Not so Good Vibrations

[whtbronco]

The suspension or wheel speed vibration I have been chasing recently is not consistent. This morning it was pretty bad for the 35 mile trip to work, and it starts out around 37-38mph. On the way home this evening it was fine until I was just 4-5 miles from home. It changes based on load, such as my son in the back seat. No matter what I pushed, pulled, pried, turned listened to etc I could not find anything loose and out of round. This evening I was gonna mess with the strut adjustment knob and noticed a gap in the rear strut lower bushing and thought that could probably cause this. It's always under serious tension so I wouldn't be able to feel anything by hand, rolling down the road though would be a different story. Whatcha think. This is the right rear, the left rear is the same, the front lower bushings are not visible while mounted.

 

[whtbronco]

New rear struts are enroute. Rancho has a lifetime warranty against wear out, yet another advantage to Rancho in my book.

From the Rancho web page:
DRiV warrants qualifying Rancho products against defects and wear-out when used on private passenger cars and light trucks under normal operating conditions as described below.

 

[whtbronco]

So the rear struts have been replaced. That resolved the majority of the remaining wheel speed vibration and I had no change in vibration after driving 20+ miles on the interstate the last few days. That said I was surprised to have noticed a consistent vibration between 50-55 and again 70-75mph. At the 70-75 range the steering wheel even shakes a bit I thought it might be something in the front end even though it was just inspected and the inspector found no issues and he checks my stuff closely by request. I found nothing up front with play or loose this evening either. It does look like I might have a small gap in the front strut lower mounting bushings though similar to the rear, but much less. It's hard to see that though due to the mounting flanges. What can be seen is that bushings are cracking due to dry rot. Maybe it's the front struts causing what's left, if the rear strut mounting bushings were worn out the fronts likely are as well. I also cannot adjust the front struts. I took the knobs off and got those freed up, but inside the strut the adjustment it's rusted solid. Between the dry rot and adjustment maybe Rancho will replace the front struts under warranty as well. You can see a small gap under the bushing in pic IMG_1476, it's nothing like the rear bushings, but it's still there.

The new rear struts have adjustment knob and internal part packed in dielectric grease. I have had Rancho shocks and struts for decades and never heard of doing this, nor have I ever had an issue with Rancho stuff before.

I will add that I will be getting a spring compressor set before trying to replace the front struts. The rear were difficult, but the front are even more difficult and my hands and shoulders are not up to the fight anymore. I used a ratchet strap to hold the rear struts into the mount and used my jack to compress it so I could insert the bolt, can't do that up front.

 

[whtbronco]

The front struts have been replaced. No need for a spring compressor, just had to disconnect the upper ball joint from the knuckle, remove the tie rod and pop the sway bar loose and the lower control arm could be pushed down enough to get the bottom of the strut in place. I dislike getting the sway bar links on/off so I just removed the sway bar to frame brackets as it's much easier. Then use a floor jack to get the sway bar back up to the frame while you get the brackets mounted again.

The passenger rear toe link was also replaced. The outer tie rod on it is no longer tight, but I still could not feel any play. However, replacing it reduced vibration and resulted in better tracking on the highway.

The remaining vibration is from 65-80mph, haven't been faster this week. The steering wheel is not visibly shaking anymore from 70-80mph like it was previously. This weekend I plan to replace the passenger side rear lower control arm and upper ball joint. Maybe, just maybe I will then be done with vibration for a little while.

 

[whtbronco]

The passenger rear upper ball joint and lower control arm have been replaced. The upper ball joint moved easily, but I felt no play. The lower ball joint was not easy to move, but it was sticky. It would not move and then kinda stutter as it moved so I suspect the grease had dried up. I only took it for a 3mi test drive, but I think this may the end of the drivetrain vibration. I sure hope so. I'll know better after driving to work this week and then.

I still have to reinstall the front driveshaft. I left it out to ensure the driveshaft and front axle weren't part of the problem.

Here's the parts and tools list in case anyone is interested. Everything was replaced with Motorcraft parts unless otherwise stated. Most everything contributed to minor vibration that added up to major vibration. The front driveshaft u-joint created extreme vibration at times.

