Please help... Driving me insane

[pete99ex]

my truck vibrating very violently when going down the road. it rattles the light switch, my steering column and something in the back that i havent figured out yet. i know some vibration comes with having mud terrains but this has just developed in the last month or so and its getting worse. i have had the tires for about a year now and have had no problems. i just had the tuires rotated and balanced a few weeks ago.

the shaking gets worse as the speed increases at highway speeds the radio is all the way up to drown out the sound.

i dont know if its related but when i turn i right slowly like if im in a parking lot or something i get as sound that almost sounds like tire rub but its not... ive checked the tires they are not rubbing (anymore)

i figured its probably something in the front suspension but it could be something else

your expieriences and opinions are greatly apprecitated. like the title says... this is driving me insane.

thanks
pete

 

[JohnnyO]

Check the brake calipers and see if one is sticking. A partly engaged brake or parking brake can heat up and warp the rotors and since it's dragging it will cause vibration. Had it happen.
If you've been out muddin', see if there is some mud stuck behind one of your wheels.

 

[Kyle0614]

Vibrating

I can probably help with this, but I had the same problem ... just check ur Power Steering fluids either feel it up might be a little low right now or have it flushed and the vibrating and violent shaking should stop.

 

[ExploreMinnesota]

From what you say, it sounds like it is worse, or at least more notiable when turning right. What happens when you turn left? Especially when moving fast enough to take some weight off the left front tire? If it sounds better, then I would suspect the wheel bearings on that side.

 

[bourne]

When you check your brake calipers, make sure to check the ABS ring that slides onto your front rotors. I had one crack last winter (35 C below) while driving down the highway.@When it cracked the truck shook alot.Is there a grinding noise too? By the way, my buddie's toyota car was doing the same thing last winter-turns out that it was a wheel bearing like Minnesota mentioned

 

[pete99ex]

thanks for all the replies, the noise only occurs when i turn right and only when you turn the wheel about half way right there is no sound when you turn left. i was thinking it might be the wheel bearing
thanks
pete

 

[tktrain]

Sounds like it might be a CV joint in the front end. The noise when you turn one way and not the other is a classic symptom.

 

[pete99ex]

thats a possibility doesnt a wheel bearing whine when it goes bad this is kind of a grinding sound

 

[Dan Whitaker]

When you check your brake calipers, make sure to check the ABS ring that slides onto your front rotors. I had one crack last winter (35 C below) while driving down the highway.@When it cracked the truck shook alot.Is there a grinding noise too? By the way, my buddie's toyota car was doing the same thing last winter-turns out that it was a wheel bearing like Minnesota mentioned

This won't aply to a second gen 4wd or AWD.

 

[pete99ex]

would a cv and a wheel bearing both cause the truck to shake and vibrate when going down the road. i want to take care of the sound but the vibration is my big concern at the moment
thanks again
pete

 

[boominXplorer]

Wheel bearing, tires, alignment or CV. If you want give me a call tommrow and I'll look at it. I should get off work early in the afternoon.

 

[pete99ex]

i did some searching and found out that you have to replace the whole hum for the bearing and the control arm for the ball joint... how much does this stuff cost?

chris my brother is gonna take a look at it but in the morning im gonna jack it up and push the tire around a see what kind of play i have in it

 

[pete99ex]

i jacked up the front of my truck and pushed the tires to check for play. what i foud was that when i put my hands at 6 and 12 o clock i have alot of play so correct me if im wrong but doesnt that mean iwheel bearings or ball joints? and there was a little play with my hands at 3 and 9 o clock which i think means tie rods... so those might be on the way out there was very little play in my driver side tire so im thinking its passenger side wheel bearing or ball joint.

does everyone else agree?

 

[ExploreMinnesota]

If there is play at 6 and 12, then it is either ball joints or wheel bearings. If there is play at 3 and 9, then it is either tie rods or wheel bearings. If the play is equal in both directions, then wheel bearings is the likely problem. If they are different, then you have at least two problems going on, one being ball joints. To determine if the tie rods end is bad, watch the tie rod end as someone moved the tire at 3 and 9 to see if there is play in the tie rod end. If there is, replace it. If not, then the play at 3 and 9 is from wheel bearings.

 

[JDraper]

Bad ball joints are an extremely common issue in the gen II explorers, especially if you have oversized wheels on them. They also will cause the problems you are experiencing since a loose balljoint will allow the alignment to wander slightly, and the wheel to wobble.

 

[Nocturnall]

Having it get worse when he turns I thought was something classic with CV shafts though. My girlfriends explorer does this but it doesn't matter turning left or right, sound is always the same. Have you noticed if any of the boots on the CV shaft are torn?

 

[ExploreMinnesota]

My experience with CV joints (on FWD cars) is that when they are bad they make a clicking sound when turning sharp, and a CV on one side will click only when turning one direction, and it is obvious which CV is making the noise. I have not experienced one making noise traveling straight down the road. Since I have no experience with later model Explorers, I can only guess that the CV on the Explorer will act in a similar manner.

 

[pete99ex]

well i looked whle my brother shook the wheel and we strongly think its the bearing. i but a new hub bearing assembly and im going to replace it on saturday. if that doesnt fix it then i will check ball joints and the cv. i think i can elimintate the ball joint they looked very solid. and with my hands at 3 and 9 on second look the other driver side wheel was moving to so i dont thin that there is any real play in it but i will follow up on the situation after the hub swap

thanks for everybodys help
pete

 

[pete99ex]

my brother swapped out the hub and that did the trick.