Vibration on 05 ST

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Dave Tabata

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Hello all. My wife recently traded her 05 Rubicon for an 05 ST Premium 4X4 with the Goodyear 255.70's. The dealer replaced the first set of tires at 100 miles due to them being badly out of round. