<TABLE class=tborder style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px" cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 8362679" vAlign=top><TD class=alt2 align=middle width=125></TD><TD class=alt1>maples01 Well the 10 ply tires are heavy, have a lot of material to them, not all can be balanced, all their make up leave room for a problem during the manufacturing process, tire shops should not sell these tires, if they won't balance they need to go back to the manufacture.

Interesting. I'll keep that in mind. I stayed with the brand and size that was on it from Factory. They are Goodyear Wrangler HT. I thought I'd be safe doing that but not that case. I have an appointment Friday at a shop that has Roadforce balancing equipment. I'll post the results.


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I have Cooper Discovery 245/75 R16 on my 15 passenger, the previous Cooper AT's were old stock, seemed to prematurely dry out, then the one started breaking belts, went unnoticed until it finally slung out of round after 1000 miles, but started just as yours is doing.

 

DOT numbers indicate new tires and they've only been on since October/November 2009

 

Could just be a bad one.

 

OK. Just want to bring everyone up to speed. It turned out to be a tire problem. I had all the tires done with Roadforce balancing and it did the trick. One in particular was able to be adjusted by spinning the tire on the rim. I highly recommend Roadforce balancing. If you look up Roadforce online and type in you zip code, it will show who has the equipment in your area. Sears should not be balancing tires for E350 vans based on my experience with them. Thanks to all for the good information. I was amazed at the responses and good advice.

 

I had a similar thumping noise on my E-350 van.

It turned out to be a wheel balancing weight touching the brake caliper.
I lifted the van off the ground and turned each wheel several times, but nothing happened. Then i changed to steel rims and problem was gone.
When cleaning the alloy wheels i noticed a small rubbing on one balance weight.

Put that wheel bak on the van on the front and thumping noise came back.

This thumping sound was only noticeable when the full weight of the van was on the wheels. There certainly is a lot of strain on these wheels when the vehicle is on the ground.

 

[the problem is the driveshaft. Take it out and to a shop that can balance it. They will most likely remove the collar on transmission end. A small amount of movement in the tail shaft of transmission is normal. oQUOTE=DNixe350;8248450]I have a problem with vibration mainly at high speed. Feels like I would envision an out of balance tire but here is where I'm at with it. New tires from Sears twice! Rebalanced many times. I put new shocks on rear last night. No help. U joints seem good. It can be felt around 40 MPH in city and then fades till on highway and getting up to 60 - 65 mph. worsens as you go higher. Not always the same feel. Depending on road surface. I find tar roads to be worse. Frustrating to say the least. It's not something you cant live with but certainly not desireable. I never remember the problem until I had new tires put on in mid 2008. Finally got Sears/Goodyear to replace tires about 3 months ago since 2 went bad anyhow. It didn't change the problem at all so we have ruled out tires. Doesn't seem to be felt in the steering. I don't know if vibration describes it. Might be more of a thumping type vibration. Does anyone know if there should be a little play in the driveshaft (yoke?)where it goes into the tranny? Not major but I could move it side to side slightly. Noticed it when I was checking U joints. HELP!![/QUOTE]

 

There is a way to check if the driveshaft is faulty.
Hook a tachometer if you don't have one then write the RPM when you feel the vibration for each engaged gear.

If vibration occurs on different RPM then it isn't the driveshaft.

I have a strange vibration problem on my 1973 E100. Sometimes it goes away when I clutch/declutch like if pressure plate, clutch disc or flying wheel were warped. But not sure. I still ordered a new clutch kit because it needs to be done.

 

I had a vibration on my '90 28' class C moho....would start around 30mph and fade away at 50-60mph. It was too frequent to be a tire or wheel, and it could be felt thoughout the floor...turned out to be the center (steady) bearing on the driveshaft. It was loose in the rubber mount so it would rattle around in the bracket. Replaced with aftermarket part, and vibration disappeared.

Just my $0.02......

 

I had this problem and it was a loose transmission mount. The bolts just loosened up over time. Vibration was more on grades.

 

I've had vibration problems for a long while now too. After reading this thread I went and took a good hard look at my wheel / hub fit. I compared my E-350 and F-350 which have a similar or same setup. On my worst wheel there is a visible mismatch and I can fit up to .033 feeler gauge in the gap between about 8 o'clock and 5 o'clock . On my pickup, which has no issues, the gap can't be detected readily and no more than a .008 will fit and only one small area at that. Question is, how significant is this? [/URL]

 

This process has long been a standard operation at any good tire shop. It seems all new and high-tech but in fact its really just a good practice when any rotating assembly is to be balanced.

New tires and wheels have visible marks that show their respective heavy spots---when installed one simply positions the tire on the wheel with those marks 180* apart before setting the bead. From this point forward the need to add weight to counteract any out-of-balance situation is greatly reduced.

Perhaps its easier for quickie shops to just slap things together, throw on enough weight to get the invoice paid? Tires aren't rocket science but they do require a bit more than most seem willing or capable of doing correctly.

BTW glad your vibration problem was solved!

 

Gotta get a pro.

 

BTW, I do believe I tried to say it was a tire issue, but WTF do I know!

 

It would seem sometimes the easier and/or most obvious issue just can't be the cause, some need to go to extraordinary lengths only to eventually find the solution already suggested early on.