Vibration from somewhere above 60 and below 75

[d.bright]

Hey all,

I have recently replaced almost my entire old rusty suspension on my 92 Ex. Sport. This is what I have replaced,

Front springs and shocks and sway bar mount bushings.

Rear leaf springs and shackles (with ones off of a 97 Ex.) and shocks.

Rear sway bar mount bushings.

I have an issue when driving at highway speeds, at around 60 I start to get a very bad vibration which seems to be coming from my front end, but I can't tell, it may be the rear. My sport is a 4x4 and I'm not sure if it may need new u-joints, ball joints, or bearings, or anything else, can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks ahead of time!

 

[technoboy235]

I have the same problem on my 1998 Exploder. It started directly after a punishing off-road trip in Tennessee. I still dont know what it is.

 

[Masterd]

Tire balancing and alignment?

 

[SwaintaN]

x2^^^^^^^^^^ that cured mine

 

[Willard]

x3, i actually have a similar vibe, i'm confident it's one of those two things

 

[d.bright]

OK, Never been off-roading (in fact I need a new transfer case motor), I have had the wheels and tires balanced 2 times, no change at all. It's been doing this since I bought it almost 2 years ago, I've just never had to get it on the highway much, but now I'm commuting (new job).

As far as the last comment from SwaintaN, I'm not sure what you mean by "x2^^^^^^^^^^ that cured mine " could you please elaborate?

I just went to the shop today and bought all new cooling system (radiator, water pump, hoses, heater core, etc...) and some new suspension and drivetrain components, including u-joints for the rear and front shaft, and front wheel shafts, and upper/lower ball joints for both front wheels.

I believe that everything I am replacing is original stock, as it is all generally very crusty/rusty and still has the Ford imprint on most of the stuff, so we'll see what happens.

I'm going to start with the front ball joints and u-joints and then test drive, then at leats I'll know if it was either of those.

I'll keep you all posted, also I'll try to post pics as I go.

 

[d.bright]

OK I think I know what x2, x3 means, like "me too, or mee three"? Anyways, if that's what you mean, I haven't had an alignment done, do you think that could fix this without installing these ball joints, etc...?? if so, I'll try that first, because I've tested the ball joints with the 12/6 push/pull test and I don't feel play. I just wouldn't think an alignment issue would cause such a harsh vibration, someone 'splain.

thanks...

 

[98Rig]

im having the same problem except its anywhere from 45-70 and its not there at first untill i take my foot off the pedal then its there and its harsh, entire truck shake and it doesnt go away even if i floor it. only thing that stops it is if i get off the highway.

 

[konstan]

vibration (my checklist)

Here's my checklist

1. take to a tire shop to check tire balance. its cheap and its the first logical thing to check.

2. if not fixed, and it is coming from the front end, next thing I would check is tie rod ends and ball joints. Check is done with wheel off the ground, grab and wiggle. Should not be any play in the ball joints or tie rod ends.

3. Another source of vibration could be the drive shaft u-joints. But that would beel like its coming from the middle of the car, not really from the front...

 

[nhill]

... I had a wicked vibration and it ended up being U-joints. I'm sure someone mentioned this. I'm just throwing my experience out there. I still have some vibration after balancing and rotation myself but no where near what it was. I'm considering rear axle bearings. Good Luck!

 

[konstan]

check bearings too

Yeah I forgot to include the wheel bearings in the list.

When you do the wheel-off-the-ground-wiggle test, looseness may also be caused by worn wheel bearings. They are cheap and easy to replace and if worn may cause vibration... I've replaced the front wheel bearings many times when working on front ends. I've never had to replace rear wheel bearings on any of my trucks...

 

[SwaintaN]

x2 was like 2nd that etc, yeah i had the same issues, mine started as wheel weights got throwed off... 10 dollar fix, then needed alignment, months later... bearings gave it the wiggles, fixed em, then months later (now) ball joints are out, which will give you the wiggle and death shake at that spead

 

[d.bright]

Update 1:

One half-day later and one busted thumb later, I have replaced the front ball joints on both sides, upper and lower. Test drove, seems a bit tighter, but still the vibration.

I didn't replace the 4WD front u-joints because they seemed fine, no binding or anything, and if I'm correct, they aren't turning unless 4WD is engaged right? In which case I wouldn't be going 60+..., plus I can get some money back from Autozone..

