ride vibration at highway speeds for a '97...

[kloadman97]

Wondered if someone could give me some help with a ride vibration I have been experiencing with my '97, and it usually only happens at highway speeds. There is a noticable vibration of the center console, which I can solve just by resting my arm on it. At that point it really isn't enough to notice there, but in general you can still tell things aren't running as smoothly as they should. I was told if the car is out of alignment it can rattle ya, especially the steering wheel, but I don't notice anything really worth mentioning there. I got the front end aligned the tires rotated late last summer. It got better but it didn't go away.

The service techs didn't mention anything beyond the work they did, but I am wondering if there is something else that warrants at least a check to see if it might make things smoother. Shocks, tire rods, bearings, etc....anything that might rid us of the vibration and improve the ride. Obviously there are a ton of things I could do to improve the ride, but I am looking more along the lines of things I SHOULD be doing rather than things I WANT to do.

thanks...

 

[Majisto]

The driveshaft I believe runs right under the center console. Sounds like it could be something wrong down there. I know my truck vibrates under braking, and has a loud tire howl around 55 MPH. That's because the tires are out of balance, and quite old.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Do a search on drive train vibrations.

There can be a TON of causes. I'm still chasing mine after replacing ALMOST a ton of parts. Gonna find it if it's the last thing I do. (it probably WILL be the last thing I do)

 

[InDaRubarb]

The infamous 60mph vibration is very common in the 1st gen Xplorers.I solved mine by adding big,meaty tires...the howl of the treads at highway speeds distracts me from any pre-existing vibrations !!! lol I don't know if it is as common in the newer X's,but start with tire balancing and alignment and if that doesn't solve or at least minimize the vibration, have your driveshaft balancing checked.One solid hit to the driveshaft from high centering in the trails can warp or throw it out of balance.

 

[IAmTodd]

I had a similar problem which was solved when my tires where replaced. So I figured my tires were to be blamed from being unbalanced.

 

[kloadman97]

well when I got the alignment done and the tires rotated I got them balanced as well. As it didn't 100% go away, I am guessing there was more to it than that.

What kind of bucks am I going to have to shell out to get the drivetrain checked and perhaps worked on if need be?

 

[etc]

I had the 60+ wobbles. Changed the balljoints, added ecentric camber adjusters, and changed both ujoints on the driveshaft. After the alignment the wobbles were gone.