2005 Explorer XLS 4WD Tire Vibration Problems

[aircrew92]

I have a 2005 Explorer XLS 4WD that came with Michelins from the factory. At 70K miles, I replaced the factory tires with Bridgestone Duelers. Problems began. Despite proper rotation and inflation, the tires immediately began to "cup" or "chop." Now, I have horrible vibration issues when on "blacktop" roads and at highway speeds. I get this horrible "whup whup whup" sound that begins at 25-35 mph and gets worse as I drive. When taking exit ramps, the noise is so loud that I cannot hear the radio. I had a friend who also had a 2005 and he told me he fixed the issue by going back to Michelins. Can anyone shed some light on this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Aircrew92
Baton Rouge, LA

 

[japracer4]

I manage a goodyear store and my experience is that tires dont just cup all by themselves. something has to cup them. all the noises and vibrations you are hearing/feeeling are from the tires. if you didn't have the problem with the michelins, then go back to them.

 

[Limited02]

Are you sure your wheel bearings may not be going out?

 

[jrford]

Worn wheel bearings which is very common or ball joints will do it too.

 

[aircrew92]

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your replies. I do have one follow up question. How do I determine if the problem is the tires or the bearings? Should I have a mechanic inspect the bearings? I am assuming a sight inspection should determine if they are failing or not, correct? Thanks again for the info and have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Aircrew92

 

[jrford]

Good question. Problem is when most of the bearings go, it only the noise that occurs. In other words the bearings seem tight, or normal and if you try and wiggle the tire at 12pm and 6pm there is no play. Only when i had it replaced and in my hand could i 'feel' the bad spots. One way to test is make slow hard right and left turns and see if the noise changes as you load and unload the bearings. There are many, many write ups on these.

Only thing i had to go on was the 'noise'.

Ball joints may show up that with the 12-6 wiggle test, usually there is a torn boot on those. the knuckle may be lose.

You might want to check the diffs too, they will make noise like the bearings but the noise will go away as you accelerate or decelerate. No changes in the noise during turns. But with a diff problem the tires wear the same, not like what your getting.

 

[XCAMP]

I had the stock 235's in my 05 and the truck road smooth, I then put on Dunlop Radial Rover 245's and it was great for a few thousand miles, then it started shaking like a ***** and after spending $1500 on new driveshafts and ujoints, it still shakes and the mechanic said it's my tires. No noise, just shakes like a ***** between 60 - 70 mph.

 

[jrford]

i might have a similar problem, i get really minor vibs 70-80mph. Rotating the tires changes it somewhat. Still chasing it . . New front bearings by the way with only 5k on them, so i'm ruling them out.
Currently i'm thinking its something to do with the balance of the tires. When i rotate my tires i find corrosion on the Alum rim, if you look closely you can see a ridge which the hub sit in but it doesn't seem even with corrosion. I'm guessing its throwing the balance machines off, they use both the inside ridge and outside with a cone adapter to mount the rim to the machine. There is another way to balance them from what i have been told which uses a 'finger' mechanism to mount the rim and not the cone. Therefore the rim actually sit 'truer' and you can get a better balance. Have yet to test this but. . . .

 

[Limited02]

Try having them "road forced" balanced. When I had bought my new tires, I took them back 3 times to get rebalanced in a month and finally they did the road force and found 2 bad tires. Replaced those and it was better, but not good enough and after balancing 3 more times for a total of 7 rebalance's in 3 months, I said screw it and bought 20's. Even with worn out tires, they ride smoother than my 16's ever did.(balance wise)

When I got my 20's and took off the 16's, the 16's were cracked on the sidewalls on all 4 tires with less than 8 months of use and then I got 4 new Bridgstones for free and ended up selling the 16's to cover the cost of the 20's.

So getting your tires "road forced" can help pinpoint the problem let you know if the tires are bad or even capable of being balanced within specs.

 

[XCAMP]

Thanks for the tips!