks

 

[MI2002EB]

update

Well my brother-in-law and myself took the car apart a bit tonight... the problem became very obvious once we got the car off the ground... The Driver side rear wheel was wobbling... initally thought just loose lugnuts... but upon closer inspection you could see the whole hub assembly was moving... We took the wheel off... yep... its the bearings... wheel has almost 10-15% play in-out on it... I am lucky the wheel hasn't fallen off... heck I took the freeway to his house.

He doesn't have the tools or the time for this one, so I dropped it off at my friendly 24 hour Ford Dealer... with any luck they'll be done with it by morning. Just hope it is only the bearings, and not the whole casting that has gone bad... we shall see.

As far as your suggestions... I agree with the sway bars ones... I used to have a Jeep and I would disconnect the sway bars for off roading, well getting to the trail head felt the same way my Explorer has been feeling... and so that was the first thing we checked tonight...but all looked good there.

Will lkeep you updated on the final cost repair items.

 

[410Fortune]

I have been hearing alot about issues with the Gen III rear end and hub assemblies

Yikes
I would be sure to ask my local Ford dealer why so many of these things are happening on such a new vehicle and how much of it the plan to pay for hahaha it doesnt hurt to try!

 

[MI2002EB]

All fixed

Wow, 24 hour dealer was good...they called me at 1am to approve the work, and then called me back at 9am to say the car was ready... that's less than a day turnaround.

Now the bad news, I needed a new bearing assembly ($87), A new Wheel Hub Assembly ($200), and new parking brake shoes ($122). The dealer said the linings had come off the old brake shoes. ... so with labor the bill came to 690 bucks... a little steep, but better than having the wheel fall off at speed!

:exp:

 

[cgriffin_5139]

I dropped it off at my friendly 24 hour Ford Dealer...

24 hour Ford Dealer holy crap we dont have these in Cali.

 

[MI2002EB]

Motor City

24 hour Ford Dealer holy crap we dont have these in Cali.

Its called the Motor City for a reason you know!

Another favorite place is called 24 hour auto... a local repair shop open around the clock that does great work too. I went there one time at 2 in the morning because I had a broken wheel stud on my Jeep...

:exp:

 

[Jamo]

BOTH of my rear wheel bearings had to be replaced last September on my '02 XLT 4x4 with about 60,000 miles on it. Ran close to $1000 (parts. labor, plus 1 defective rear rotor) and took about a week because they had to send the hubs off to have the bearings pressed out or something stupid like that. At least it waited 3 months before blowing the transmission ($3100).

Wow, 24 hour dealer was good...they called me at 1am to approve the work, and then called me back at 9am to say the car was ready... that's less than a day turnaround.

Now the bad news, I needed a new bearing assembly ($87), A new Wheel Hub Assembly ($200), and new parking brake shoes ($122). The dealer said the linings had come off the old brake shoes. ... so with labor the bill came to 690 bucks... a little steep, but better than having the wheel fall off at speed!

:exp: