Ford Ranger Vibration

[Red Horse]

Shot in the dark. I have an 04 Ranger 4 x 4 Super Cab FX-4 Level II package. Truck has 58,000 easy miles on it. At 65 MPH it would start to vibrate to the point you thought the bed would come off. Tire wear has always been good-no uneven wear. Original BFG 31 x 10-50-15's. I had them balanced and when that didn't work was told.."probably have some loose cords".

So I just put new set of Firestone Destinations on it and I'll say at low speed its great- get it up to 65, and same old story-not as bad but still not right.

any suggestions? Again, the BFG's had plenty of tread left-and even wear so I say its not an alignment issue.

I was under it and while I don't have evidence of a big leak, the output shaft at transfer case does have a "drip" on it. Could that be part of problem? (bearing?)

 

[Diamondpilot]

Check the drive shaft. They weld on weights from the factory to balance and if it throws one it will do this. If it has a carrier bearing check it along with the U-joints also.

That small drip is usually a sign of a drive line vibration like I described above.

Chris

 

[dusty3030]

I'd check bearings first.
Check front first, most likely suspect. Jack up one side, spin the wheel with the tire on and listen for grinding or if it "feels" rough. Grab the tire on one edge with both hands and push/ then pull. It should have NO play or wobble.
Changing out hub bearings is easy. With close to 60,000 and you are up North I would say that you are very much in the zone for bearings to go out.
If wheel seems firmly attached check all your suspension components. All the ball joints, etc.

 

[Peacock]

Sure sounds like u-joints....

 

[crashz]

I would expect the rear U joint as well. Sometimes they don't do the typical squeak, just wear a one cap, then get a clunk or vibration.

I had the E brake shoes delaminate in my 01 F150 that would make the truck jump and hop at freeway speeds as well. But that would only happen after a few miles on the hwy, once the brakes got hot.

 

[clemsonfor]

I would second drive shaft vibration or bad u joints. They will get worse as speed increases just as a tire will as it spins faster the faster you go.

If its that bad its liable to let go any time now!!!

 

[Red Horse]

Guys- thx for your responses. I have been under it and u joints look good and tight-but it does "bang" when you put it in gear-I'm thinking this is a trans issue. I will get it on ramps tomorrow and check joints again and also see if I can detect any of the weights are obviously missing. Never had a drive shaft balanced before.
Bob

 

[Dmace]

Assuming this is an automatic, get up to speed where it vibrates then shift into neutral. Does it go away?
If so, it may be torque converter related especially since you say it "bangs" into gear.
If it didn't go away, start with the U joints since they're cheap and easy.

 

[zzvyb6]

When they balance your tires, they are on a machine, not on the rear axle/brake drums. Drums are supposed to be balanced, too, but it could also be a piece broken out of a drum. While you are under there, check to make sure the U-joint crosses are aligned with each other on the driveshaft. If one is 90 degrees off, it will cause a severe vibration and eventually damage.

 

[94BULLITT]

Does it do it neutral? Rev the engine to the RPM it is turning at 65MPH. If not take the drive shaft out and check the u-joints. Don't forget to block the wheels when you take it out. You will need a 12mm 12 point wrench or socket.

 

[scrappy isb67]

Guys- thx for your responses. I have been under it and u joints look good and tight-but it does "bang" when you put it in gear-I'm thinking this is a trans issue. I will get it on ramps tomorrow and check joints again and also see if I can detect any of the weights are obviously missing. Never had a drive shaft balanced before.
Bob

just because they "feel" tight doesn't mean they are not the problem. i had one that was tight when installed, when I took out the DS is when I found that "tight" joint was bad because it wouldn't move by hand.

 

[Bird]

just because they "feel" tight doesn't mean they are not the problem. i had one that was tight when installed, when I took out the DS is when I found that "tight" joint was bad because it wouldn't move by hand.

One of my brothers had a customer with a pickup with a vibration; said he'd been to a dealer and they couldn't find the problem. When my brother told the guy he thought the problem was u-joints, the customer didn't believe it because they felt tight, and were tight. My brother told him what it would cost to replace the u-joints, and told him if he agreed to that, they'd do the job, and then if the vibration wasn't cured, the customer would have new u-joints and owe nothing. Needless to say, that fixed the problem.

 

[Red Horse]

Scrappy/Bird-appreciate the feedback-will keep you posted.

