Front End High Speed Vibration

[WDP]

Vehicle- 96 XLT 4.0 OHC automatic transmission mileage 200k. Recent problem is a vibration (high frequency,low noise) in the front left axle area above 75 MPH. Everything is smooth until that speed and increases as the speed does. Brakes and tires seem OK.What should I check? Thanks.

WDP

 

[boble86]

realignment?? or wheels need balancing is my guess

 

[Blee1099]

More than likely your tires are out of balance.. Take your truck somewhere and ask them to rebalance them & also check your alignment, balljoints, etc..

 

[WDP]

Rotated front to rear, no change. How about something in the wheel bearings? The vibration is a high frequency buzz with low noise. Any way to check or add grease to the bearings?

WDP

 

[silverfords2001]

First I would be happy getting 200k out of it. LOL....

I would check the tires and see if the tread is even or not.... I had the problem and rotated the tires to the back and got the wheels alligned and it fixed the problem..... Mine was not that bad tho. front was like 6,7,5
something like that... if you rotate them to a good allingment it will even them out...

 

[mabulok]

Had the same problem. Turns out the bearings were causing front end vibration and noise. If you're not sure how old the bearings are, just get some new bearings and seals as they're not very expensive and pack 'em with fresh hi temp wheel bearing grease. The Haynes manual comes in real handy for this procedure. It's got detailed instructions. The torquing of the bearing nut is especially important. Also lubed those ball joints and tie rod ends and that seemed to quiet things a bit more. Mine are sealed so I used one of those injection needles. Oh well if they wear out from dirt getting in the hole...they'll eventually dry up and have to be replaced anyway because of Fords crappy design (ie. no fittings to lubricate them).

 

[WDP]

Thanks Maboluk, mine is a 96 4WD and Mr. Haynes says "1995 and later 4WD models, the hub and bearing assembly is a sealed unit and isn't serviceable. If it is defective, it must be replaced". Regular spindle bearings are a snap but these look not so easy. I have a grease needle also, can I get grease into this unserviceable hub assembly? Don't really want to replace it if a good shot of grease will do.

WDP

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

Make sure it is your bearing. I thought the same thing and it turned out to be my front u-joints.

On a '96 the hub/bearing is, as you stated, unserviceable. Replacing the hub/bearing assy is not hard. A couple bolts from the backside, if i remember correctly, and the large nut on the outside is really all it should take. I did mine a year or two ago and, aside from being an expensive part (much more than just bearings), was no big deal. Biggest problem, if you call it that, is that you're practically doing a brake job at the same time, so if you haven't replaced your pads in a while, you may want to kill 2 birds with one stone...

 

[wantedexplorer]

Rotated front to rear, no change. How about something in the wheel bearings? The vibration is a high frequency buzz with low noise. Any way to check or add grease to the bearings?

WDP

did u Rotate? or did u rotate AND check for balance? just cause u rotated doesnt mean your rear tires were perfactly balanced.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

I had real bad high speed vibration before i had the front u-joints replaced (as part of the entire driveshaft)

 

[WDP]

Tires are six mothhs old and have no problems with them. On the odd chance the left front got lumpy, threw a weight, etc. a quick front-back rotate would isolate a problem. How did you determine the steering knuckle was bad? The boots are intact and I don't hear any crunching when the wheel is rotated. Any one figure out how to get a shot of grease in the hub bearings? Thanks

 

[WDP]

Thanks all, lower ball joints. My garage caught them at inspection time. Can you say fail??. They were Ford parts replaced when they did the Firestone tire recall 3 years ago. Only 60K or so on them. (CrAP OEM). Got a set of Perfect Circle from NAPA and they have grease zerks, last set I will need. If the OEM had zerks, they would still be the orginals, greased often. Saved Ford a buck, cost me $500 so far. :fire:

WDP

 

[SilverLX351]

could you tell they were bad by looking?

 

[WDP]

Easy, jack up the front end with a floor jack on the FRAME cross menber. The wheel must hang free a couple of inches above the floor. Have a helper, so you can watch, place a pry bar etc. under the wheel and pry up. Any large movement of the worn ball joint will be seen at the joint and the plastic or rubber grease seal covering the joint. Hope this helps.

WDP

 

[ALLKINDSOFFORDS]

Thanks Maboluk, mine is a 96 4WD and Mr. Haynes says "1995 and later 4WD models, the hub and bearing assembly is a sealed unit and isn't serviceable. If it is defective, it must be replaced". Regular spindle bearings are a snap but these look not so easy. I have a grease needle also, can I get grease into this unserviceable hub assembly? Don't really want to replace it if a good shot of grease will do.

WDP

to lubricate the non servicable bearing hub assebly, remove the wheel rotation sensor by taking off the brake caliper for easier access. Then, use a metric allen wrench (I think it's 4mm but don't hold me to that) and remove the retaining screw. Pull the sensor straight out WITHOUT rotating it. Put a few drops of oil into the sensor hole and return the sensor to the hub assembly. In essence, you have added some oil to help loosen the grease which over time has exited the bearing area and now resides in the area between the two bearings. This proceedure will help to get that grease flowing again, back to where it can do the most good; lubricating the bearings.