vibration & shaking

[murrajm5]

I have spent the better part of a year trying to tackle a vibration and shaking problem in my '94. I have had 3 sets of tires, through replacement and adjustments, and it only changes the vibration. I have had it to the Ford dealer and each time, they say it is runout on the tires. Everyone says the front end is tight but at 55mph and higher, the steering wheel shakes back and forth and it seems to reverberate through the rest of the vehicle. I also have had the radius arm bushings replaced, an alignment, and new shocks. I cannot stand to drive it for any distance and I am to the point where I am going to get rid of it because I can't stand have a vehicle I don't like to drive. I would greatly appreciate anyone's insight before it is too late.

 

[Gary Steeber]

murrajm5

Could be your problem is in the drive shaft, when the u-joints go bad it can make it feel like everything in the vehicle is shaking. You didn't say if you have four wheel drive, If you do then try removing the rear drive shaft they, put it in 4 wheel drive and see if he shakes go away.
It's just a thought, could be they're looking at the wrong end of the vehicle.

 

[murrajm5]

Supposedly, the dealer checked the rear u-joint but that doesn't mean much to me. I am going to try one more thing, unless someone comes up with something else, and get a steering stabilizer. I assume it can do nothing but help even if it doesn't cure the problem. I have found at Advance a Monroe kit for $45 so that isn't much considering what I have already put out. It will take a couple of days so I will post when I get it and test it but keep posting suggestions. Thanks.

 

[murrajm5]

Well, in preparation for the installation of the steering stabilizer, I had the front two tires balanced only one week after they were just installed. As skeptical as I was, it seemed to take out 90% of the vibration. As I see it now, the tires I had replaced were definitely out of round as I saw them on a balancer numerous times and saw the top of the tire jumping up and down. So, balancing would never take out my vibration. And, there seems to be nothing major mechanically wrong, except maybe some worn bushings or a little slop in the steering box, etc. but nothing to cause the vibration I was getting. At this point, I am still getting some shimmy so I went ahead and bought the steering stablizer and it should be here tomorrow. Worse case scenario is that I am out 45 dollars and it doesn't help much other than steering jerk. Also, I haven't had the rear tires balanced again, maybe replace the third rear shock, and/or add washers to the radius arm bushings to tighten them. I suspect that the tire dealer was in a hurry, slapped the tires on, spun them once, put the weights on and put them back on the truck without checking that the tires were in fact balanced. I should have known the people who would not acknowledge that the tires could not be at fault probably couldn't balance them right anyway. By the way, I have Goodyear Wrangler RTS P235/75R15. The ones I had just replaced only had 5,000 miles before developing the problem so I hope that the new ones perform better. I will update when I install the stabilizer.

 

[Gary Steeber]

murrajm5

I think you've found your problem. if your tires are out of round or they are flat spotted it would cause an awful vibration. I had a used set of BFG AT's that were flat spotted, even in the rear they shook and vibrated, I ended up throwing them out and buying new ones.
Good luck, hopefully your problem will be solved.

 

[murrajm5]

WOW!!!! What a difference the steering stabilizer makes. Especially to a vehicle like mine where I have a steering box with a little play in it. It now feels as if I have a rack and pinion system. I just put it on last night and drove it about 8 miles to work and that is all it took for me to realize the benefit. Actually, I noticed it as soon as I pulled out of the driveway. Also, I noticed that I wasn't spending as much effort "corrective steering" as I had been in the past. I am so used to doing that and found myself steering too much. Bottom line, if you have $50, get a steering stabilizer.

 

[MyExp]

Glad to hear that fixed your problem becuase I have the same although it may not be as bad.

Where did you get the steering stabilizer cuz I want one if it makes that much of a difference.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[murrajm5]

Unfortunately, Advance because there were no other places that had the whole kit here in Clarksburg, WV. One other off road shop had the Rancho but I didn't want to spend the extra money not knowing if it would help much. I got Monroe which seems to be just fine anyway.