2006 Explorer XLT V-8 rack and pinion changeout

[Scorpion8]

Garage has been troubleshooting some front end vibration after changing both front wheel bearings, both upper and lower control arms, one tie rod end and assorted bruised knuckles and ego. Vibration occurs at 50+mph. Other possibility is tires (out of round/balance or hardened compounds ~ 5 years old Hankook 17") and bad struts (~ 5 years old NAPA Premium). But he says there is "slight play" in the rack and pinion system. Had the tires balanced 3 times over the past months. How hard is the rack and pinion system to change out at home in the driveway?

 

[Bazz270]

Take the 4x4 module fuse out and see if something changed

 

[Scorpion8]

Take the 4x4 module fuse out and see if something changed

I can try that, what does it do?

 

[Bazz270]

No torque transferred to the FWD ,means almost no any effort on the axle components.thats the way to check the FWD on this vehicle and many other TOD vehicles too ( your mechanic should be aware of it)

If you still got the vibrations with the awd fuse off , look on the suspension components ..dead strut parts could be the issue here ( from the bottom eye bushing to the shock itself)

 

[94Eddie]

Garage has been troubleshooting some front end vibration after changing both front wheel bearings, both upper and lower control arms, one tie rod end and assorted bruised knuckles and ego. Vibration occurs at 50+mph. Other possibility is tires (out of round/balance or hardened compounds ~ 5 years old Hankook 17") and bad struts (~ 5 years old NAPA Premium). But he says there is "slight play" in the rack and pinion system. Had the tires balanced 3 times over the past months. How hard is the rack and pinion system to change out at home in the driveway?

Try road force balancing your tires. This will identify whether you have a tire and/or rim imbalance. In my area this costs around $125 to do all four tires.

 

[Scorpion8]

No torque transferred to the FWD ,means almost no any effort on the axle components.thats the way to check the FWD on this vehicle and many other TOD vehicles too ( your mechanic should be aware of it)

Fuse 26 (20A) under the hood? There are two for 4x4 (23 & 26) and 26 says "4x4 Module". Oddly I also found a "new" jumper installed on fuse 25 (front power point/cigar) that is NOT anything I installed.

 

[Scorpion8]

Try road force balancing your tires.

"Road force balancing"? Whassat? The tire center used spin balancing.

 

[07EddyB]

Be aware that your rear wheel bearings can be causing the issue as well. I had a vibration around 65 that you could even feel in the steering wheel - turned out to be a rear bearing. If it's an 06 and the bearings have never been changed before then you are probably due.

 

[94Eddie]

"Road force balancing"? Whassat? The tire center used spin balancing.

Road force balancing puts a load on the tire while it is spinning to simulate real world conditions when determining the balance settings. During this, the rim and tire are analyzed for trueness which can identify a rim and/or tire imbalance. Also, the tire is spun on the rim after each balance check to help cancel any imbalance between them. I do this type of balance on all our vehicles and it solved a nagging shake with my Mountaineer from around 70-80 mph. It turned out that one tire was more out of spec than the others and by checking the balance and spinning the tire on the rim a few times the imbalance was corrected. This couldn't be detected by a typical tire balance machine. This was a great fix because I would have had to replace all four tires, or get a new tire shaved to match the other three. This is due to the AWD systems in many vehicles requiring the same outer circumference on all the tires. If they aren't, then this will ruin the transfer case.

 

[Scorpion8]

Be aware that your rear wheel bearings can be causing the issue as well.

Thanks. I recall a shimmy when I did the first rear (pax side) but the shop just confirmed that the driver's side rear is fine.

After pulling that fuse (above) am I supposed to to get the wrench CEL?

 

[Bazz270]

Yes

Be aware of the abs and all of the traction control features are turned off in this case

 

[Bazz270]

Be aware that your rear wheel bearings can be causing the issue as well. I had a vibration around 65 that you could even feel in the steering wheel - turned out to be a rear bearing. If it's an 06 and the bearings have never been changed before then you are probably due.

Very hard to diagnose the rear hub bearings since they dont develop any wheel play unless they are half a way to be accidently disconnected from the knuckle

The only way to check the rears is to take the whole knuckle assembly out of the car and then spin and listen

 

[Scorpion8]

Pulling the fuse wasn't it. Same shimmy.

 

[Bazz270]

If so

The FWD driveline is ok thought

Check the suspension components (includes wheel bearings,struts and balljoints)

 

[Scorpion8]

Follow-up... not the steering at all or any of the joints, but a bad tire. One tire wouldn't balance properly, so am thinking that the belts must be separating. Bought all new shoes for the XLT (17" Michelin X all-season) and the entire problem has gone away.