 

[creekbend]

It seems that many possibilities have been suggested. What about a cracked or broken motor mount.?Just a thought. Best wishes.

 

[clemsonfor]

When they balance your tires, they are on a machine, not on the rear axle/brake drums. Drums are supposed to be balanced, too, but it could also be a piece broken out of a drum. While you are under there, check to make sure the U-joint crosses are aligned with each other on the driveshaft. If one is 90 degrees off, it will cause a severe vibration and eventually damage.

Can you change how the crosses are aligned?? They are in a set yoke on each end of the shaft? You cant turn a joint in an axle, the only thing you can change is how it is put into the trans??? Maybe i am forgetting something, but i have taken out many drive shafts including a front or 2 and have also replaced joints myself, although these days i pay the shop to just press new ones into the shaft for me, i do still remove and install the drive shaft myself.

 

[clemsonfor]

If were just throwing stuff out there, that it could be. I think the guy who said to rev the motor to the RPM you would be at 65mph is saying what i am but just not actually saying it. by sitting in neutral reving to say 3200rpm or whatever you take the whole drive line out of the equation, if you shake then you either have a Miss (or skip in the engine, ie missfire) or you have an unbalenced engine from a pulley or something else that may have a bad bearing in it. I doubt this is the problem myself but there is a remote chance it is. My first thought along with 75% of folks here is U joints.

I have had bad joints to that felt tight, they will "squish" sometimes, you can hear this if you have your window down and idle around. they will still feel tight usually. The last ones i had that were bad were ones that barely squished and then at speed they would vibrate pretty bad. So bad that on a 150 mile round trip i noticed it on the way and on the way back it was shaking so hard that i worried i was going to throw the shaft. I did have about 1000lbs of lumber in the truck, maybe less, i kept speed slower. I had 4wd so i was not worried, just stop pick up shaft and throw in back and limp back home in 4wd. Oh and these felt tight to someone if they did not know what they were feeling for, maybe a tad sloppy but not realy as bad as they felt.

That clunk could also be in teh rear end when you shift, like mis aligned space in your gears.

 

[AGRIMAN]

Guys- thx for your responses. I have been under it and u joints look good and tight-but it does "bang" when you put it in gear-I'm thinking this is a trans issue. I will get it on ramps tomorrow and check joints again and also see if I can detect any of the weights are obviously missing. Never had a drive shaft balanced before.
Bob

I'm not sure how you checked the joints but if you didn't have the truck in neutral then they probably did appear to be fine. If left in park or gear there may not be enough play in the bad joint for it to show.

Park it on level ground (shop or yard) and leave it in neutral. Go underneath an rotate the drive shaft
back and forth at each joint and look for any movement between the joint and cap. If you are worried about crawling under it, jack up the rear (both wheels). This will also help in finding a bad joint as you can work the tires back and forth.

 

[Red Horse]

Guys-again thx for all the responses. if I don't spend a lot of time plowing snow tomorrow its going on a frame lift and will run it up to the 65 MPH to see what's what.

 

[crazyal]

I would have someone watch the drive shaft from thee side as you put it in gear to see what's moving (if anything). Just make sure you keep the parking brake on. A bad u-joint can be seen as the yoke and drive shaft will not move together. My ex had a 2004 Trailblazer with about that same mileage that had something similar happen. It would vibrate at high speeds and clunk when she put it in drive. When she would put it in park it would roll if on an incline more than expected. I finally found that the rear end was shot. The spider gears in the ring gear carrier had fused themselves to the shafts. The oil looked great, not really sure what happened. I only found it when I watched the yoke on the pinion turn over a half turn without the suv moving. When the gears fused themselves to the shaft it was like having both rear tires locked together. The cast iron ring gear carrier split into two but the bearings on each end of it were keeping it from falling apart. The two halves of the carrier had moved far enough apart where it was out of balance. Putting it up on a lift wouldn't show a problem because there was no load on the tires.

 

[sam5570]

Guys-again thx for all the responses. if I don't spend a lot of time plowing snow tomorrow its going on a frame lift and will run it up to the 65 MPH to see what's what.

man thats bad ideal if you got the truck up in the air and that bad ujoint decides to break could be be a very bad day for one or more people, plus if its on a lift the rear axle is extended all the way down which is going to bind the shaft to some degree. just put it on the lift take the bolts out of the shaft at the rear end and then pull it out and make sure the caps on the ujoints is not froze wiggle it in every direction and i bet you find your problem.