IWE's (one failed to hold vacuum) $105
Tires (it was time, so another set of General Grabber HTS60) $950
Front wheel bearing hubs (286k miles just barely starting to develop play) $210
Fuel pump, Bosch $160 (just happened to fail during this lengthy adventure)
Changed rear diff gear oil (was gonna change it in 2-3 months anyway) $30
Rear driveshaft u-joints, slip yoke, straightened and balanced (slip yoke splines excessive play and front u-joint just a tiny bit of play)(Dana SPL non-greaseable u-joints all around) U-joints all 4 $80, slip yoke $125, straighten and balance $300
Front driveshaft u-joints, clean and re-grease slip yoke.(rear u-joint rusted cup keeping driveshaft off center)
Transfer case new bearings and seals (rear bearing for front output shaft ruined by driveshaft u-joint) (USA Standard Gear overhaul kit) Bought 2 kits, 1 salvage yard T-Case and a Motorcraft front output seal. $400
Transfer case shift motor (was causing errors for the 4wd module and other modules on the bus and improperly engaged the clutch coil)
Water pump(weeping a bit and just a little play) $60
Fan clutch(just a bit of play and a little easy to turn) $80
Rear diff torque arm/support bracket (bushing had 3/16" play up, no play down) $205
Found transmission cooler lines rusted while replacing water pump. Cut out the rusted parts and replaced with rubber EVIL ENERGY 5/16" Transmission Hose. Only because I could not find a full set of 5 new lines. $20 (just happened to find during water pump replacement)
Battery failed, Interstate. $125
Harmonic damper. $143
Front main seal. $16
PCV grommet. $10
Rear upper left knuckle ball joint, Moog K80212. $52 (local parts store)
Rear lower left knuckle ball joint, DELPHI TD4312W. $21 (rebranded Dorman garbage)
Rear upper left knuckle ball joint/bushing, Moog K80212. 2 more $64 (I messed up the first 1)
Rear lower left control arm. $306
Rear lower right control arm. $345
Rear toe link. 2 of them $275
Rear struts, Rancho. Warranty replacement, $16 return shipping to RockAuto
Front struts, Rancho. Warranty replacement, $28 return shipping to RockAuto
$3,916 parts total

New tools and supplies purchased during this adventure:
12 point 12mm impact socket for driveshafts, Sunnex. $10
E-Torx impact socket set to replace transfer case front driveshaft protective cover studs, Duratech. $20
Line flaring tool to flare transmission lines, OTC. $40
Deburring tool for transmission lines, General. $10
Transmission line quick disconnect tools (seat the tool and listen for lock release, pull both tool and line out together and the line will unseat), ZKTool. $15
Low profile creeper 'cuz I'm struggling to slide in/out from under the vehicles, ATD. $105
Ratcheting crimp tool for single ear hose clamps for transmissions lines/hoses, iCrimp. $20
Single ear clamps, Oetikar. $25
Transmission fluid for T-Case and transmission lines, Amsoil. $70
Coolant, Prestone. $35
Front main seal installer. 3D printed
Ball joint press, Maddox. $55 (rental units at the local parts stores are just abused)
Foaming intake manifold cleaner, Amsoil. $14
Digital angle meter to set camber properly, Klein. $30
$449 tool total, though I'm sure there's brake fluid and a few other minor costs as well.

Total $4,365

 

[whtbronco]

Well it turns the passenger side lower control arm and upper ball joint didn't fix anything. I didn't really think they would, but I also didn't think the toe link would and it did. They were as expected nearly worn out though. It seemed to be better Saturday on my short test drive, but the ride to work proved otherwise.

Not sure what to look at now, maybe the tires are out of balance. At 10k miles since the tires were new this seems unlikely, but I reckon it's possible I threw a wheel weight. Well now I typed that I recall that I sure had an issue with wheel weights flying off when the Expy was new. Numerous times it threw weights within 1-2 miles of leaving the dealer. I remember hoping they wouldn't hit another vehicle. An out of round tire seems unlikely since it is so dang smooth now all the way up to 60 or so mph. Just a little vibration beginning at 65mph, gets more pronounced at 70, worst at 75 and subsides a bit by 80. Didn't have a chance to go faster. This is a bit wider range in speed that I am accustomed to with tire balance issues.

