I get some vibrations at around 35 mph

Tiny
KRYS29
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 FORD EXPLORER
  • 185,000 MILES
I have a 96 ford explorer XLT 4WD that is driving rough. She starts great, shifts fine the alignment seems great. The problem is at about 35 MPH the SUV starts to vibrate really bad almost like a vibrating rumble coming from the front end. Not to mention I have 4 new tires and the driver side front wheel is becoming bald on just the outer side. Any suggestions?
Thursday, April 12th, 2012 AT 5:08 AM

6 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,870 POSTS
Does it start vibrating after hitting a bump at that speed?Iam thinking bad tie rods.
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Thursday, April 12th, 2012 AT 5:12 AM
Tiny
KRYS29
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  • 10 POSTS
No it doesn't start vibrating until I step on the gas. When I ease off it, (Lifting my foot off gas). The vibration and the rumble calm down it doesn't make this noise in reverse or in idle. Also I have 1 tire in the vibrating area that is going bald on outer side?
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Thursday, April 12th, 2012 AT 5:22 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,870 POSTS
Alright while on the gas only sounds like a axle issue.
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Thursday, April 12th, 2012 AT 5:29 AM
Tiny
KRYS29
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  • 10 POSTS
What do mean? What kind of Axle issue should I look for? I don't want to be ripped off as I'm a female. What would I ask the mechian to look for on the Axle that could be causing it? Do I fix it and sell it or just sell it? Don't have a lot of money to fix it.
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Thursday, April 12th, 2012 AT 5:45 AM
Tiny
PENZOR
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Could be more simple then that. Could be an improperly inflated tire causing it to bald on a certain side even if its got a good alignment. Also I would suggest checking to see if the tire is unbalanced. More times then enough I've forgoton to balance a new tire on my own car and very easily a mechanic could have done the same thing. Or the weights could have fallen off. Check those first before assuming the worst. At certain speeds if the car is shaking around that same speed its most likely an imbalanced tire wobbling around on the road. And a more serious issue could be a poorly tightness wheel. If you don't use the star pattern when changing a tire you can make the tire too tight on one side of the rotors and can cause a tire to sit unevenly which can bend and break your rotors and could cause your tire to wear unevenly as well as wobble at certain speeds. If u just had them changed and this problem came after the change take it to that shop and have them fix it. They will prob replace the tire and any damage at little to no cost if its their error. That would be my first guess. If none of those are your problem then I would look at replacing parts. It's a 96 and its getting old parts will fail, but always check simple problems first.
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Saturday, April 14th, 2012 AT 1:53 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,870 POSTS
Only shaking while pressing the gas pedal is usually rotating mass meaning something spining like a axle and you said its a four wheel drive so it would have front axles. Also if the tire is wearing unevenly on the edge of the tire something is out of alignment. The whole front end needs to be inspected tie rods idler arm pitman arm ball joints etc.
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Sunday, April 15th, 2012 AT 12:46 AM

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