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Weird Vibration

Evan Hughes

New Member
Joined
September 24, 2018
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
Location
Sandyville
City, State
Wv
Year, Model & Trim Level
1997 Ford Explorer XLT
Ok guys I've got a 97 XLT Explorer 4.0sohc 4wd automatic with a rather annoying vibration in the driver's side floorboard at highway speeds
(70-80mph) It starts at 70mph and doesn't go away until I slow down to around 65mph but
(0-65mph) there's no noticeable vibration at all up to 70mph I've replaced both front wheel bearings which helped the vibration but didn't get rid of it completely it also has new CV axles ball joints and tie rod ends with four new shocks and new leaf spring shackles on the rear and a set of 3/4 tread of tires on a set of wheels that came off another Explorer that had no vibration problems at all and the Sway bar links and a arm bushings also appear to be in good shape but I still can't figure out what's causing the vibration any help would greatly be appreciated
 



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Try switch the front two tires,and see what happens maybe you lost a weight and the wheel's off balance.
 






Since you don't have low speed vibration you can rule out CV axles imho, brake discs ok (straight)? wheel balancing ok? alignment ok? Also check the tire for wear, just run through the tire surface with your hand and see if there are any "bumps" or "flat" spots, if so you have to buy new tires asap.

Edit: those flat spots and bumps cannot necessarily be seen easily with eyes, they have to be "felt" or measured.

Is one side of the tire more worn than the other? If they came from other car, the other car probably had different suspension setup which wore(?) the tires differently. That's all i have to give for now, perhaps someone else is wiser :)
 






I flipped the tires around front to back and nothing changed still vibtating around 70
 






Inspect the front driveshaft coupling at the rear. It's a type of cv joint that might be wearing out causing the vibration. Check the front u-joints while you're at it.
 






Hi long time lurker here. I had a similar vibration on my explorer and part of the solution was that the steel wheels I bought for my snow tires were not hub centric. After 6 months of driving the stud holes on the wheel got wallowed out allowing for a small amount of movement that became really apparent at highway speed especially after turning. After a guy at the GoodYear tire shop suggested this might be the problem I went back to my OE wheels and the high-speed problem was gone. This was after visiting a trusted local shop and they had my car for a few days while they test drove and rebalanced the wheels twice and they came up with nothing. I also had a problem where my transfer case shift motor went out and trashed my t case which led to some binding. Just my 2 cents.
 






Try putting the transmission in neutral and slowing to a stop. If you have the shudder problem while braking the issue is not related to engine or transmission.

Simple stuff first. Check out the tires. You noticed odd wear which can cause shudder when braking. If your rear tires are worn evenly, a front to rear swap could confirm tires as a problem. I saw this issue with a '91 F-250 and Dunlop tires. The tires were cupped and the truck shuddered when slowing down. The shudder went away when the roads were wet. The problem ended up being tire related. All front end components were fine.
 






Check the transmission crossmember mount. Worked for me.
 






are you getting any noise along with the vibration?
 






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