2017 Ford Explorer - wobbly after rear toe link replacement

[cell0phane]

I had my Explorer into the dealership and they replaced the tie rods rear toe links and sent me on my way. Since then the car is wobbly at highway speeds and tends to slightly accelerate when I take my foot off the gas at around 40km/h. It's not as smooth of a ride and I tend to feel every bump and groove in the road and it also feels as if it drives in its own direction and I am correcting the steering. I took it back to check it over and it came back without issues.

I took it to my local garage so they could have a look to confirm it wasn't just in my head. They said that Ford may have not done an alignment and they'd have a look. They ended up finding a bad wheel bearing which they replaced. The garage isn't near a highway so they couldn't take it for a proper test drive.

I get it back and it still feels the same, somewhat better as it doesn't feel like the back end is completely swinging out on me. Not sure what else it could be or what to ask them to look at. Tires are a year old and put on last year.

 

[Pete Deering]

I had my Explorer into the dealership and they replaced the tie rods and sent me on my way. Since then the car is wobbly at highway speeds and tends to slightly accelerate when I take my foot off the gas at around 40km/h. It's not as smooth of a ride and I tend to feel every bump and groove in the road and it also feels as if it drives in its own direction and I am correcting the steering. I took it back to check it over and it came back without issues.

I took it to my local garage so they could have a look to confirm it wasn't just in my head. They said that Ford may have not done an alignment and they'd have a look. They ended up finding a bad wheel bearing which they replaced. The garage isn't near a highway so they couldn't take it for a proper test drive.

I get it back and it still feels the same, somewhat better as it doesn't feel like the back end is completely swinging out on me. Not sure what else it could be or what to ask them to look at. Tires are a year old and put on last year.

Take it to a alignment shop for alignment. Anything is off, will show up on the rack.

 

[Motorhogman]

I don't see how changing tie rod ends would have anything to do with "slightly accelerating when you take your foot off the gas or not as smooth of a ride" Doubt the wheel bearing would have been a cause of these symptoms either unless it was about to fall out.
" drives in its own direction and I am correcting the steering." This sounds like your Ford dealer didn't set the toe in properly or maybe messed up an alignment totally. I'm with Pete.. Find a reliable alignment shop. Do it soon or your 1 year old tires will start cupping or wearing unevenly.

 

[J_C]

Rotate the tires and see if that changes anything. That one may already have uneven wear from the bad wheel bearing. Which wheel? I agree the alignment should be rechecked.

Was it the tie rods replaced or that rear toe link recall? Some people have concerns that the newer toe link design may allow it to loosen and shift because it depends on a bolt at the end rather than rotating the two pieces of the link rod itself for alignment.

Also I am confused, in a prior topic you posted only that you had a howl noise and a wheel bearing was replaced, yet the howl continued. No mention of these other issues, but was it the same wheel bearing or have you now had 2 replaced?

2017 Explorer - Intermittent howling sound

My 2017 Explorer started howling in cold weather (-10C) 3 years ago. It continued through the spring and summer last year. The local mechanic and Ford cannot find the issue. It happens frequently but not all the time. Usually around 40kmph, or 90-110kmph. The howling is sometimes the same...

www.explorerforum.com

Why is a '17 explorer issue posted in the '06-10 forum? You ought to have a mod move it to the correct forum where more fellow owners of a 5th gen will see it.

 

[cell0phane]

I don't see how changing tie rod ends would have anything to do with "slightly accelerating when you take your foot off the gas or not as smooth of a ride" Doubt the wheel bearing would have been a cause of these symptoms either unless it was about to fall out.
" drives in its own direction and I am correcting the steering." This sounds like your Ford dealer didn't set the toe in properly or maybe messed up an alignment totally. I'm with Pete.. Find a reliable alignment shop. Do it soon or your 1 year old tires will start cupping or wearing unevenly.

Take it to a alignment shop for alignment. Anything is off, will show up on the rack.

I will do that this week thanks!

Rotate the tires and see if that changes anything. That one may already have uneven wear from the bad wheel bearing. Which wheel? I agree the alignment should be rechecked.

Was it the tie rods replaced or that rear toe link recall? Some people have concerns that the newer toe link design may allow it to loosen and shift because it depends on a bolt at the end rather than rotating the two pieces of the link rod itself for alignment.

Also I am confused, in a prior topic you posted only that you had a howl noise and a wheel bearing was replaced, yet the howl continued. No mention of these other issues, but was it the same wheel bearing or have you now had 2 replaced?

