High speed wobble, not ball joints or tie rod ends

[unpredictable1]

I brought my truck in for a front end check before getting an alignment done about a couple of months ago. It definitely is out of alignment but I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else wrong.

Mechanic checks everything and said the front end is really tight, shes just out of alignment - but the driver side radius arm bushing is worn, by no means completely shot, and that I should replace it.

All this said my truck gets a wobble that appears to increase if I hit a bump at high speeds, normal driving at lower speeds is fine. I had all my tires balanced last year. I wonder has the misalignment caused one of my fronts to be unbalanced? Or is it a steering stabilizer?

Radius arm bushings are being done this weekend as I'm going to my inlaws who have a large garage.

 

[Jason94sport]

Get the alignment. See how it is after. A shop should be able to tell if anything is worn doing the alignment.

 

[unpredictable1]

Got the alignment, she holds the road straight now with no wandering to either side (it was pulling hard to the left)

New Radius Arm bushing are installed as well.

Still got the wobble, its worse when you hit a bump in the road at higher speed (highway speeds basically) and if you happen to be turning while hitting that bump - doesn't even feel safe and is darn right frustrating to drive.

Crappy tire said I have thread separation happening on all my tires when I was in for a wheel alignment. Is there some other bushing I should check? I can definitely feel the wobble coming from the right front tire - and I feel it bad through the steering wheel.

Normal city driving the truck feels fine. If you are on the nice straight bump free stretch of highway - the wobble is barely there @120 kph. Mind you you have to be going straight...no bumps!

argh! I'm due to replace those tires anyhow...from the misalignment the right front has uneven and premature wear on it.

 

[Jason94sport]

Maybe worn shocks? Swap the tires front to rear & see if it changes. Could be a combination of things.

 

[unpredictable1]

Brand new Monroes installed less than 6 months ago on all 4 corners.

 

[squeege]

Check your rotor/s - they might need tightening

 

[unpredictable1]

definitely not - to the Nth dregree

 

[Homerexplorer]

Have you checked the wheel bearings? Double checked the inner/outer tie rod ends and ball joints? I know you said they were good but I replaced my tie rods ~11 months ago and to my surprise they are shot. It might be worth double checking - I had a similar condition when my ball joint was bad.

 

[old mechanic]

If everything else is ok i would look for a bent rim.

 

[GJarrett]

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Crappy tire said I have thread separation happening on all my tires when I was in for a wheel alignment blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah

You need new tires.

 

[unpredictable1]

I'm getting new tires soon anyways - if a tire is causing whats happening with my truck its the worse thing I ever felt with a bad tire bar-none.

 

[GJarrett]

Until three months ago I would have agreed, but I work with a guy that had similar problems - much worse actually - it felt like there was a hinge loose in the middle of the frame. I suspected anything from unbalanced driveshafts to loose tranny/engine mounts to ujoints to balljoints etc. It turned out that his tires were starting to undergo tread separation and when he put new ones on it fixed everything.

I know you're about to get new tires soon, and that's why I suggested it - if you're going to spend the money for tires anyway, do that first and it may save you a lot of money spent chasing all these other rabbits before the tires.

 

[unpredictable1]

So far this has been done:

1. New Radius Bushings
2. Wheel Alignment
3. 4 new tires installed/balanced
4. Front end inspection resulting in the following:
- Tie rod ends tight, no play in the bushing/end links
- one lower ball joint has a fraction of play, nothing that should cause this amount of front end shimmy. The mechanics said its nowhere near ready for replacement at this point, but they are basically pullin straws as to what can be causing it.

Fact is, I've driven vehicles with bad ball joints and unless this Explorer is completely different, including different than my previous 93 Explorer, a bad ball joint(s) has never given this symptom, ever.

So before I drive this sucker off a cliff, anyone got a suggestion? I get this wobble between 100-110 kph. It is significantly better now after the above work, but its still there. If I accelerate to 120kph, for the most part the wobble goes away.

argh.

 

[Homerexplorer]

That's exactly what mine did when the lower ball joint was bad. I was driving onto the highway, hit a bump while going around a turn and things went to hell pretty quick. The front end shook like I've never felt before. It's got to be done anyway, right?

 

[unpredictable1]

man....this all sucks because I don't have my own garage yet to do my own work. I would do all the balljoints and not just one if that were the case. Just before I sold my first 93 X both upper and lower ball joints were bad and that truck never had a wobble like this...none at all if I remember correctly.

Better start searchin the archives I guess for ball joint installs.

 

[Tony H]

have you at least rotated the rear tires to the front to see if the car reacts differently?
I would guess that the Hub Nut is tight or the Ailignment guy would have caught it but I would look anyway.

 

[unpredictable1]

have you at least rotated the rear tires to the front to see if the car reacts differently?
I would guess that the Hub Nut is tight or the Ailignment guy would have caught it but I would look anyway.

I just got new tires installed and balanced......the front left rim where it appeared the shimmy was coming from is now on the rear. These tires were put on just this past weekend...

 

[punash007]

HI everyone, i know this post is old but I am having the same issue and I have changed stabilizer links, upper and lower ball joints, 4 new shocks and 4 brand new tires and i am getting the same wobble once i go to 40 mph or greater. Did you fix your problem and how. Your respond will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. My car is a 1999 fORd explorer XLT.

 

[unpredictable1]

Don't want to sound like an idiot, but this section of the forum is for the 91-94 Explorers

I wonder about the rear axle stabilizer shock... maybe it serves a purpose of dampening axle feedback? Not sure.

Good luck!

 

[punash007]

lbrowne, I just need to know what you did to fix your problem. I know that I have a 1999 but I cant seem to find any solution and I have spent tons of money swapping out parts that did not fix the problems. My truck's symptoms are the same as yours even though different generation. Help please