Explorer jerks violently when left front tire hits a pothole.

[uh60james]

Every time the left front tire on my 93 4X4 hits a pothole, railroad tracks, etc. the entire vehicle violently shifts. It does not do this with the right tire. I replaced the shocks about a month ago with gabriel proguard's. I did travel over some rough terrain recently and the steering wheel is turned about an 1/8th of a turn to the right when traveling straight now.

 

[retiredsparky]

bad ra bushing?

 

[bmxking5]

Is everything tight on the left side?

 

[Bashman]

Like bmxking5 said, check everything for tightness and get a front end alignment.

 

[uh60james]

Everything is tight and I plan on getting a front end alignment soon. Does anyone know where I can get new radius arms other than ford? I checked autozone and advance auto, neither have them or can order them. I have the shock mounts on them temp repaired and would like to replace them.

 

[bmxking5]

What do you need new radius arms for? We were talking about the BUSHINGS on the end of the radius arms.

 

[Vanquish502]

My truck did that, but all 4 tires. We put 4 new shocks and 2 new radius arm bushings on, and problem solved. Also make sure your tires aren't over-inflated.

 

[uh60james]

I want to replace the radius arms when I change the bushing as I just cold welded the bolts together as I broke them when I changed the shocks. I would just rather replace them than drill it out and put a bolt through it like some people have done. My tires are inflated 10 psi above what the psi on the door says they should be. If I put them at the proper pressure they all look flat.

 

[njguy_2000]

PEP Boy's.. Got a Radius Arms bushing kit was something 35$ for each side with the newer poly style bushings instead of rubber.

 

[badgett]

Take a large screwdriver (like 2 feet long)and place it between the frame rail and the top of the radius arm on the driver's side. Push down with all your weight. If the bushing is bad you will see the arm move quite a bit. Even if your truck is sitting on the ground. Pull up on the passenger side to see if it does it too.

 

[Rhett]

PEP Boy's.. Got a Radius Arms bushing kit was something 35$ for each side with the newer poly style bushings instead of rubber.

He wants to replace the radius arms, not just the bushings.

It's going to be more than $35 for new radius arms and a set of bushings.

And uh60james just keep in mind, most people don't like the harsher ride they get with most poly bushings. Most people like the rubber bushings. If you get a high-quality poly bushing, like an Energy Suspension poly, the ride quality will approach that of a rubber bushing.

If your steering wheel doesn't point straight when your tires are, or vice-versa, sounds like you are badly out of alignment.

 

[TheRookie]

Take a large screwdriver (like 2 feet long)and place it between the frame rail and the top of the radius arm on the driver's side. Push down with all your weight. If the bushing is bad you will see the arm move quite a bit. Even if your truck is sitting on the ground. Pull up on the passenger side to see if it does it too.

Where in the hell did you get a 2 foot long screwdriver that is strong enough to pry on it like that?

Easy way to check rad arm bushings is ...
Have someone outside truck looking at the bushing, Move truck back and forward a few feet at a time being pretty hard on the gas and brake, You will actualy see the arm move front and back in the bracket.

Anyway if you want new radius arms the dealer is your main source, and they will be pricey. However I would watch around on here for someone doing an SAS or extended arms and see if they will sell theirs. You could also take your truck to a welding shop and have a stud welded inplace of the broken one, I have done that on a few trucks.

 

[uh60james]

Thanks for all the help guys. I found some radius arms on www.ford-parts.com for 36.92 a piece. And yeah the bushings are bad, I don't really care about having a harsh ride so that isn't my deciding point in the bushings. Which will last longer and hold up to more abuse, the poly or rubber?

 

[Copespitter]

Thanks for all the help guys. I found some radius arms on www.ford-parts.com for 36.92 a piece. And yeah the bushings are bad, I don't really care about having a harsh ride so that isn't my deciding point in the bushings. Which will last longer and hold up to more abuse, the poly or rubber?

POLY

 

[badgett]

The screwdriver doesn't have to be strong. You're not going to try to lift the truck with it !! It doesn't take much to make them move if they are bad. Trust me

 

[Rhett]

I just use a crow-bar/pry bar/or cheater pipe. If I used a screwdriver, it would bust into 1,000 pieces.

 

[badgett]

I just said screwdriver because I have a big snap on screwdriver that doubles as a pry bar for me. Didn't mean to confuse you guys.

 

[Rhett]

heh, I wasn't confused, actually I was impressed that you could get away with using a screwdriver for that. Now that you said it was a *Snap-On* screwdriver, I understand how you could use it as a pry bar. My tools are all lower-quality than that.

 

[uh60james]

use a craftsman and if it breaks take it back and get a new one, lol

 

[Bored_2wd]

Keep in mind that it could be more than one thing. I'm leaning towards it being a wheel bearing or ball joint. Jack up the axle and get the front wheel off the ground, and then try to tip it in all directions - if you get movement up and down it's a ball joint, if it's side to side movement then it's bearings. It could also be both ball joints and bearings.
When my ball joints went bad, it was like I was slamming into curbs, ruts, bumps, potholes. Once I changed the ball joints it was smooth again.
If you're doing the radius arms, some people throw in another large washer in front of the bushing, just to give some added adjustability - not sure but I think I read about that here on explorer4x4. Haven't needed to do that for my truck, though.
Hope this helps!
--Bob