SURVEY REQUEST - FRONT END SHIMMY and/or SHAKING - DOES YOUR EXPLORER DO THIS?
Dennis Hunt
if you have this problem with your Explorer. The problem seems to be in the
91 to 94 model years.
The Problem: Do you drive at 40 mph and up - and experience what feels like
the front wheels "shimmying" and/or "shaking" back and forth frequently -
mostly at 55-65mph.
If you have this problem, please post a message here to let me know.
Please also give a brief description of how you would explain the problem
you are having - in your own words.
Please list what things you have already tried in order to stop the problem.
Last, please provide a few specs on your vehicle: The Year, Model,
2-door/4-door, 2WheelDrive/4WheelDrive, Odometer Reading.
I will use this information only to help myself and everyone else here find
a real long-lasting fix for this problem.
PhatBoyRL
I have a '91 Eddie Bauer and have no idea what people are talking about. I
drive up to 75mph on the freeway and its still relatively smooth. I guess I'm
lucky or maybe it's been a problem to a small percentage of owners. Either way
I'm interested also if this is a widespread problem or not.
I bought my used '91 Eddie Bauer 2 years ago and I haven't had any problems!
Knock on Wood. I love it!!!
William Minner
Shimy/shake 60 MPH +
1) Wheels rebalanced
2) RA bushings checked & OK
3) reduced air pressure in tires from 36 to 32 psi
4) careful retorquing of lug nuts with a spot of vaseline to assure proper
centering on hub
5) front bearings repacked
The problem is now livable. Only the last 3 items had a positive impact.
Bill
Tonedog
Ton
William Minner wrote in message ...
Tonedog
Shimy/shake 60 MPH +
1) Wheels rebalanced (twice)
2) reduced air pressure in tires from 34 to 31 psi
5) front bearings repacked
The problem is a pain. I feel like the truck is gonna vibrate enough to
excite my girlfriend!
ToneDog
Dennis Hunt wrote in message ...
chris widowski
65mph the whole truck vibrates. It seems to come and go and is never very
consistant. You can feel it in the floor, steering, seats, doors, dash,
everywhere you touch. I was told that it could be one of about 4 things.
First, try replacing the tires or if they are new have them balanced. 2nd,
try replacing the rims. 3rd, try replacing the wheel bearings. 4th, try
replacing the front end shocks and radial arm bushings. The combination of
these i was told should eventually fix my problem. So far I have new tires
and that did not do it. Next on my list is the rims.
I hope this helps!
ChrisW
IamGoode
driving... I just replaced mine but have not had it up to 75mph where I have
shakes. I have poly RA bushings, 31 inch Bstone tires, 2.5 inch lift with home
made brackets, 2deg. CC bushings, newly packed wheel bearings and the above
mentioned poly center pivot bushings. Sean
rec.bicycles.marketplace
Jeff Hebert
>
> I'm trying to determine how wide-spread this problem is, so please respond
> if you have this problem with your Explorer. The problem seems to be in the
> 91 to 94 model years.
93 Explorer Sport 4x4, 74k miles
Haven't done anything yet because the problem only started recently -
around 70k. Sometimes it feels very bad and sometimes I don't notice it
at all. The problem only occurs in the 60-65 mph range. When it's bad,
the whole front of the truck is vibrating as if I was driving on grooved
pavement.
FYI, I have Rancho 5000 shocks (installed around 10k) and the
original(!) Firestone tires.
-- Jeff
bgarrett
i'll just be looking for the source....
Tonedog wrote:
> '91 2dr Sport 4wd 65500 miles
>
> Shimy/shake 60 MPH +
>
> 1) Wheels rebalanced (twice)
> 2) reduced air pressure in tires from 34 to 31 psi
> 5) front bearings repacked
>
> The problem is a pain. I feel like the truck is gonna vibrate enough to
> excite my girlfriend!
>
> ToneDog
>
> Dennis Hunt wrote in message ...
> >I'm trying to determine how wide-spread this problem is, so please respond
> >if you have this problem with your Explorer. The problem seems to be in
> the
> >91 to 94 model years.
