Low speed, huge wobble.

[matte5299]

This all started when I went to go get an alignment because the camber was so bad the tires wore un-eavenly. They told me they couldn't do the alignment because my lower control arm bushing was bad. So I bought a new control arm for the front driver side. I took off the old control arm and attempted to put on the new one. Of course because the camber was so bad I couldn't get the ball joint in the knuckle because it was so far away.

So I got some tow straps and hooked them around the lugs and hooked the other end to the frame and I ratcheted the straps until I could line up the knuckle with the control arm ball joint. I used about six straps and they were pretty tight.

Finally I torqued everything down and everything was seated nicely.

I hopped in the car to take it for a test drive and the wobble from where I fixed the old control arm was so bad that at 20 mph the entire vehicle was shaking badly. I never felt anything like it.

Before I did all this there was zero issues with balance or wobbling of any tire.

I don't know if I bent the hub and bearing assembly or what but it's pretty bad and I need some help.

Thanks guys

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
I'm not sure what the issue may be but unlikely it has to do with tire balance. It could be the alignment?? I suppose you could take it back for another try at the alignment and see what they find or put the old control arm back in and see if the "wobble" is still there.

Peter

 

[Rick]

After replacing the control arm the first stop should have been to an alignment shop.

Are you the original owner? It almost sounds like there was front end damage which affected the alignment.

 

[matte5299]

Welcome to the Forum.
I'm not sure what the issue may be but unlikely it has to do with tire balance. It could be the alignment?? I suppose you could take it back for another try at the alignment and see what they find or put the old control arm back in and see if the "wobble" is still there.

Peter

Thanks.
Yeah I have an appointment for an alignment this Friday. I just hope I didn't bend the hub and bearing assembly... if that's even possible.

 

[matte5299]

After replacing the control arm the first stop should have been to an alignment shop.

Are you the original owner? It almost sounds like there was front end damage which affected the alignment.

Thanks, I have an alignment appointment this Friday. I'm not the original owner however my brother-in-law owned it before me and he lived on a dirt road so that might have something to do with it.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Sounds like you might have turned the wheels with the motor off. This sucks air into the system and you will have a death wobble until you purge the air by starting the truck and turning lock to lock several times. This will purge the air from the system.

 

[peterk9]

Would that apply to vehicles with electric steering?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Would that apply to vehicles with electric steering?

No, you are correct. I’m not used to thinking about power steering as being electric (even though my daily driver is).
M

Unfortunately, this probably means some sort of suspension issue. Hopefully the alignment is just super hosed.

 

[matte5299]

No, you are correct. I’m not used to thinking about power steering as being electric (even though my daily driver is).
M

Unfortunately, this probably means some sort of suspension issue. Hopefully the alignment is just super hosed.

Yeah, I am happy it doesn't use a power steering pump and fluid system. Can you clarify your last sentence.

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

Yeah, I am happy it doesn't use a power steering pump and fluid system. Can you clarify your last sentence.

I think he means hopefully its just your alignment and not something more expensive.

 

[SHUMAX]

I think he means hopefully its just your alignment and not something more expensive.

Are you 200% sure you got the ball joint back in, seated and tight? That is a tricky joint to line up, but that much force should not have been needed. It almost sounds like you forced something to 'bind" and that's what's causing the wobble. Also, did you torque the LC arm bolts with weight on the arm? You should run them down and then do the final torque with the weight on the vehicle - either by lifting the arm with a jack, or simply putting it back on the ground and then torque it down.

Regardless, it does sound like you got something "pinched/in a bind" for that to happen. If the condition wasn't there before you made that repair, it's almost certain the condition is from something you did/touched, unfortunately.

Good luck!

 

[Odrapnew]

Something isn't right...obviously.

What I mean is that you shouldn't need straps to install the control arm.

Camber shouldn't impact that either since the spindle pivots on the ball joint. Ball joints have much more range of motion than camber would use.

I replaced both front control arms in my Explorer earlier this year and had no issues with aligning the control arm up, including the ball joint. I did have to move the ball joint shift a bit so it would line up, but it just slipped in.

