1994 Explorer Excessive vibration

We have an explorer that vibrates at 60 - 65 MPH.

I have replaced and balanced all the tyre, including the spare. Had the alignment adjusted, yet the vibration persists.

Any ideas?

Reply to
limey
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Had this happen to me once. Turned out to be a belt failure in the tire. Balancing the tire did not help. Did you try rotating the front tires to the back? If vibration is then less, the problem is related to the tire or wheel (most likely the tire). SF

Reply to
sf/gf

Reply to
John Shoemaker

Barry: Let me count the ways.....

-Tire out of round.... good balance won't help.

-Shocks...too loose can let a harmonic vibration get out of hand.

-Slipped belt in tire....again good balance won't help.

-Wheel bearings, too tight or too loose.

-If a 4x4 make very sure that the front hubs are Dis-engaged. Jack up the front end and turn tires to see if drive shaft turns....should not.

-Buy the very best high quality tires that can be had. It seems that any imperfection in a tire is brought out by the early expy's somehow. I've had an excellent ride with my Michelin LTX-M/S P235/75-15 tires.

-Tire pressure, my michelins like 30psi.

-If you've been through several sets of tires,check the driveshaft balance. HTH,

-Steve ('94 EB 4x4)

Reply to
SASCHOCH

Vibration was before new tyres.

All tyres are new Michelins, Balancing has been done after new tyres and at a different dealer.

Shocks are new.

It is a two wheel drive Eddie Bauer.

Prop shaft appears to be tight on Universal joints.

No play in wheel bearings, the wheels pin freely, I doubt they are too tight.

Ride safe

Barry

Reply to
limey

The vibration at 60 to 65 mph was a design flaw for the 94 and earlier explorers. It is so common that Ford added a 5th "shock absorber" on the rear axle to correct this problem in 95 or 96. I had the same problem in my

94 and there is basically nothing that you can do for it. My 98 has the 5th shock and does not have the problem.

HTH Steve

,
Reply to
sehaare

Interesting... So that's what that "5th" shock is for on my '98 EB AWD 4 door Explorer. Someone else here indicated that ONLY four door Explorer's come equipped with the fifth shock, and from what I can see, none of the online, aftermarket and/or OEM, part houses list this part for sale so it must be a dealer only item? Then again, none of the online Ford parts houses list it either...

Thanks for the information,

Steven

sehaare wrote:

Reply to
Steven Hilgendorf

Many thanks, I thought I was going crazy.

Ride safe Barry snipped-for-privacy@att.net Sunny Ocala, FL 34482, USA

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Reply to
limey

Not everybody experiences this vibration issue. I've had a '94 XLT

4-door from new and have never had this problem.
Reply to
Kenny Blankenship

Barry:

If it's not tire related, that leaves only the drivetrain.

1) out of round wheel. 2) driveshaft out of balance. 3) radius arm bushings. Thats all I can think of right now. Be sure to visit the explorer owners website at
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and look at the writeup on vibrations.

Good.

good luck.

-Steve ('94 EB 4x4)

Reply to
SASCHOCH

Many thanks Steve, that web site is a godsend.

I ride a Honda Goldwing we have our own News Group

news://news.armchair.mb.ca/wings.

and Web Site.

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The help and assistance given Worldwide is nothing short of phenomenal.

Looks like I have found another one.

On another note, a local dealer has a 1999 4 X 4 Eddie Bauer for $14k, low miles.

Is this a reasonable price, we are looking to part exchange our 95 Camry, the wife's car.

I am not losing my 94 EB.

Reply to
limey

My Ford dealer added the fifth shock and replaced the motor mounts trying to fix the shakes. It was all fixed when I got rid of the Firestones and got my Michelins. Unfortunately, I did it well before they did the recall and I couldn't recover the cost of the new tires.

dave '94 EB 194,000 miles

Reply to
Dave

My '91 EB 4x4 w/200k miles also had a nasty vibration which started at about

60 to 65 mph and finally smoothed out (but never went away entirely) at about 80mph.

I replaced both Universal joints on the main drive shaft and I now have a smooth ride again. There was so little "slop" in these joints when they were still on the car that I almost couldn't detect it. Once the drive shaft was removed from the car, the slop was much more evident. "U" joints are only $8 bucks each, so it's a very inexpensive repair job.

Mike

Reply to
Tiger

That sounds like a reasonable, investment. I did a google search for the Ford TSB 96416 Feb.96 Priced the kit, I was quoted $800 and that was supposed to be 25% discount.

Reply to
limey

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