2017 Explorer - Intermittent howling sound

My 2017 Explorer started howling in cold weather (-10C) 3 years ago. It continued through the spring and summer last year. The local mechanic and Ford cannot find the issue. It happens frequently but not all the time. Usually around 40kmph, or 90-110kmph. The howling is sometimes the same...

www.explorerforum.com

Why is a '17 explorer issue posted in the '06-10 forum? You ought to have a mod move it to the correct forum where more fellow owners of a 5th gen will see it.

It was only the rear right wheel bearing that was changed. Just the one.

I just checked the paperwork and it said they replaced both rear toe link arms and adjusted the alignment. I have no idea where I got tie rods from.

 

[cell0phane]

I had it aligned and the issue is still happening.

I am going to take it to another garage for a fresh set of eyes to have a look.

 

[J_C]

If you really did have a bad wheel bearing, might have an unevenly worn tire. I'd try swapping tires front to back to see if the issue follows the tire location.

 

[HomerGoesWoohoo]

Took our 2013 Explorer in (twice) for the toe link recall. 2 months after the latest toe link replacement I noticed that the inside of the new rear tires was worn past the wear bars. The Ford dealer acknowledged that the new toe links require a special alignment procedure and that a rear alignment probably wasn't performed. The replacement toe links are non-adjustable and have a slotted end that requires 2 people to do the alignment or the use of a winch strap. The dealer replaced the rear tires, no questions asked.
I went with the Steeda rear toe links. They are fully adjustable, MUCH beefier as far as the thickness of the metal, powder coated and easy to install. Now with the Steeda rear sway bar, the Explorer now takes turns like a car and the handling control is greatly increased. No body roll or lean when turning. It's a totally different driving experience.
If you can, ditch the Ford recall toe links and go with Steeda.

 

[texsn95]

Part numbers for the Steeda?

 

[Odrapnew]

Part numbers for the Steeda?

Their site is easy to navigate.

Ford Automotive Parts | Ford High-Performance Parts | Steeda

Make Steeda your go-to source for Ford automotive parts. We have an assortment of high-quality parts for the Ford Mustang, Bronco, Explorer, and many more.

steeda.com

 

[HomerGoesWoohoo]

Their site is easy to navigate.

Ford Automotive Parts | Ford High-Performance Parts | Steeda

Make Steeda your go-to source for Ford automotive parts. We have an assortment of high-quality parts for the Ford Mustang, Bronco, Explorer, and many more.

steeda.com

2011-2019 Toe links
2011-2019 Adjustable rear sway bar

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Homer.

Peter

 

[leejoooo]

Since the recall/solid piece toe links have been installed on our explorer 8000 km ago we have 4(2 different ford dealers, trused local shops) alignments..replaced almost every part in the rear suspesion and destroyed 3 sets of tires. we are up to $3000 in work due to this repair as a result of fords recall. Not to mention the saftey aspect, rear end wanders like its on ice..and we have to drive probrably 30% under the speed limit if it rains or snows, my wife just refuses to drive it and stuffs our 4 kids in our civic. The rear walks out like your power drifting all the time. my most trused local shop said.. trade it in back to ford and give them the problem back. Financially thats not in the cards. Did anyone have any luck resolving this with the steeda adjustable links, i tried to order them but on back order. Did any one have any luck getting ford to accept responsibility for this?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
At any time during this issue did you call Ford and have them open a case with them?

Peter

 

[leejoooo]

Welcome to the Forum Homer.

Peter

TBH no, i guess I didtn really realize that was an option, Ford to me is just the dealers. ill look around for that #. thks.

 

[GBot]

TBH no, i guess I didtn really realize that was an option, Ford to me is just the dealers. ill look around for that #. thks.

Hi, just wondering if you found a resolution. I've destroyed my 3rd set of tires in roughly 3 years and have the same slippery when wet situation that you describe (though that may just be related to my totally bald rear tires). Not sure if I got the recall toe link replacement on my '14 Sport, but I'll probably take it to Ford ASAP.

 

[J_C]

Hi, just wondering if you found a resolution. I've destroyed my 3rd set of tires in roughly 3 years and have the same slippery when wet situation that you describe (though that may just be related to my totally bald rear tires). Not sure if I got the recall toe link replacement on my '14 Sport, but I'll probably take it to Ford ASAP.

