vibration between 50 and 55mph
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New User
Joined: Dec 2001
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vibration between 50 and 55mph
I have a strange vibration that starts at about 50mph is really bad at 55 and if I accelerate to 60 and above it somewhat goes away.
all ujoints appear to be good.
Any ideas?
78 ford f150 4x4 automatic
35" tires
all ujoints appear to be good.
Any ideas?
78 ford f150 4x4 automatic
35" tires
Last edited by rrooney; Mar 31, 2003 at 01:50 PM.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 551
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From: USA
vibration between 50 and 55mph
Check your wheel bearings. I had a similar symptom when one front bearing went out in my Explorer. At certain speeds it felt much worse than other speeds.
The wheel wasn't loose but the bearing had dried out and gotten tight. Once it was replaced, it was fine.
The wheel wasn't loose but the bearing had dried out and gotten tight. Once it was replaced, it was fine.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 526
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From: USA
vibration between 50 and 55mph
i had a similar problem on my truck, if i remember correctly the carrier bearing was bad on the two peice drive shaft as were a couple of the ubolts that hold the drive shaft to the differencial, my truck is a 2wd so it may be different if u have 4x4.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 133
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From: zebulon nc
vibration between 50 and 55mph
i had a flywheel that had broke and wedged itself back on.it caused the same symptoms you are describing.drove it like that for 3 years before i pulled the motor for something else and when i put it back in the vibration was gone 
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 130
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From: Langley BC
vibration between 50 and 55mph
Make sure your tires are balanced and that you don't have a bent rim. Bigger tires sometimes require lots of weight to balance them, depending on the tire mfr. I once had a bad shake and thought it was a tie rod or something but it ended up being a bent rim from hitting a curb real hard at a good speed. ouch!
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Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 5,491
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From: Kuna ID
vibration between 50 and 55mph
Give this a try, I made this suggestion on another post. This truck had the same symptoms you describe. Good luck.
Park the truck on a level surface, block the front wheels real good and put the rear on some sturdy jackstands. Run the truck to the speed at which the vibration occurs, you may need to have someone else in the truck to hold it at speed, while you look underneath at the driveshaft, and see if it looks blurry. You can even try holding a stick against the driveshaft and see if it bounces off. I used this method to trace the vibration in my mothers 95 F-150. The u-joints felt tight, and we even had a shop tell us they were good. The truck had 120k on the factory joints and carrier bearing. We replaced all the joints, the carrier, and had it balanced, and then it was fine.
Park the truck on a level surface, block the front wheels real good and put the rear on some sturdy jackstands. Run the truck to the speed at which the vibration occurs, you may need to have someone else in the truck to hold it at speed, while you look underneath at the driveshaft, and see if it looks blurry. You can even try holding a stick against the driveshaft and see if it bounces off. I used this method to trace the vibration in my mothers 95 F-150. The u-joints felt tight, and we even had a shop tell us they were good. The truck had 120k on the factory joints and carrier bearing. We replaced all the joints, the carrier, and had it balanced, and then it was fine.
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Elder User
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: USA
vibration between 50 and 55mph
I think you would DEFINITELY want someone inside the truck while doing that test. If it were to vibrate off the jack stands at 50mph and had the gas pedal wedged down, you'd be in big trouble. 
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Escondido Ca.
vibration between 50 and 55mph
Hey, I had the exact same problem and I had the drivshaft balanced, and when the mechanic was doing that he noticed that my transfer case was missing 2 or 3 bolts on it and the others were loose. He tightend them up and the vibration went away. So it was either one of those, I also thought it may be the shocks but that did nothing when I replaced those. the clutch and everything related to that also didnt do anything for me.But that was just my truck, a 79 F150 manual 4X4 351 shortbed.
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vibration between 50 and 55mph
wow, this could be lots of things. will start working on them. I've already replaced shocks, ujoints, and had the tires balanced. would they be able to tell if the rim was bent when they balanced the tires?
hey supercab4x4, your flywheel wedged itself back on? I replaced the flywheel about two years ago. do i have to pull the tranny back to figure that out? any other way to diagnose it?
Thanks.
Randy
hey supercab4x4, your flywheel wedged itself back on? I replaced the flywheel about two years ago. do i have to pull the tranny back to figure that out? any other way to diagnose it?
Thanks.
Randy
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 581
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From: Somerset, Pa
vibration between 50 and 55mph
actually I got the same problem on my 76!! (351w, c4 2wd)
I have a rebuilt rearend under it, new ujoints, new carrier bearing, and all the other drivetrain stuff rebuilt.
I am wondering if my 2 peice driveshaft is out of phase.
you you guys has 2 peice driveshafts?
I have a rebuilt rearend under it, new ujoints, new carrier bearing, and all the other drivetrain stuff rebuilt.
I am wondering if my 2 peice driveshaft is out of phase.
you you guys has 2 peice driveshafts?