Need some help, "rumble strip" vibration on '03.

[Foo]

Just looking for a little insight here.

I have 2003 with 110k on it.

When it's parked for a while, say a few hours, or overnight. As I get in to drive it away from a stop there will always be a vibration approximately 50-100 feet down the road from where it was parked. It will last only about a second or a second and a half and it's gone.

The vibration feels like you are driving over rumble strips on the side of the highway, at highway speed. It is most definitely coming from the passenger side, but I can't tell if it's the front, rear, or both.

Any ideas on what could be happening here?

Not sure if it's a big problem but I would like to correct it before it became one.

Thank you.

 

[pet575]

Free option: start by looking to see if your e-brake is somehow hanging up. I had this happen on mine and it was my alert that the entire assembly needed replacing which, if you do yourself, is well under $100.

 

[Foo]

I actually removed my ebrake assembly on the passenger side because it fell apart while driving and the shoe caused so much friction that it ended up making so much heat it completely ruined the brake caliper, which had to be replaced.

I'm pretty sure it felt like it was from the front end passenger side as I just took off.

 

[rrgone]

This can turn out to be the A4WD system kicking in too. I have seen that description of rumble strip driving before that turned out that way. Best bet is to disable the A4WD system to see if the symptom goes away. You can do this by pulling the power fuses or unplugging the module or removing the front drive shaft - I'd pull the 2 fuses... If that stops the symptom then you can start to figure what is causing it.

 

[Foo]

Rrgone, I'll give that a shot.

It does hesitate noticeably when in automatic 4WD if I accelerate full throttle from a stop.

If I put it in 4WD high the hesitation (feels similar to a bad misfire) goes away.

What fuses need pulled and will the 4WD system still function if I put it in high or low manually?

 

[rrgone]

If I put it in 4WD high the hesitation (feels similar to a bad misfire) goes away.

That right there is a very good sign that it's the A4WD system acting up. You can still pull fuses 17 and 18 in the box near the battery which will completely disable the system.

Need to think about what is causing it to engage when it shouldn't. First thought is tires not matched closely enough. How many miles on the tires? Do you change all 4 at the same time rather than 2 now and 2 later?

 

[Number4]

Bad bearings can trip up the abs and cause the 4x to engage.