Hey people: wanted to see if anyone could help me on this. I have a 98 explorer and noticed a slight wobble/vibration sound comming from the left front tire. I got all tires rotated and balanced and the problem got worse. The tires are a little feather on the inside tread, thinking its a result of lack of rotation ( Bought this truck from a neighbor recently). Took it to Ford dealer and they felt it was a combo cupped tire and bad bearing. They replaced the bearing but the problem is still the same. They insist I need to put new tires on the truck to totally fix the issue. Did I get screwed or what? Has anyone else had this isssue? The vibration is at all speeds except really low speed. The faster I go the loader it seems to get. I don't get much vibration in the steering wheel although it is present. This sound is more like a wobble noise and its pretty bad.. Thanks for any suggestions

 

I have a very similar problem with my '97 F-150 4X4. Can't seem to find the root cause of the rumbling noise and vibration. Have replaced tires, rotated, balanced, aligned wheels so far. Will have bearings checked next. Could also be auto hubs, hope not.

 

Well an easy way to determine if it's the tire or not is to switch the tire to another wheel, maybe in the back. See if that noise goes with the tire or stays on that front side. Don't go and buy new tires until you KNOW what the problem is. You already got burned once with the bearings.

 

If your tire is feathered on the edges it is due to incorrect toe settings. Cupping of the tires is usually caused by bad shocks not controlling spring oscillation. When I worked in the trade I used to find a lot of problems the symptoms of which would conceal other problems. As to the wheel bearing replacement, I’ll bet the tech was perfectly willing to show you the bad parts. Loose wheel bearings can cause many problems including bad wear problems on tires and busted locking hubs. Lots of repairs do not fix the noticed symptoms and the consumer automatically places the blame on the factory tech and saying he screwed you out of money and didn’t fix the problem.

Also, once there is a wear pattern established on a tire, no matter what you do to fix the problem that caused it, the bad wear pattern will only get worse. Rotate the tires like the above post recommends to see if the noise is coming from the feathered tire but do not automatically assume the tech is trying to screw you out of your good money. Tires also suffer from belt separation which can cause the same type of problem.

Remember, 99% of the technicians out there are honest and want to do you right.

 

Thanks for the replys. To address getting burned I mearly asked if I did, I didn't say I did. I did rotate the tires and the problem got worse. I think all the tires are cupped in some way meaning they all are have some kind of wear. The reason I asked if I got burned is because there was no diffenrce in the noise at all and the tech told me, as a result of the noise he heard, it was for sure a bearing (go figure). After I got the truck back and test drove it I talked to the manager about the noise and he then proceeded to tell me it was the tires. Also, I realize that 99% of all techs are honest however the people they work for are not. When times are tough as they are now many owners find it very easy to exploit those who have limited knowledge in the area of business they service. This applies to all aspects of service where the customer is unable to determine the cause of thier problems and the owner has the final say. I to worked for a garage when I was younger and personally witnessed owners telling techs to do more than what was needed. Furthermore these people I witnessed almost took pride in the fact that they could get over on people. Needless to say I quite and that particular gagarge is no longer. Also I would like to mention when I picked up my truck at 6:00pm I listened to the front desk guys attempting to put out many fires with disatisfied customers which caused me to be alarmed. Thanks for all your thought and concerns and I will keep you all posted.

 

Update: I got a new set of tires and a balance. Took care of the shake and shimmy but now however I have a chirping noise comming from the same tire. It sounds like a few seagulls are hanging out around my tire fighting for a piece of fish. Could this be a bearing???? This seagull noise gets worse when I turn sharply and its definalty comming form the same tire. This is not the brakes, I had an old honda that had brake issues from time to time that made chirp but this sounds different and dosen't change pitch when applying the brakes. Any ideas??? I still hear a very very faint wobble but this chirping noise is very loud. Prior to getting the tire I did hear this chirping or seagull noise but the bad wheels must have drown it out. Any thoughts guys???

 

> I have a chirping noise comming from the same tire

The very first thing I would have replaced is the shock. It is $20 and takes 15 minutes to replace. I believe someone else mentioned this earlier. A chirp comes from the tire bouncing up, spinning, then coming back down and hitting pavement while spinning.

Checking this shock is easy. Take it off the truck. Then put it between both hands and see if you can easily squeeze it between your palms. If you are not fighting to hold it together when it is compressed, the shock is bad.

Most likely, every shock is bad if all your former tires had feathered edges. If you look in any repair book that shows pictures of tire wear, this is the first warning sign of a bad shock, tires with shoulder wear. Very basic.

The old bouncing the truck up and down usually only works on totally blown out shocks, that you can rattle in your hand while it is on the truck, with leaf springs. Usually a bad shock will show up with vibration around 25-30 mph because this is when, on a normal road, the springs can no longer dampen the tire.

 

Thanks again. The chiping noise I hear is not a result of a bouncing tire. I hear this noise as soon as the truck moves 1mph. I looked at the shocks myself and had Ford/Midas do the same and both times the shocks looked good. The owner before me never rotated his tires. Cupping is very common on SUV's when the tires are not rotated often. I appreciate all the advice however I think I have stumped you all. The chirping is not tire noise, the tires are not bouncing, the tire ares smooth, the truck after the new tires runs perfect as I already mentioned except fo the noise, its a noise only, that sounds kind of like brake pad whining. Another message board has several times suggested it was a worn, dry, or improperly replaced bearing and this to is what has been suggested by a few friends. Just wanted to see if you guys had any other advice. I think my disciption must be way off.. Thanks agian for all the help and or comments.

 

I would get under the truck and check the front sway bar links to see if they are broken, bent, or if the rubber bar bushings are worn out. I would focus on the suspension, chirping type sounds are usually suspension related.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have been told by ford that the sound I am hearing is a "font axle dust bearing/cover". I decided to go to another ford dealership and ask the same question and he to told me he thought is was a front axle dust bearing/cover. I guess ford has since sent replacement dust covers to pevent this sound form occurring but its not a recall. I will check the suspension but I need to get a good manual on this truck so I can locate what you pointed out. Thanks for all the help I will keep you updated. This site is great ! Any good manual ideas?