> >
> >The Problem: Do you drive at 40 mph and up - and experience what feels like
> >the front wheels "shimmying" and/or "shaking" back and forth frequently -
> >mostly at 55-65mph.
> >
> >If you have this problem, please post a message here to let me know.
> >
> >Please also give a brief description of how you would explain the problem
> >you are having - in your own words.
> >
> >Please list what things you have already tried in order to stop the
> problem.
> >
> >Last, please provide a few specs on your vehicle: The Year, Model,
> >2-door/4-door, 2WheelDrive/4WheelDrive, Odometer Reading.
> >
> >I will use this information only to help myself and everyone else here find
> >a real long-lasting fix for this problem.
> >
> >
> >
--
__o
_` \ _>
(*) (*)
bozo
old sway bars, and a loud stereo and it still vibrates. it sure feels like a
rear tire vibration. my front doesn't do it, maybe 'cause of the damper. i put
the front tires on the back and no change. i think you'd have to have some real
loose bearings for them to be responsibleand by then you could probably hear
them. and i think the rims are a long shot also. just running mine off the
ground shows no runout. i kinda like the thing about the exaust system. this
reminds me of tires made a while back by pure oil co with butyl rubber. you just
about had to balance them for the speed you wanted to drive that day. they'd be
smooth for a while then start shaking. the 1st thing i thought when i first felt
the vibration was "jeez, butyl tires again". maybe this is what the 5th shock
gets rid of. i bet dr. bob has put an aftermarket one on his '92. dr. bob??
michals4
68K
Shimmy started when I replaced the original ATX's with Dunlop AT's last
summer. I don't recall if the shakes were there before I did the tires or
not. I did replace two of the four new tires (both front end) for 'out of
round', truck still shakes.
Next is to have the tires rebalanced and checked for out of round again.
After that ???
>
>
>
William Minner
of vaseline on the part of the lug nut that contacts the mag surface is
kosher or not, but it used to work wonders on my old honda with aluminum
mags. Without it, the friction of the lug nut seemed to lock the wheel
slightly off center (even with careful retorquing), resulting in vibration
through the steering wheel.
Bill
Tonedog wrote in message <7arsc2$9...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
>which three were most effective?
>
>Ton
>
>William Minner wrote in message ...
>>'92 XL 4wd 73000 miles
>>
>>Shimy/shake 60 MPH +
>>
>>1) Wheels rebalanced
William Minner
William Minner
William Minner
Diane & Tony
I had this problem on holidays about 10 hours from home. It made for a long
drive.
I pulled the front end apart found nothing, but repacked the bearings and
greased everything. Seemed to help for about a week, then it came back.
I talked to my neighbor who owns the local transmission shop, He suggested
the rear drive shaft. I told him it was a front end shimmy he said to try it
anyway.
He was right the rear u-joint was a ball of rust with one cup having no
roller bearings left inside.
I hope this help's.
Tony
John Hirth
Exactly the same here. Very bad shimmy/vibration after replacing the
Firestone ATXs with Dunlop ATs. The vehicle felt harsher all around,
too.
Reduced tire pressures until obviously stiffer sidewalls of the ATs
started to bulge. No change.
Had front end aligned twice at different places... just couldn't believe
it wasn't an alignment problem.
About to give up when I bought another set of Firestone ATXs and canned
the ATs after less than 10K miles. Vibration went away almost
completely. The ATXs have been bad-mouthed on this list for a long time,
but they have always served me well. (I don't do any off-roading, but do
do a lot of towing a 4000 lb load.)
Good Luck,
John
Tonedog
ToneDog
bgarrett wrote in message <36D1E60B...@uab.campuscw.net>...
>hey, can i ride in the back seat with her when that shimmy happens? i
promise
>i'll just be looking for the source....
