drive train vibration any clues as to what it is. | Ford Explorer Forums

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drive train vibration any clues as to what it is.

dzigfield

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May 10, 2015
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Year, Model & Trim Level
2008 explorer
My 2008 explorer V8 has a drive train vibration under load... going up hill in Yosemite at 25 to 35 the vibration increased. Also going down steep hill at Yosemite vibration got worse at same speeds... It gets worse pulling trailer with load..always there when gets above 55 MPH... Mechanics at ford say can not pin point it and it will cost $ to start changing parts.... Anyone else experienced this and if you have what was it.
 






They verified that all of the u-joints in the driveline were good? To me it sounds like a u-joint with excessive play in it and those are very easy to replace.
 






I'm not a fan of changing things unless the "things" are cheap, or you are reasonably sure that the problem has been properly diagnosed, and you are reasonably sure that changing said part will fix the problem. At least your dealer was honest with you about their uncertainty. Some things are just elusive, and a shop has be thread the needle described above if they are to retain customers.

If no shops near you feel that they can pinpoint the problem, know that a vibration issue like this will usually get worse before something catastrophic happens. As long as it's only under certain conditions, and not severe, wait until it gets more noticeable, or you detect a sudden change in behavior. At that point, take it back to see if it has become "pin-pointable".

This is what my mechanic had me do. It took a couple of months for my noise to get bad enough that he could warm up the drivetrain and trace it to the Front Diff while up on a hoist. At first he thought it was the rear diff, but wasn't sure. I'm glad he didn't just start rebuilding, as the front is a much easier rebuild (less labor and parts).
 






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