excessive wheel hop

[malohnes]

Been doing some searching but either this is not a common area of complaint or a problem.

I get a lot of wheel hop in situations where I have one wheel spinning and another either fully gripped in traction or slightly spinning. The wheel hop can be quite violent and in many instances, typical of winter seasonal weather, common when the temps rise or fall around freezing and the roads are slick underneath, say, 6 or more inches of sticky, wet snow or crunchy frozen snow.

In the summer, it is not so bad in the typical off road conditions I play in. But it happens here as well.

I have 2 year old Bilstein shocks and an open diff. Both are due for replacement this summer as I do a disc brake upgrade, diff replacement and regear and a SOA mod.

Any ideas?

 

[IZwack]

Any ideas?

Ease off on the gas pedal.

 

[tweakedlogic]

shocks are probably shot, check tires for out of round

 

[wood1]

Hit a junkyard for a LS rear, throw some new clutches in it and give that a try.

And the other stuff too...

 

[colintrax]

Ok, I'll join in.
Wheel hop (in theory) is caused by vibrations and movement from the engine/transmission running down to the tire. I remember reading something about wheel hop in the Camero, only way to fix it is to replace the transmission mounts with a different material.

Anyways, long story short is it's not worth trying to stop. It's an old truck, not a race car. Learn what conditions it happens in and avoid em, or just deal with it.
However, shocks, tires, and suspension materials all play a role. Wheel hop is pretty much gone in my truck after switching from Kumho tires to Faulken and replacing the worn out OEM shocks with Rancho.
If you recently replaced any suspension bushings, you might wanna go back to OEM.
Wouldn't hurt to check all the engine/transmission mounts as well.

 

[Kevlar7R]

Speaking as old racer trash.... Wheel hop only exits on dry pavement at the limits of traction. Tires skittering around in slick conditions is not wheel hop. Its better defined as "normal."

Holy crap... Am I really getting old enough to call myself "old racer trash?" lol.

 

[colintrax]

^not entirely true. You can get wheel hop at any time, tire spinning is different.
It is more prevalent on dry pavement though.

 

[malohnes]

Well, yeah, HEHE...I have to let off the pedal! I'm worried I'll break something, it gets pretty violent sometimes.

Hmmm, never thought about drive train mounts. Not sure if they have ever been changed...I'll check into that! Thanks for that idea!

Shocks and other stuff related to the axle, well, gonna upgrade this summer, so I guess that I'll make sure I replace all the bushing and since I am lifting SOA, new shocks are coming anyway.

Out of round tires...would tire pressure make a difference? In the winter I take a hit and reduce the pressures 10#'s to increase traction. In the summer, I only dot hat when I go on the off beaten track. Then add when I go back to the hiway. 10#'s of pressure is 2-4 mpg on my truck, easy.

It is so surprising at how much the wheel hop rattles the teeth and truck, even when I am not horsing it and often times I am not even playing around. I have parking lots and yards at work to navigate that don't get plowed much or at all!

 

[colintrax]

Out of round tires would cause a hop if their spinning.... I'm not sure about tire pressure. Suspension is a very large, complex subject. There's always an If and or but. You could try not airing down as much and see if that helps. Post the results please

 

[Jason94sport]

Wheel hop on a X? 1st I ever heard of that. It doesn't have any power, odd your getting it.....

 

[colintrax]

I used to get it in my 97, pretty non existent now.
Doesn't take that much power to make a tire start skipping

 

[malohnes]

True, not much power but 1st gear get the tires spinning plenty in icy/snowy conditions.

It is looking like I may have some wear and tear issues that is affecting me. Slop in the bushings and worn mounts seems like a valid reason/s for my troubles. Nothing else really makes much sense. Suspensions can definitely be complicated so this will be a learning experience for sure!

 

[tweakedlogic]

tire pressure will not effect out of round. they will be oval at 5# or 50#.

 

[arco777]

I've never experienced wheel hop, and have lost traction (both on purpose and not) hundreds of times on all surfaces.

Have you had your Explorer on an alignment machine at any point? I am wondering if the rear axle may not be sitting right due to a shifted u-bolt, bent shackle, tweaked leaf, etc. Are the leaf bushings worn out? Rear end collision tweaked the frame?

 

[snoranger]

Wheel hop is caused by the loading and unloading of the suspension. When you accelerate, the pinion tries to "climb" the ring gear and twists the axle, as viewed from the side. (Side note: That climbing force is what causes the axle tubes to twist in housing.)
When the axle twists, the front of the springs basically twist into an S shape. When the springs overpower the torque of the pinion climbing the ring gear, they snap back to shape. This process is repeated over and over. That is the main cause of wheel hop.

My best guess... weak leaf springs.

 

[malohnes]

Naw, no wrecks. But it has been a long while since an alignment. IT does pull to the right a bit, but it has been like that for 5 years with no change. No undue tire wear and I rotate every year.

Weak springs seem s very plausible along with bushings etc. Everything there in the rear end is original except fluids and brake items are original.

I don't recall having this issue maybe 2 years back, but then again that was about the same time I started getting into this forum and playing with my truck - mods and offroad driving.

 

[sportblack99]

Wheel hop is caused by the loading and unloading of the suspension. When you accelerate, the pinion tries to "climb" the ring gear and twists the axle, as viewed from the side. (Side note: That climbing force is what causes the axle tubes to twist in housing.)
When the axle twists, the front of the springs basically twist into an S shape. When the springs overpower the torque of the pinion climbing the ring gear, they snap back to shape. This process is repeated over and over. That is the main cause of wheel hop.

My best guess... weak leaf springs.

I second this one. I've got full f150 spring and haven't had any wheel hop since I put them in. I'd get new spring or an f150 set.

 

[snoranger]

This was my cheap fix for wheel hop on my Ranger:

Its a set of helper springs turned around and flipped upside-down on the front of both springs. I never got ANY wheel hop after that. Trust me I tried ... everyday.

 

[malohnes]

This was my cheap fix for wheel hop on my Ranger:

Its a set of helper springs turned around and flipped upside-down on the front of both springs. I never got ANY wheel hop after that. Trust me I tried ... everyday.

Now that is an interesting idea. Since I am looking to swap my rear end and do the SOA, I'll make sure I address weak springs.


I wonder how F150 springs ride on a 4 door? Comparable, softer, firmer...? Sounds like a cheap way to go since I have heard that cheap replacement springs sag quickly over time and I don't want to mess around after I swap and upgrade axles.

 

[sportblack99]

There deffinetly firmer. But they eliminate sway. Its a firmer bit good ride. Rides like a truck should