Lately I have noticed that when I am driving, usually at speeds past 45, there is a wobbly/rattly noise coming from my front end. It is something that I can feel from the driver's side floorboard as well. I have no idea where to even beginning looking for a problem.
On another, more minor note, the display on my stereo goes in and out, usually it is off more than it is actually on. Anyone have any insight here?
Previously in rec.autos.makers.ford.explorer, "Ladybug10678" proclaimed :
Get it checked out ASAP. If something is rattling, it may let loose at any time and you could lose control of your truck. Brakes and steering related problems aren't something you contemplate about fixing and they won't heal themselves.
sounds like a short in the wiring. I'd check ground wires first. Pull the unit out and check to see if the ground wire is loose.
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I think that calling it a rattle was a mistake on my part. When I listened to it again today, its more of a vibrating/wobble sound. Almost like when you go over grooves in the road that are designed to slow you down. I also noticed that my alignment is seriously off, so I wonder if that is causing the noise.
I just read an article stating that "About 31% of Explorer complaints cited mysterious vibrations. Many could not be cured, even after dealers changed tires, shock absorbers and driveshafts. That's a normal level of vibration complaints for Ford trucks, the analysis shows."
How disheartening.
Thanks for your insight WG.
It is NOT a loose wire.
These Ford radios are NOTORIOUS for having defective internal power supplies. The power supplies overheat and will eventually giving out and your radio will lose most of it's functions.
Do a Google Search and you'll see some fixes out there.
I agree that it is not a loose wire. I had this problem and my display went completely blank. However, I lost no functionality at all - just the display was black. I took the radio out and there is a rectangular module inside the radio that plugs into the back of the radio's display. This is the power supply. I de-soldered and then resoldered most of the connection on it and it works great now. The keyword was to de-solder first and then resolder. There are some articles out on the web about this and how to find the power supply ect. Hope this helps.
We had the same nasty rattle/wobble on our 92 EB explorer. Ended up that our front end bearings were considerably loose. Mechs tightenened them and it went away somewhat. Took it to a tire shop and the tires were out of balance. Once they were balanced it has not come back.
The wobble was so bad at one point that near New Orleans (the road is not smooth, but bumpy every 50') the truck bounced pretty bad (bad shocks) and the wobble got so bad that during a slowing turn off the interstate the horn started going off and would not stop! Talk about embarrasing and noisy! I unplugged the horn up front and went on my way, but each turn caused a nasty CLUNK in the steering column. A few days later I took the steering wheel apart and the wobble/bouncing had wore the rubber mounts off of the steering wheel's shimmy dampner. It had fallen inside the steering wheel and made contact with the bare connectors for the horn wiring system. I removed the shimmy dampner (dealer wanted over $80 for the lead weight) and everything is fine now.
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