 

[matte5299]

Are you 200% sure you got the ball joint back in, seated and tight? That is a tricky joint to line up, but that much force should not have been needed. It almost sounds like you forced something to 'bind" and that's what's causing the wobble. Also, did you torque the LC arm bolts with weight on the arm? You should run them down and then do the final torque with the weight on the vehicle - either by lifting the arm with a jack, or simply putting it back on the ground and then torque it down.

Regardless, it does sound like you got something "pinched/in a bind" for that to happen. If the condition wasn't there before you made that repair, it's almost certain the condition is from something you did/touched, unfortunately.

Good luck!

Thank you, I torqued it when lifted. I will def torque it on ground.

 

[matte5299]

Something isn't right...obviously.

What I mean is that you shouldn't need straps to install the control arm.

Camber shouldn't impact that either since the spindle pivots on the ball joint. Ball joints have much more range of motion than camber would use.

I replaced both front control arms in my Explorer earlier this year and had no issues with aligning the control arm up, including the ball joint. I did have to move the ball joint shift a bit so it would line up, but it just slipped in.

Yeah. The camber is horrible as is. The bottom of the steering knuckle is so far away that I needed to use the straps in order to get it to come back. I might need to get a camber kit I'm not sure. For now I'm going to do the other side as well then take it for an alignment.

 

[matte5299]

Are you 200% sure you got the ball joint back in, seated and tight? That is a tricky joint to line up, but that much force should not have been needed. It almost sounds like you forced something to 'bind" and that's what's causing the wobble. Also, did you torque the LC arm bolts with weight on the arm? You should run them down and then do the final torque with the weight on the vehicle - either by lifting the arm with a jack, or simply putting it back on the ground and then torque it down.

Regardless, it does sound like you got something "pinched/in a bind" for that to happen. If the condition wasn't there before you made that repair, it's almost certain the condition is from something you did/touched, unfortunately.

Good luck!

Solved! The problem was that the CV axle.
I put both sides on jack stands and turn the car on put it in drive and was looking for the problem and I saw that the CV axle was not rotating on center it was off by about half an inch.

I replaced the CV axle and everything went together fine.

No more death wobble or shaking.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[matte5299]

Something isn't right...obviously.

What I mean is that you shouldn't need straps to install the control arm.

Camber shouldn't impact that either since the spindle pivots on the ball joint. Ball joints have much more range of motion than camber would use.

I replaced both front control arms in my Explorer earlier this year and had no issues with aligning the control arm up, including the ball joint. I did have to move the ball joint shift a bit so it would line up, but it just slipped in.

Yeah I figured it out.
The CV axle had so many miles on it that the metal in the joints had expanded and wouldn't allow for the knuckle and the ball joint to align properly. Once I put in the new CV axle the distance shortened by about an inch which allowed for the ball joint to line up with the knuckle perfectly.

 

[ecoboost_xsport]

Yeah I figured it out.
The CV axle had so many miles on it that the metal in the joints had expanded and wouldn't allow for the knuckle and the ball joint to align properly. Once I put in the new CV axle the distance shortened by about an inch which allowed for the ball joint to line up with the knuckle perfectly.

I'm really glad you fixed your issue. Sounds like it could been dangerous had you really driven on it. But I gotta ask you to clarify...what do you mean by "metal in the joints had expanded"? I'm trying to wrap my brain around this....there was metal debris in the joint? If so, where did it come from? Was there physical damage to the joint? Metal doesn't just "expand" (ok, heat expansion, yes, but not just...expand).

Maybe some photos will help in this case.

 

[SHUMAX]

I'm really glad you fixed your issue. Sounds like it could been dangerous had you really driven on it. But I gotta ask you to clarify...what do you mean by "metal in the joints had expanded"? I'm trying to wrap my brain around this....there was metal debris in the joint? If so, where did it come from? Was there physical damage to the joint? Metal doesn't just "expand" (ok, heat expansion, yes, but not just...expand).

Maybe some photos will help in this case.

Yea. Glad it sorted but I am confused too. I have had CV joints come apart - inner/outing joint separates. Hard to get them back in place. Could explain why u had such a time getting the ball joint stud to line up. But the expansion issue is foreign to me. Regardless, glad it’s sorted!