For some unexplained reason, my Explorer is going thru a non-vibration phase. Not gonna mess with until it comes back, which I am sure it will!

 

Well that didn't last long. Its back.

 

hah! I was waiting for this and just today thinking of you as I drove down the highway and I got my shakes - I thought, gee when will his come back. this is too funny to me.

But I do feel as I only thought of you when my shakes came on. I'm here in the trenches with you on this one.

 

OK so I'm washing the car this last weekend and I get under the wheel wells and scrub out all that grim since the truck is lifted and you can see past the tires very easily. I'm kind of **** at times. And you can see the spring and shocks too in the front so I like to wipe them down too. Nice bright red Rancho spring and white Rancho adjustable shocks.

What, this shock is loose at the top bolt. So is the other side. Well how long has this been the case? I know I haven't looked at these since I put them in 5 years ago. I have washed the shocks off but I never noticed them so loose before.

OK. Tightened them up and about 1/2 to 3/4 of the vibration has gone away. This was tested only on that new rubberized asphault which seemed to run the truck a little smoother anyway. But it did definitely help. I wouldn't think it to make much difference since the up and down motion control would theroetically still work - the shocks were still connected, just not tight.

So Jwirth, I might be cured before you. I will try the ball joints next, as soon as it cools down around here. I hope that will be the last source of vibration.

I hate finding such dumb little low hanging fruit. Makes me feel like an idiot even though the trucks performance is moving in the right direction.

 

Hey! I said the truck is running better. No "that-a-boys'? Felling a bit overlooked here...

 

I am glad to hear you have reduced the shakes some more. I feel certain that the real cause is still there, and just making sure everything else is tight and balanced just minimzes it. That's how I feel about the 4 oz of anti-freeze I put in the tires. It seems to keep the vibes to a minimum when they do appear.

I once took my spare one and, one by one, rotated it around the truck to see if one of the tires was either imbalanced or bent. The shakes appeared everytime. Sometimes at different speeds. So I believe we are just running in circles!

I have been riding my motorcycle almost exclusively lately, but when the weather changes, my mind will be back on that damn Explorer.

Keep me posted!

 

Hey Jwirth - let's keep this thread alive. I think many of us not on the original Ford Design team for Gen 1 explorers can benefit. Well then dump the bike and get back in the X. Here in Phoenix, we are now thinking about getting out of the A/C X and getting on a bike! let us know what you find...

 

Jharger
Have you checked the play in the steering box? This can further minimize the vibrations. Be carefull not to make it too tight, can be dangerous on the road. And make sure the wheel bearings are tight. Within a few months, the shop I had taken it to said the bearings needed tightened. They did it the second time for free.

 

Yeah my right side wheel is loose. But I need to do a brake job and I need to change the ball joints so I'm going to do it all at once. I'm pretty sure all that stuff will finally cure this thing. Steering box - I've always been paranoid about messing with those since I 've heard horry stories of the gears locking up when it's cranked too tight. I'll leave that for the last.

The thing is, the vibration didn't come on all at once. It slowly got bad. And now that I've started to address it, it is slowly getting better. So it wasn't just one thing that went out all of a sudden. But I think you are right that all these little things add up. I wish it was just one thing - like a driveshaft u-joint. But I changed those and made no difference. plus they were very tight when I took them out.

 

Well, its been a while, but I have been going through a long spell of very smooth driving. The last time I had it in the shop, they found stones up in the spring seat. I don't how they have been there, but it must have helped. That or something else they tightened up while in there. I guess if you think about it, it makes sense. If the spring is kept from being able to fully extend, it could be a little loose. It was also making a nasty noise when I went over a speed bump or something.
I'll be knocking on wood and hope this smooth spell continues. I need new tires soon, so that could upset the apple cart! Or maybe it will help.

 

You lucky devil. I don't think these trucks will ever ride smooth. I was just informed that I need new ball joints on the passenger side as well as the camber bushing was worn out. Its gonna be a fun weekend.

Did replacing your worn bushings make that big of a difference?

 

I never got to the bushings! I procrastinated and didn't get back to them.

 

I vote for u-joints. There's no real reason for "things" to start coming loose. One dry bearing on one of the u-joints can do what you are experiencing.

 

Yeah, I agree. Check 'em. But mine is riding real smooth right now and all that was done is get the rocks out of the spring seat. I aint gonna mess with it until, and if it comes back.

 

Get it up to speed where vibration is doing it's thing (like on a slight hill/slope downhill so the speed won't drop real fast) , shift into neutral. If it goes away it's in the driveline. If it continues it's in the tires/rotors/suspension components etc. My 91 Ed Bauer 4X4 did this, replaced the 2 u-joints for rear drive shaft and it fixed the problem.