Vibration above 65 mph

[barberjb]

Hi all,

Got a relatively new problem on my '94 X with 190k. When hitting 65 mph, i start to get a significant increase in the vibration in the vehicle. It's very noticible in the steering wheel, and I think it's coming from the driver's front. I have had the alignment done and the wheels balanced, but that hasn't seemed to address it. Any thoughts? And yes, I know the first solution is to not drive over 65, but who can do that? :

For what it's worth, I've had the ball joints taken care of in the last year or two, and a steering linkage.

 

[rustbucketMI]

My X does this too, and I've heard a lot of other people having the same issue. For me the shaking does away at about 70/72. I drive at 75 so I usually don't notice it. I think in most cases it is a combination of part wear and the natural frequency of the vehicle when those parts wear. (For those who don't know everything has a natural frequency, which is essentially the frequency in which the object vibrates.) Automakers were smart enough in the 90s that they tested for this condition, but no one tests for when parts have had 100k+ miles on them.

My suggestion is to eliminate the driver seat suspision. When cruising at 65 take your hands off the wheel (make sure you can still back get to the wheel really quick). If the steering wheel is shaking then its the truck, if its not then its probably the seat. If it is the seat it probably just needs to be tightened down. if its the truck try driving faster/slower

 

[LONO100]

before you do anything, figure out when was the last time you rotated your tires. if its been a while you probably developed some bumps on your tread. run your hand over the tread and see if you feel any bumps. in fact, have a les schwab guy or some other tire guy look at it. this is always overlooked and people always drop tons of dough on other fixes before looking at this. good luck!

 

[Roadrunner777]

Try rotating your tires and see if it changes anything. Balance is really only the first and easiest thing to check on a tire. Anyway, rotation is cheap, and always a good thing to do on a 4-wheel drive.

EDIT: Lono beat me by a minute!

 

[LONO100]

btw, another way you could check if its your tire tread thats causing the wobble, take the front wheel off and roll it down the street as you walk along side it. if it has a hard wobble to it, wiggles side to side or cant stay upright on its own, theres your problem.

 

[mhallack]

I get the same vibration at near 65mph, but I have also had 3 new tires put on in May. Before and after the tires were replaced, same vibration. New tires were professionally replaced and balanced. (AKA: not done by me )

Since where I live I do very little freeway traveling I keep the speed under 65mph 99% of the time, so it's not a really big deal, I'll check on the seat suspension. I've never noticed the steering wheel vibrating too with the truck.

 

[Baddecision93]

I've heard tons of different ideas from looking around this site but it's worth noting that if your bearings haven't been maintenanced or replaced in a long time they could be contributing.

 

[barberjb]

I've heard tons of different ideas from looking around this site but it's worth noting that if your bearings haven't been maintenanced or replaced in a long time they could be contributing.

I think it might be the bearing too. If that's the case, it will get worse eventually and I'll have it replaced. I had that bearing replaced a number of years ago in some guy's front yard in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania once. His buddy who was helping him repair it offered me a Busch while they were working on it...

 

[Baddecision93]

Wow, that's about as good as it gets. Someone offering help on your truck AND beer .

I just know that after I did my lift I had a terrifying vibration. Mine was so bad in fact that I couldn't go over 20 without being scared of destroying the truck or running it off the road. When I took it in for my alignment (I was scared to drive it so I trailered it there) the said that the bearing preload was way out of whack. They said essentially it was in there "crooked". They set it back to spec, did my alignment, and all was right with the world.

At $20ish a pop it's definitely worth looking into.

 

[westfield]

I was going to suggest wheel bearings as well..Mine had a similar problem...changed the bearings and all is well...

 

[Chrisman889]

I have a 93 Explorer that does the same exact thing. I have replaced the shocks but the problem still continues. I also have a lot of chopping on the inside tread of my front tire. Does anyone know how to adjust the camber on these vehicles? Do I need to buy one of those adjustment kits?

 

[Mudman1]

Totally new front end parts, all new rubber, brakes, shocks, etc. Brand new tires. Bad shake at 63-67 MPH. 1994 Navajo 5spd.

 

[1992ExplorerXLT]

I have had this problem with my 92 Ford Explorer. Get a jack and jack the truck up by the frame so that your front tire is off the ground and free to move. Take the outside of the tire and at the top and push and pull back and forth. If the wheel is moving you most likely have a bearing problem. Replace and pack the bearings and try the same test. Your wheel should no longer have that rocking movement.

 

[Centaurious]

Had the same thing, shake at 63mph and gone at 72mph. Thought for sure it was my passenger front wheel shaking but it was good, the drivers front wheel was a little loose checking at 12:00 and 6:00, correcting that eliminated the shake.