Hey all, thanks in advance for the help!

Well, this problem I'm having isn't exactly with my Ford Truck, but I got so much great advice here for my '97 Ranger that I figured I'd give it a shot.

So, I recently bought a '99 Toyota Solara (don't worry - there'll always be a place in my garage for the Ranger), and when I test-drove it I noticed there was some vibration at higher speeds (60+ mph). The tires had very little tread left, and I figured the tires just needed balancing, so I'd do it all at once. So I got 4 new tires mounted and balanced at Sears, along with a 4-wheel alignment. The problem got worse - now I notice the noise/vibration as low as 30mph. I went back and had them (re)balance the wheels. They said one of them was off, but that it should be fixed now. It still didn't help.

Does anyone have any idea what else might be causing this? Before I bought the vehicle, I had my mechanic inspect it, and he noticed there was some play in the front right wheel, and that the tie-rod probably needed to be replaced. I spoke with him, and he seems to think that the loose tie-rod is causing the vibrations.

Does this sound plausible? Are there any other things that might be causing it - perhaps the wheel bearings or another part of the steering/suspension??

Thanks so much for the help!
Nick

 

Do you notice any movement in the steering wheel?

If it is front wheel drive could be a bad halfshaft.

 

It could be a number of things. Wheel bearings might need to be replaced, but surely the Sears tech would have let you know when he mounted the tires. If you lift the truck, grab the tire, and push and pull you should not have any movement. Rotors might be slightly warped. Most of the time it is impossible to see a warped rotor with the naked eye. Ball joints could be going bad. These are just a few things that come to mind.

 

"So I got 4 new tires mounted and balanced at Sears, along with a 4-wheel alignment."

If they aligned the vehicle with a bad tie rod or any bad front end componenets they should redo the job at no charge.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

Small world, I have the same broblem with my "94 B4000.

 

The balancing method your tire shop used probably uses the center hole of the wheel instead of the lug holes. Suppose they are not concentric. Sounds far-fetched, but I once had a small car like that. When I got rid of the WHEEL, I got rid of the problem. Meanwhile, you can get your tires SPIN-BALANCED on the car, if you really want a quality balancing job. That is, perhaps, a lost art.
Are you sure WHICH wheel/tire/corner-of-your-car is causing the problem? More than one?? Yikes.
Additionally, you might have worn ball joints. They can manifest by wear patterns on your tires. IOW, car will behave differently when accelerating, vs, decelerating, vs standing at rest. Sloppy joints translate into relative position changes, under acceleration. Your tires can chew themselves up this way, and give you the shakes, or at least a wandering ride, during the process.