shake of death

[E-rock]

kind of like the wobbles...but there is no wobble.

everytime i drive my 2001 explorer up to 65 mph (so the speedo says) the truck begins shaking and vibrating horribly. i just drove back from jacksonville to tampa and the vibrations and shaking were out of control. the faster i go past 65mph the more the truck shakes. i have 31x11.50's on the back and when i got the truck aligned they said the rear tires cant be aligned so that could be the problem. i also had the tires balanced at the same time of alignment which was less than 4k miles ago.

i have to drive home to virginia in a few weeks so i need to get this fixed by then. i have no idea whats causing the shake because it doesnt do it at low speeds. i thought maybe a u-joint is worn or a driveshaft is bent but wouldnt that cause the truck to shake all the time?

any input is greatly appreciated.
thanks

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

mine does the same thing when i go like 60 or 65 mph my steering wheel tends to shake.

 

[Kyle0614]

you guys need to check your power steering fluid or the actual pump my previous 95 did that and it was just low on fluid...

 

[E-rock]

i replaced the power steering pump and all the fluid not too long ago. the steering wheel shakes as well but thats not the source of the problem. the whole entire truck is shaking. i cant even tell if its coming from the rear or the front, a friend of mine suggested engine mounts but i dont think that would do it. any ideas?

 

[Kyle0614]

no way it would be motor mounts your truck is only like 7 years old...i'm out of suggestions though sorry i couldn't help more

 

[Willard]

When you say you have 31's on the back, does that mean you still have the stock size on front? If that's the case you're gonna have issues with 4wd...

 

[Buffalosports]

no way it would be motor mounts your truck is only like 7 years old...i'm out of suggestions though sorry i couldn't help more

I highly doubt it. It would shake all the time (atleast a little), even at idle. Check your tie rods and tie ends. Does it bounce at all, like up and down? Is it worse when you are going around a bend or changing lanes or all the same?

I know I have heard of this problem before. I think I saw someone with this problem just a few days ago, on this website. Check back a few pages.

 

[Dylansav]

I had the same problem with my tires, whenever I went past 60 the whole car would shake..turned out the front tires were at less than 20 psi. I'd check the tire pressure, make sure they're all up. Even though you had the tires checked recently, you might have run over something and it could have caused a slow leak.

 

[Joe Dirt]

My neighbor's '01 Sport had the axle slide on the rear leaf spring (mine did too but it didn't shake) and it was causing the truck to ride off center on the rear and stress the drivetrain and straight on the front according to the dealership. They replaced his leafspring... Could be worth a look maybe?

 

[BIGHVM]

YOu know this could be as simple as a bent wheel!
Have them checked, they can be bent easy and another thing, they can go out of round too!!!
Jack it up and soin the wheel, tape some chalk to a block and stand it so it is nearly touching the tire...............spin the wheel, any chalk marks and its bent- do this below the wheel with chalk nearly touching the tread and see if its out of round too.
Its possible you have a combination of these problems on one wheel mate!

 

[MadExplorer93]

Does the steering BOX have play it it?

 

[E-rock]

I highly doubt it. It would shake all the time (atleast a little), even at idle. Check your tie rods and tie ends. Does it bounce at all, like up and down? Is it worse when you are going around a bend or changing lanes or all the same?

I know I have heard of this problem before. I think I saw someone with this problem just a few days ago, on this website. Check back a few pages.

it shakes all the same. it doesnt matter if im turning but as soon as i slow down past 65 it stops shaking. i dont think its a tie rod end or it would shake even at low speeds. i feel like this is a moving part that is causing a problem.

the bent wheel is a possibility and i will check that this week. i'll set up a truing stand and see if its outta wack.

--im not sure how to check slack in the steering box, but there is play in the wheel. would that cause a high speed shake? i feel like that would also cause low speed vibrations.

 

[L4CX]

I would echo most of the other people in saying get the tires checked. One of my tires was Debeaded by a pesky rut on the side of a water hole and it's not been the same since. I have the exact same problem.....Sometimes. Other times, It's just fine. There is always the possiblity that your tire threw a weight too. Apparently that happens. You can get them rotated and Balanced at Belle Tire for free. (or at least you can up here in MI). It didn't help my problem, but I think mine might have sand in it from the formentioned debeading. It's always worth a try. Good luck.

 

[Buffalosports]

YOu know this could be as simple as a bent wheel!
Have them checked, they can be bent easy and another thing, they can go out of round too!!!
Jack it up and soin the wheel, tape some chalk to a block and stand it so it is nearly touching the tire...............spin the wheel, any chalk marks and its bent- do this below the wheel with chalk nearly touching the tread and see if its out of round too.
Its possible you have a combination of these problems on one wheel mate!

That a cool little trick. I'll need to remember that.