There's no question that bald tires will cause a problem with traction in wet weather. Note that this toe link issue won't cause much if any wear to your front tires, though if you rotate your tires regularly, then of course the wear gets moved to the front.

When I got the recalled rear toe links replaced on my '14 Explorer, I noticed no difference in handling between before and after. It was wearing the old tires fine, and since then, new tires have been put on and they are wearing fine as well.

Here are a couple pics to help determine if you have the old under-recall, factory style toe links, or 2nd pic is the new redesigned toe links.

On the old, notice the weld that the red arrow is pointing to. That is the problem, that this weld breaks in severe duty/winter uses. Notice also that the rod is threaded about 1.5" from the weld. That is how length (to do the toe portion of a wheel alignment) is adjusted on the old style, detach from rear knuckle and rotate that rod to change length, which changes alignment toe angle.

This is the new style toe link. Notice it is cast as one piece, no welds, with slots instead of round holes at the ears where it attaches to the knuckle. Adjustment in length is made by moving the knuckle through the range of travel that those slots allow, then tightening the bolt down when in the correctly aligned position. The problem comes when that bolt is not tight enough, so it slips out of alignment, -OR- there is other suspension damage causing misalignment and the toe link was just a coincidental replacement.

I suppose there is also option 3, that you still have the old toe links and they broke their weld(s), but surely someone would have noticed that if you had an alignment done when you got new tires? Then again, I've heard of shops that only do the front alignment and don't touch the rear, in which case they might not notice. I mean they should if the weld was broken because the wheel would flop around when putting them on, but nothing surprises me any more.

 

[peterk9]

Hi, just wondering if you found a resolution. I've destroyed my 3rd set of tires in roughly 3 years and have the same slippery when wet situation that you describe (though that may just be related to my totally bald rear tires). Not sure if I got the recall toe link replacement on my '14 Sport, but I'll probably take it to Ford ASAP.

You can check your Ford account to see if you have any outstanding recalls.

Peter

 

[GBot]

Adjustment in length is made by moving the knuckle through the range of travel that those slots allow, then tightening the bolt down when in the correctly aligned position. The problem comes when that bolt is not tight enough, so it slips out of alignment

THANK YOU. I have seen those pictures before, but I didn't know how the slot/bolt combo allowed for adjustment. My mechanic said there was no way to align the rear wheels, which didn't seem accurate to me. Now I can show him this info to see what he says (or get a 2nd opinion).

You can check your Ford account to see if you have any outstanding recalls.

Peter

No outstanding recalls, but also no info about when exactly I had this recall work performed. I know when I started having the problem with premature wear on my rear tires, but don't remember when the recall repair was done (I moved across the country and used at least 3 different Ford service centers in that time). It would be nice to know when the repair was done so I could better troubleshoot the issue. CarFax had more info than the Ford service website, but still not enough info to help me.

Picture taken today, of what appears to be the new style toe link:

Incredibly unsafe. I'm getting my winter tires put on tomorrow (about 6 weeks earlier than I usually would) and hopefully my current mechanic can fix it or I'll have to find someone that can.

I'll try to give an update here if/when I find a solution. Pretty mindblowing and infuriating.

 

[J_C]

THANK YOU. I have seen those pictures before, but I didn't know how the slot/bolt combo allowed for adjustment. My mechanic said there was no way to align the rear wheels, which didn't seem accurate to me. Now I can show him this info to see what he says (or get a 2nd opinion).

Yes that is the newer toe link design. The strange thing is, that if the mechanic is competent to do an alignment, then the toe on the rear would have been checked, and been out of spec if this is causing the tire wear, so simply not knowing how to adjust it, should not have prevented seeing there was an alignment problem and telling you that it wasn't properly aligned.

Often shops will provide a printout showing how the alignment ended up, though I don't know the allowable range for toe on the rear of that vehicle. Based on the following post, for a '16 Sport, where the pic is a bit blurry but I think I can make it out, the shop that did that pictured printout makes it look like the allowable range is -0.05 degrees to 0.35 degrees rear toe in, and ideal is 0.15 degrees. Based on your tire wear, it looks like you have too much positive toe in, at least on the right side rear tire pictured. Too positive a toe in wears the outside of the tire faster.

5th Gen Rear Wheel Alignment- Can it be adjusted?

* I used the search function Peter * but found very little on this subject. I recently had new tires installed. The fronts had worn uneven on the inside so I also had it aligned and they fixed the toe adjustment that was out. Here is the problem however, I have two specs on my rear wheels...

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