slight vibration at 40-45 mph - Ford Forums

raw21 · 08-23-2003, 15:28

well hears my story,
i've had this vibration going on with my 97 f150 4x4, for about a year
that i really noticed it, i had my mechanic look at it , he checked the
front suspension and balanced my tires, but it still vibrates. so i took it
back to sears where i bought the new wranglers the year before and
had them rotate and also balance the tires again. i rotated the tires
every 6,000 miles. last week i asked the mechanic to look at it again
this time he raised the vehicle and ran the truck in four wheel drive
he said all four tires were running out of round and there was cupping
on them especially the front ones. so this week i went out, thinking
that the tires were the problem and bought four new tires (notgoodyear)
and i can still feel the vibration, i forgot to say that if i am going faster
and i brake to slow down, at that same speed range i feel it too.
sorry so long of post, any one have suggestions? i afraid that this
could cause my new tires to cup also! thanks ron.

351w · 08-23-2003, 20:10

hey Raw,
it sounds to me like it possibly is an alignment issue, and that is deffinetly the biggest cause of tire cupping. how many miles did you get out of the last set of tires ?
were they worn more on the inside or outside of the tread.

also i would not take my truck to sears for service (just my opinion)

raw21 · 08-23-2003, 22:31

I got 30,000 miles from the last set of tires,
it really bugged me to buy new ones because
they still had 9/32 tread left.
do you really think that the vibration, i am still
feeling is alignment? i do have an alignment scheduled for weds. if it means anything the left
front tire cupped the worse. thanks ron

raw21 · 08-23-2003, 22:33

also they were wore in the inside of tire.
and don't worry i'll never buy tires from sears again!

351w · 08-23-2003, 23:42

sounds good raw,
an allignment might take care of the problem and if not it is a good solid starting point.
once you know the allignment is ok then if the problem is still there i need to know more specific details about the vehicle.
doing an alignment will eliminate possible worn joints and wheel bearings and not break the bank unless you go to some place like sears (lmao).

89F150 · 08-24-2003, 00:21

I'm with 351 on this one. Check the alignment and start from there

raw21 · 08-24-2003, 05:53

okay thanks alot, i'm feeling better now that there
could be chance that its just an alignment problem.
i will post again thursday, after the truck is aligned
weds, and i drive it some. talk to you later.
thanks ron

raw21 · 08-27-2003, 08:43

had my truck aligned today, it was within specs.
so that isn't my problem. i took the wheels off
before i had aligned and cleaned the surfaces
to eliminate any rust in between wheel and rotors
and drums. this problem is not happening every
time i hit 40-45 and it happens only sometimes
when i hit the brakes. could my rear drums be out
around? it feels like something is out of balance or
out of round.
1997 f150 offroad
5.4 litre auto
96,000 miles
i read some where on another forum that some people, changed their trans. fluid and that helped.
thanks, ron

351w · 08-27-2003, 19:25

raw now you have me confused.
first you said you had a vibration at 40+ mph and the tires were wearing poorly.
but now you are asking about changing fluid in the trans.
so i have to stop you at this point and ask you specific questions.
ok here we go.
1 do you get a vibration during acceleration at 40 mph and above ?
or
2 do you get this vibration while coasting at around 40 mph ?
or
3 do you only get this vibration under breaking from 40 mph ?
which one of these describes the problem area the best
because each one of these questions will point you to a different answer.
all we know so far is that you have new tires now and the alignment is good so this says the prob is possibly not the front end at all.

raw21 · 08-27-2003, 20:35

351 w+,
sorry to get to confusing. it's during acceleration, but it also does it while i am braking! i definetly feel it the worse, between 40-45 both ways. thanks