I have a feeling like the post before me says, it is going to be my main driveshaft u-joints, the reason I say this is now that I drove it again, it does feel as if it is coming frorm the middle of the car, rather than the front.. And I had a 91 Ranger a while back which had a very similar vibration at 45-Up and replacing the u-joints fixed that right away.

I guess there are a few good things that came out of this (other than a nice blood blister under my left thumbnail), one is that I was able to clean up alot of rust while changing out the ball joints, this can definately help in the future. Second, I pretty much eliminated my front end as the culprit, which makes me much happier.

Next step is u-joints, I'll let you all know what happens.

I'm also going to post a new thread on recommended electric cooling fan systems.

 

[SwaintaN]

FYI IMO i would get alignment after new ball joints

 

[d.bright]

Definately planning on it, I've got alot of other stuff to do over the weekend, will do it probably Monday or Tuesday... Thanks for the alert however

 

[SwaintaN]

lol im getting ready to do mine, i just did ext sway links, since have a lift, painted the sway bar, all poly bushings, but my ball joints are keeping me from a 100% alignment, as soon as i get them done, ill be able to drive em more

 

[d.bright]

Ball Joint Pinch Bolt Problem/Resolution

Here is a little trick if you can't get those darn upper ball joint pinch bolt's to come loose.

I didn't have the correct socket, I think I read that it is 12mm 12pt or maybe even an 8pt socket, weird :/ so I first tried hammering on a 12mm and wrenching it out, no luck, rounded the head.

I then tried air-hammering it out with my "precision wedge" which didn't do much except batter the entire area surrounding the rounded head, including the head itself.

At this point, I'm pretty fumed, thinking about how I'm now going to have to cut it out, easy out the other half, blah blah... so this is what I did, and I did it on the second side from the start, and it works just fine.

Tools needed:

I have an air compresser and air tools (used to work at Ford as a mechanic), these are the air tools I used:

"$7.99 Special" 3" Metal Cut-Off tool from Harbor Freight (works great I might add).

"$12.99 Special" Air Hammer from Harbor Freight (also works well, made in Russia??!!, so it must be Strong Like Bull!)

BAFS - Big Ass Flathead Screwdriver

Procedure:

1. In the open part of the "C" , where the middle of the pinch bolt is visible, use the cut off tool to cut the bolt in half.

2. Use the air-hammer and wedge attachment and hammer directly into the open part of the "C" to spread the metal, and at the same time, this (in two times I've done it) pushes the head-end of the pinch bolt out.

3. Use the cut off tool again, this time, at the very bottom of the pinch bolt, cut a diaganal line right down the middle of the bottom of the bolt, this will also cut into the metal "C", but I don't think it compromises the structural integrity of the apparatus.

4. Now you can probably see where this is going, what you have now is essentialy a screw, one that you must continue to screw IN until it comes out the other side. So take your BAFS, in my case I used an old tire-iron from a Crown Vic, one end is bent like an L, and the long end has a flathead screwdriver type head to it. In both cases, my stuff was rusted to hell, but all I had to do was pop that BAFS in, apply a little CLOCKWISE torque, and the butt-end of the pinch bolt screwed right out!

I'll have pics of the whole procedure ASAP, I took them with my phone's camera, and I have to transfer them.

 

[d.bright]

Update 2:

OK, today, I installed new u-joints and took her for a test drive, the u-joints were definately going bad, but not quite toast, so I figured it might make a difference, but unfortunately, no difference . So I did some more searching, and found this TSB, 96-4-17. It describes what is happening exactly. My question for you all is this, have you ever had this TSB done? Is there anywhere (being almost 20 years since this Ex was new) to get a kit other than a pull-a-part yard? I was already considering replacing my engine mounts and trans mounts, is it also necessary to install this axle shock?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Masterd]

I'm still not convinced that this has anything to do with the drivetrain.

Now that you've replaced the balljoints, go get another balancing and alignment.

 

[d.bright]

I'm planning on doing that anyways, after I install the new cooling system this Tuesday, but I was wondering if anyone thought it might be a good idea to go ahead and replace the engine/trans mounts while I'm at it?

Also, I'm not totally convinced of what it is either way, but that TSB sure does describe what I'm dealing with pretty much exactly, even the "aftershake" above 45mph, after reading this, I test drove and verified it. Dunno, this will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

I'll keep you all posted, keep the comments coming tho!