>
>Tonedog wrote:
>
>> '91 2dr Sport 4wd 65500 miles
>>
>> Shimy/shake 60 MPH +
>>
John
and was surprised at the noticeable improvement in my 65 mph front end
shake. That got me wondering if totally replacing the bearings would
help even more, and then wondering if I would want to have new bearing
races pressed into my rotor at the same time. Has anyone tried
replacing bearings AND races to eliminate the 65 mph shake? Seems like
this problem doesn't show up until the 60-70k mark, so maybe there is
just enough wear in the bearings/races by then to cause the problem? I
can feel a small amount of play when I rock either front tire from the
top and bottom, even after the bearing repack and retorque of the axle
nuts. BTW, my truck still shakes at 65+, but at least I don't worry
about the console and passenger seat breaking away from the floor
anymore! On the flip side, since there is virtually no shake at 60mph,
I find myself driving at that speed a lot more than I used to.
Another interesting post in this thread mentioned the rear drive shaft
u-joint as a possible cause for front end shake (seems weird?). I'll
have to look into that a little more, because although my front u-joints
have been replaced, the rear hasn't been touched.
John
'93 XLT
William Minner wrote:
>
> '92 XL 4wd 73000 miles
>
> Shimy/shake 60 MPH +
>
> 1) Wheels rebalanced
> 2) RA bushings checked & OK
> 3) reduced air pressure in tires from 36 to 32 psi
> 4) careful retorquing of lug nuts with a spot of vaseline to assure proper
> centering on hub
> 5) front bearings repacked
>
bozo
race. used to be when you bought a "bearing" that meant you got the outer race
too. they kinda get accustomed to each other. i think the manufacacturers
figured a lot of outer races went in the dumpster and so they could offer them
separately, and besides it would look bad for them to just sell the cage and
rollers. why not just individual rollers. so replace the whole thing. if the
inner race has 83k on it, so does the outer. but i don't think the bearings are
it. maybe you got some change in when it does it 'cause you put the tires on in
different place "lugwise". my wife's f-150 has 216k on the orig bearings and it
doesn't shake. this reminds me that i heard her drive shaft creaking a few weeks
ago so it's dry or maybe needs a univ joint and it still doesn't shake. but i'm
still gonna look into the drive shaft idea on the explorer as maybe the source.
i guess i better get to her's first. be sure and post if you hit on something.
John wrote:
--
The Sandman
I've realigned & balanced everything, replaced wheels and tires, replaced
the driveshaft u-joints, all with virtually no effect.
Finally, I took it to Ford who said it was some sort of harmonics problem
related to the engine mounts that they have a TB out to fix. Unfortunately,
the TB runs about $1000 in parts and labor. It involves replacing engine
mounts and exhaust components, among other things.
I've learned to live with it, but if anyone comes up with a cheaper
solution, I'd like to hear it.
Tonedog wrote in message <7arsc2$9...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
>which three were most effective?
>
>Ton
>
>William Minner wrote in message ...
bo...@express-news.net
New tires
rebalanced tires
new bearings (front)
new coil springs (front)
shocks (all)
new steering linkage (all)
radial arm bushings (right side very worn)
Still have a shimmy at 60-65.
On Sat, 20 Feb 1999 05:24:08 GMT, "Dennis Hunt" <denni...@home.com>
wrote:
Tonedog
! ! ! ! ! :-)
I didn't trust the guys at the local shop to balance my tires so I paid a
mechanic $20 to let me use his machine so I could do the balance myself! and
what did I find. . . That the wheels were so off it was sickning. I balanced
the tire on the front right side and when I went to spin the wheel for the
balance I notice the whole machine almost vibrated away, the tire was shot,
it still looked great as far as tred was concerned but it had a little high
spot like a lump that would make the tire bob up and down.
I went to sears and purchased a pair of Michelins for the front and wala I
was driving the smoothest ride I had ever been in! ! !
I am like a pig in shit happy, that vibration killed me and made the truck
feel unstable and loose.
So, I bid you good luck on your venture and if you've already changed your
tires, then do it again because nobody balances you tires as good as you do!
and don't forget you can get a bad tire of the "NEW" rack!
ToneDog
bo...@express-news.net wrote in message
<36d7690b...@news.express-news.net>...