New Front End. Still Shakes over 60mph?

[Tom M.]

Hey Guys,

I had my truck in the shop. They replaced the RA bushings & Axle Pivot bushings. The shop said that the ball joints were good. They suggested repacking the bearings & getting aligned, which I will. The thing is that the truck now shakes just as bad if not worse than before I took it in. The truck is fine until I get up to 60 and then it doesnt smooth out at all. Any thoughts or suggestions on what could be causing this problem still. Thanks for the help.

Tom M.

 

[410Fortune]

tires out of balance?

You can replace and align all day long but if the tires/wheels are not balanced then wobble away.


Also you might consider greasing the slip yoke onthe driveshaft and also check the condition of the u joints and pinion yoke...........

 

[Tom M.]

The tires & wheels are brand new. They were put on the week before it went to the shop. I have been thinking it might be in the rear end now. Could the driveshaft or rearend cause a bad virbration like this, that only appears at highway speeds?

 

[410Fortune]

yes the slip yoke, u joints, and pinion bearing all can cause this...an out of balance driveshaft can do this....

Also check the condition of your motor and transmission mounts.........

 

[timleedude]

Originally posted by Tom M.
The tires & wheels are brand new. They were put on the week before it went to the shop. I have been thinking it might be in the rear end now. Could the driveshaft or rearend cause a bad virbration like this, that only appears at highway speeds?

Did you notice the shake BEFORE you changed your tires and wheels? If it came AFTER the tire and wheel changed then it's related to them. One time when I changed my wheels on my Honda Prelude, the front end shook alot at higher speed. I took it back and found out they needed to put some kind of ring between the hub and the new wheel to get them to seat better. That removed the shake.

-Tim

 

[Tom M.]

It was shaking long before the new wheels. Replacing the bushings made it feel tighter but did nothing to take out the vibration.

 

[iroczddp]

i am having the same problem...... but mine doesnt shake at high speeds..... kinda smooths out at high speeds..... but around town.... it feels like i got a set of tractor tires on there..... i put it up in the air and put it into drive.... and the "driveshaft" area is making a noise.... speed it up and the drive shaft shakes..... then it starts to shake the rear end.... so i am gonna replace the u joints and then grease the slip thing..... i dont know what its called but its gonna be greased some how........ and then i will let u know how it goes......

 

[kaised]

I put on the Duff lift and now I have major shakes at 60+. Just had the wheels rotated and balanced and an allignment done. Ball joints and bearings are all good - I'm not sure where its coming from either?

 

[Jet Ski Puller]

These early explorer do have a potential for an inherent shake at 55-65. There is some info on the home page about it...no real solutions though. Mine never had the vibration until I installed the lift. Now, it's bad. And, with larger tires, it pushed it into the 65-70 range for me...just where I want to be driving. Some describe it as a "cowl shake". I feel like it's coming from the rearend. I've shifted out of overdrive at the same speed, and engine RPM makes no difference, so I think it is the "rearend system". The newer models have a transverse rear shock that goes from the differential to the frame. I have been thinking about building a bracket off the frame and installing one on mine to see if it helps. You either have to change the mass, or change the stiffness. You probably won't get it to go away, maybe just move it to a different vehicle speed. I've tried small changes in mass...no difference. It would take something significant as the mass of the rear axle/springs/tires & wheels "system" is large. Adding the transverse shock will change the stiffness.

I'm actually thinking about getting rid of the lift or the whole truck because of it.

That's about all I know at this point.

 

[xplordakota]

i have a 96 WITH that extra shock, and still have the "cowl shake" it starts at about 60 really slight, then 65 to ?? it gets bad. It started when i put the shackles and did the TT (they happened at the same time.

i noticed that my shackles do not have a crossbar connecting them so they are just side by side not H looking. could that be part of the problem are they actually shaking??