Vibration above 60 mph | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Vibration above 60 mph

Red_99

New Member
Joined
August 8, 2009
Messages
3
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City, State
Boise, ID
Year, Model & Trim Level
99 XLT
Hey all,

New to the forum and I have a question. I have a 1999 Explorer XLT with 130,000 and recently the vehicle has begun to vibrate considerably above 60 mph. The steering wheel, seats, even the outside of the vehicle visibly is vibrating. I had the tires rotated but it still occurs. My guess would be a simple alignment issue. From this description do you think it is alignment, or something like a U-joint, Drive shaft, or even a differential issue? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Eric
 



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Flat spot on the tire?
Unbalanced wheel?
Unbalanced Driveshaft?
 






My bet is on ujoints.
 






Don't forget about worn shocks....
Chewed up tires will loosen teeth fillings.
 






i had the same problem. i literally just got back from getting new tires on the ride and it runs like a dream. start cheap and get your tires balanced or inspected. (not by your local wal mart technician) go to someone who is not just in it to sell you new shoes.
 






Thanks for the info guys. I am going to get the alignment done today. I will have them balance the wheels and then check the other mentioned items. I will let you know!!
 












If the alignment doesn't work, go with the driveshaft u-joints. Had the same problem both on a Mustang and my current Explorer. Good Luck.
 






Do you still have the 5th rear shock? Also the round weight on your rear axle diff housing? That was installed (2nd gen) to remove high speed vibrations. Some EX's need this, some don't.
 






Even if the shop you go to says the tire are balanced, they might not be. I've had several vehicles that continued to show signs of a tire imbalance (vibration starts at about 65ish, and then goes away, or at least gets better at about 80), depsite being balanced several times. I've actually watched the machine say "0", at more then one place, then they balance it again and it's off. One place told me that it's acceptable for it to vary +/- an oz. or so w/ the same tire/same machine from one spin to the next. I think that's rediculous, as that is more than enough to cause a vibration. I think it's just an excuse for worn out machines.
Personally, I'm thinking about trying those balancing "beads" that they use in the big rigs, instead of lead weights. Suppossedly these little "beads" or whatever float around inside the tire, and they go opposite the heavy spots as it spins. It supposed to constantly rebalance the tire as you're moving. Has anyone else tried these on non-big truck-size tires?
 






Ended up being a separated read driver side tire. The tread was actually coming off and the tire was visibly warped. They said could have been an impact from the side but was more likely due to it being a different tire then the other three. They threw a matching brand new tire on their and she drives like a dream. Thank you to everyone for the information. Just goes to show the little things can always get you.
 






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