Hey Guys,


New to the forum Ive been crawling it for a few months I like this one so I figured I would join and add what I could


My question is I have a 2002 Excursion 5.4 2wd with 126K on it, I have been chasing a shaking steering wheel while braking at higher speeds 50 mph and up, it is stronger at higher speeds and gets weaker and eventually goes away when slowing under 45ish mph. The shake in the wheel does not pull the truck at all, you can let go and it still stops straight. I have aligned and balanced I know its right I did it myself. I have also replaced steering dampener, and have done a full brake job on the front all new parts everything. I still have the issues, anyone have any other ideas on what it could be? Also the steering linkage is tight no slop or play in it. Any tips and/or advice is greatly appreciated

 

When you did the brakes did you replace or check the rotors???

 

Rotors are warped. Don't (if you even find someone who will offer it) get them re-surfaced/turned. Just get all new pads and rotors and be done with it. If the pads are bad it ruined the rotors, if the rotors are warped it ruined the pads. Don't go cheap, replace it all with good name brand stuff (no vato-zone parts) and be good to go! Also bleed the brakes just for the hell of it

 

Maybe you have a broken belt in a tire. Rotate the front tires to the back. Usually if the rotors are warped the brake pedal pulses.

 

Hey guys thanks for the quick responses.... The brakes were done about three weeks ago all new pads rotors and calipers also did a complete bleed on it til I had clean fluid from the master cylinder at each tire. all motorcraft oe parts I'm kinda picky about oe parts the tires are new only about 10k on them if that but Ya never know I didn't think to check that I'll rotate and report back thanks

 

Next time you do pads if your picky about OEM, ask for the ford Brown Box pads the motorcraft pads are terrible to say the least.

 

Gospel.

 

Need to make a determination on that right away, if you've got a bad tire subject to separation the resulting body damage is likely to exceed the cost of four new tires. BTDT

 

Good to know!

Knowing mainly performance cars parts...I would generally never use OEM Ford pads...I would generally always upgrade to a bare minimum of Hawk pads or something better. Haven't researched brakes yet to determine if the performance pads make any difference on something like an Excursion (if they are made at all).

Sorry to hijack OP, let us know what you find out with the tire rotation, sounds like it would be in tires or brakes. My initial thought was a warped rotor too. Good luck!

 

Everyone has there own opinions on pads. I had green EBC pads but I prefer the oem brown Box, cleaner rims and never ever make any type of sound.

 

Mine did the same. Jack it up and use the jack handle to pry up on the bottom of the front tires. Mine had an inch and half (!) of play on the drivers side ball joints.

 

Hey all ok so I did a tire rotation this afternoon and the shaking was still there while under I decided to double check all the linkage again just to assure myself that it was good cuz it's the only thing I havnt replaced within the last few months the tierod and drag link are fine tight with no play as well as ball joints yes I checked with pry bars I did however find my sway bar bushings are toast I can move the sway bar right and left about 2-3 inches back and forth and I can also move it up and down about 1/2 in or so (which would explain the mild clunk over bumps the last few thousand miles) I'm having a hard time believing that it would cause my particular symptoms just because they are more like ball joint or rotor issues.... But hey I guess it's possible parts are on order and I will report back in a few days with the results thanks for all the insite and I will look into the brown box pads I realize that there are probly better parts for less money out there but being raised in a ford family (I'm the only one for the last 3 gen that dosnt work for ford) it was kinda beat into me growing up motorcraft motorcraft motorcraft....thanks again guys I'll update as soon as I have some info

 

On another slightly different topic I did a trans service also this afternoon/evening and I put 5 qt back in the trans let it warm up shifted from R to 1 back and forth a few times then checked fluid levels it was just a hair over the full line took it out for a 15 mile or so test drive at all speeds came back in and rechecked to find a bone dry dipstick 😡 ( It drive and shift very smooth) anyone know off the top of their heads how much trans fluid is required for a service, Not a full flush I just drained the pan replaced the filter and refilled the pan?

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post12824085

Heres the link to our tech article for the trannie fluid change, and it sounds like your rotors are warped, i just bought my Ex and had the sam exact problem and pulled the rotors had them turned and it was fixed, they guy i bougth it from said he did all four rotors, pads, and 1 caliper was changed, it might have been done but iv seen people change out rotors with new pads and only bc they didnt clean off the film that the rotors ship with is the reason you can warp a new rotor, might back track if you did the install could be a small step you missed.

 

Did you clean the surface of the hub where the rotor sits? with what you are describing you have a brake pulsation. either front or rear! rust forms on the hub and makes the rotor run out. or a chunk of rust came off and got stuck behind the rotor when you installed it.


Good luck!