Explorer shakes at 60mph

[indebt]

Add me to the list. I have a "cousin" of the X (mountineer). '98 5.0, AWD.

When running at 50-60mph under light acceleration I notice a vibration that shakes the whole truck - not just throught the steering. If I let off the gas it goes away. So far I've rotated tires, replace a leaking rear axle damper (horizontal damper that mounts to diff) with no improvement, and checked the trans mount. Front lower ball joints are only 3 months old and tight.

U-joints seem tight, but I did notice a bit of movement in the splined section of the driveshaft (where it slides in and out). I wonder if this is enough to make the shaft "whip" at certian speeds and loads. I'm going to pull the driveshaft tomorrow and see if I can get a local shop to check it out.

 

[huskyfan23]

So, hence the name, indebt, right?

 

[stol]

Suprise, suprise. The vibration stopped completely. The mechanic said it might work itself out. I gave the steering a couple or hard cranks when I was standing still and the vibration was gone!

 

[wilson_nick]

this could be a driveline vibration problem if any of you guys are still wondering. If you haven't figured it out you may want to check your drive shaft, it could be out of balance. you could get it rebalanced or buy an aftermarket driveshaft.

 

[lo_jack]

I had another vibration that probably was my driveshaft, but i think it was because the tranny/driveshaft interface was sort of worn. At any rate, that worked itself out. But it did not cause my steering wheel to shake, nor my 5 speed shifter, which I tried to stop from shaking, similar to someone else earlier. It also did not shake my girlfriend, who asked if my X was "going to explode." I am not yet convinced that the wheelbearings didnt have something to do with that, but unlike other members my shake went away with a tire balance.

 

[dgracer]

1 word. Shocks.

 

[lo_jack]

Bilstiens a year old are not suspect, though it couldnt hurt to try for the people still experiencing the vibe.

 

[Boomer12]

I was getting the same shakes, and was told that it was the lower ball joints. When I had them replaced it solved one problem, but created another. Aparently it seems that any time my X spends time up on a rack, air leaks into the rack and pinion causing the front-end to shake violently. Problem should disapear after about 10-15 miles of driving.

Hope this helps.

 

[tenikiwon]

Major shake gone (aboe 70mph) Smaller vibration presant.


Body lift
Upper Control arm (ball-joint) pass side
1" TT
New tires

 

[dragonryan]

Mine shakes too....at about 60-64

 

[wll123345]

alright im waking this thread up. I have been having this problem for a little while now. Has anybody found a solution to this problem yet? After doing some research i have found that not many people have tried chaning their ball joints. i think i am gonna try chaning my ball joints out and also putting in new wheel bearings since i can hear that mine are bad. any input, ideas, experience would be great.

 

[Dennis94XLT]

Shocks are cheaper

I fixed mine by changing the front shocks to Bilstein brand. Several things can cause front end shaking - shocks, wheel balance, wheel bearings - ball joints - bad tires (do your tires have uneven areas on the outside area of the tread surface?).

 

[96limitedX]

wired non of our Xs 94 4x4 95k, 96 4x4 84k,97 AWD 77k do this. the 94 did but it was a bad balanced tire now fixed. but all of ours have less then 100k on them.

 

[EMT Joshua]

My X has the shaking problem sometimes too. It only happens occasionally and it's when I'm on the freeway doing about 75 to 80. It hasn't happened in awhile and I'm going to be replacing my ball joints and tie rod ends so hopefully it will never happen again.

 

[wll123345]

Let us know how it goes josh. I'm not gonna attempt working on my truck till it gets a little warmer outside.

Dennis i would think chaning your shocks to a stronger shock would mask the problem more then it would correct it although i could be wrong.

I really think the problem is with the ball joints although i won't know untill i put in new ones.

 

[wildcrisps]

My ball joints were fine, and I replaced my wheel bearings to no avail. I haven't replaced the shocks but that just doesn't make sense to me. I took it to a shop and they couldn't find a problem either.

 

[Alyeskakc]

After spending close to three thousand dollars on new front and rear drive shafts, rear pinion (twice), shocks, checking the ball joints, tire balance, brakes, etc. Having the dealer tell me time and time again there's nothing wrong, I got fed up.

Wanna know how I fixed the problem? I traded my '98 POS X Sport in last March and bought a GMC Canyon. No vibration, way better gas milage with more horsepower, and doesn't throw the truck sideways after hitting a bump no matter what the size, actually no problems with it at all.

Can't say that with my X, it was in and out of the shop starting after the first nine months I owned it (and I bought it brand new). Needless to say, my X was the first and last Ford I'll ever buy. Which is kind of sad since my family has been Ford owners since before I was born.

I just got tired of throwing good money down a dead end road. I hope you all have better luck with yours.

 

[EMT Joshua]

GM sucks - they make Chevy.

 

[AlaskanJack]

Well I am dealing with this violent shaking also on my 93 Sport. I have done both upper and lower ball joints, radius arm bushings, tie rod ends, wheel bearings and rotors. I am now checking driveshaft. This started out of the blue well not actually, it began sometime after having tranny and t-case replaced but it came on slowly and then I went to a new taller tire which I think maskd the problem. All the other parts were replaced cause they needed it.

After reading this thread I am going to check 2 more things my shocks and driveshaft balance/u-joints.

 

[srvblues00]

AlaskanJack - Since your X is lifted, another thing to check is the u-joint operating angles.