 

[kep5niner]

Damn that’s a lot of time, money and effort to not have solved the problem. At what point do you just toss the keys to the dealer and say don’t give it back to me until it’s right? Sorry it didn’t work out for you! Yet…

 

[whtbronco]

Damn that’s a lot of time, money and effort to not have solved the problem. At what point do you just toss the keys to the dealer and say don’t give it back to me until it’s right? Sorry it didn’t work out for you! Yet…

Yeah it has been a lot time, money and work. Not to mention recovery. Due to rheumatoid arthritis I can spend a handful of hours working on it and then spend days recovering. Being on-call 24x7 doesn't help either. I put it off, like a fool, until I couldn't stand the vibration anymore. The good news is I have been resolving it a little bit at a time. The driveshafts and the transfer case were the most significant at resolving the various vibrations. The rest kind of nibbled away at it. Admittedly a few parts didn't help much if at all, but they were nearly at the end of their useful life anyway and I generally replace both sides if one has failed.

When does a dealer or a shop get the keys, most likely never, ever gonna happen. I'm stubborn, very stubborn, have nothing else to I can park at work and I can't pay the $170/hr labor rate around here. The other problem is that I am a perfectionist and will try again repeatedly until I get it functionally right. The driveshafts and transfer case would have cost me over $3k alone at a shop. I let only 1 person touch my vehicles, one of my old neighbors for the yearly state safety inspection and that's it. Same for the house and everything in it.

With 293k miles on it, most of the stuff I have done recently I consider maintenance. The ride, handling and fuel economy have all improved as well. The over $4k I've spent in the last 8 months is far less than payments, property tax and insurance on a newer vehicle.

The good news is that almost all of the vibration is resolved and for the most part I enjoy working on it. Up to 60mph it's nice and smooth again and there is no deceleration vibration at all.

Well that was long winded, I guess I often am.

 

[whtbronco]

Good news, my wife drove the truck quite a bit yesterday and today. She said it's very smooth until 71-73mph and then it starts to vibrate a bit.

Unfortunately I have lost my access to tire equipment. For years I would pay a local shop full price and do my own work when they closed. It was a good deal for both of us. The shop was sold. Now I have to find someone to check/re-balance the wheels/tires or I have even considered buying a bubble balancer. A bubble balancer can produce fine results, but it does take time. I agree a properly maintained and calibrated spin balancer should be better, but that's often not the case.

See I'm stubborn. Even thinking about buying a balancer and an assortment of weights rather than just having it done is stubborn, but I do things my way. It's just who I am.

 

[whtbronco]

I wanted to visually verify that the wheels weren't bent, the tires appeared perfectly round and the tread ran true as the first step in verifying the tires. My wife asked me not to put the truck on jack stands and run it up to 60mph or more, she gets really nervous as the driver doing this.

I found a shop in town that would allow me to watch them with their spin balancer so I went that route. It did at least allow us to check the balance before before removing the existing weights and all 4 were out of balance. They varied from just 0.25oz to 1.75oz. Afterwards the vibration intensity is reduced by something like 50% and it's not very noticeable until 76-77mph, up from 71mph. None of the wheels appear bent. They would not let me put my hand against the tire unfortunately, but it looked like 3 might be slightly out of round. I couldn't be sure it wasn't possibly just where the dust from the shop floor had been wiped off the tread from handling the tires. The right front tire is clearly a bit out of round.

These tires are worn from 12/32" tread down to 9/32". That's enough wear that replacing 1 tire is not an option with 4wd. I hate to spend another $900-1k on tires again less than a year later. I'll run them for a bit after the rebalancing and make a decision on replacement. I also swapped the right front and rear tires which of course reduced how much the remaining vibration is felt.

Now that the drivetrain issues are resolved, well almost as the tires are not fully resolved yet, it appears the Expedition likes the attention. The A/C compressor has started vibrating lightly when engaged. I had this before and shockingly when I replaced the fuel pump it went away. I'll check the fuel pressure for grins, kind of unlikely it's the cause again. That said the Bosch pump was installed in December. I don't like the way it sounds and the fuel gauge has failed twice. I'm sure it's getting close to time to swap the A/C compressor though. The only part that sucks is getting a someone to evac the system legally.