When I took delivery of the truck is had a bad shake through the steering column which was at it's worst at 70mph. Took the truck back to the dealer and they said one of the front wheels was way out of balance. They re-balanced and the shake is MUCH less than before but still detectable. My question is whether some slight shake or shimmy at certain speeds on a truck this size with 17" wheels is to be expected or should I take the truck in again? Could a tire replacement be in order?

 

I have an '03 EB with 6,000 miles. No 70 mph shake or shimmy. I don't think it's normal. I had 60,000 miles on my previous Expedition, also with no 70 mph shake.

 

Yes, a tire replacement may well be in order. 1st they should take the tire off the rims rotae it about 180 degrees and try to rebalance it. If that doesn't do it they need to replace it.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 07-Sep-02 AT 11:26 AM (EST)]>When I took delivery of the truck is had a bad shake through
>the steering column which was at it's worst at 70mph. Took
>the truck back to the dealer and they said one of the front
>wheels was way out of balance. They re-balanced and the
>shake is MUCH less than before but still detectable. My
>question is whether some slight shake or shimmy at certain
>speeds on a truck this size with 17" wheels is to be
>expected or should I take the truck in again? Could a tire
>replacement be in order?

I see this alot (I work at NTB) with the Goodyear Wrangler RT/S's. I know I'm going to be crucified for this, but Goodyears are garbage. Don't wear well, tread compound is too hard, generally a poorly designed tire. My SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for an Expedition with a ride complaint is to fit it with a new set of Michelins (From NTB there's the LTX M/S and the CrossTerrain) I have the CrossTerrains on my 99 Expy XLT and it rides like a Cadillac (a 7,000Lb Cadillac, but a Caddy nonetheless )

My mom wanted to get rid of her explorer because it rode so poorly - no amount of balancing, rotating, etc. would fix the jitters, rumbles, and bumps. I put the CrossTerrains on and it rode 100% better.

Anyhow, I'd fight with the dealer, and get them to give you a credit towards some new tires. Then come to Annapolis NTB and I'll hook you up )

Moral of the story, Goodyear = BAD Michelin/BF Goodrich = GOOD. Get 'em replaced.

XXL

 

I have Goodyear RT/S on 17" wheels on my Expy with no shake or shimmy. Bring it back to the dealer and tell them to check the balance again. Thier machine could be out of calibration, causing a false balance reading.

 

Michelin LTX M/S - Ihave 30,000 on my set and have no regrets. I also have never picked up a nail or piece of glass with these tires, something I definitely couldn't say about their Wilderness predecessors. Go ahead, the cost will only sting for a little while.

 

The 2003 Expeditions are equipted with Continental tires. I'm taking it back in tommorow morning.

 

Well yesterday was it's first day back at the dealer. They rebalanced all four wheels at high speed and guess what..... it still shakes. And guess what else.... the service contact agrees with me that this should not be a characteristic of a new 2003 expy. Heck my 96 Contour with 103000 miles on it does not shake like this. Now they are talking about possible drive-train problems... yikes!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 11-Sep-02 AT 10:31 AM (EST)]If it's a drivetrain problem, then how did the first tire rebalance lessen the problem? Try rotating the tires from front to back and see if the vibration is eliminated, or if what I suspect is right, moves from the steering column to the seats. You probably have a bad tire, a tire that is out-of-round, or one that has not been properly balanced YET.

It might not be a bad idea to bring the spare tire into the picture (to temporarily replace a suspected tire).

Continental makes some respected tires for high-speed use in euro sedans (BMW uses them a lot as a factory tire), but I don't hold their SUV tires in high regard. You may want to take a moderate financial risk and replace your tires with a higher quality (e.g., Michelin) tire.

 

I would tend to agree. The first balance did improve the problem so that would leave one to believe..... I did bring up the idea of replacing tires to fix the problem and they stated that they didn't feel any of the tires were that out of round. I'll be dammed if I'm going to spend my own money on replacing tires on this vehicle when it shook like this since delivery. It's their problem to spend money on and fix as far as I'm concerned.

 

At 70 MPH, your tires are rotating at about 1,000 RPM. An imbalance of less than an ounce, or even a slightly out-of-round tire will make it's presence known. Assume your dealer is cheap or incompetent and take it to a tire store for a rotation at least. If the problem is unchanged, i.e., vibration doesn't shift from steering to body, then the tires are probably o.k.

 

Too funny. After another day at the shop, they think it may be the tires! Can you believe it? I would have never guessed Anyway now they are getting authorization to swap them but I guess they don't have Conti's in stock. Looks like another day, but the rental is on them, so they can take their time.

 

This would be a good time to press for an upgrade to another brand, even if you have to kick in a few $$$.

 

Ha, ha, now they are swapping tires and rims with another new vehicle to see if that indeed is the problem. If it proves to be it, they are going to re-tire tom. I'll be dammed if I am going to spend another dime on times for this vehicle right now when it cost me $35,000+ for the vehicle.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 11-Sep-02 AT 07:23 PM (EST)]Not sure what your driving habits are but I just got Bridgestone Dueller H/P on my Expy today. I do not go off-road so the H/P is a performance tire fit for my driving habits.

All I can say is that the Expy has a whole different personality with the H/P. It brakes much better, very quiet compared to the Conti, and I've tried some "spirited" cornering and there is no comparison with the OEM (better traction and stiffer sidewall).

Just another opinion for your consideration, of course you'll have to kick in some money unless your dealer is really really nice.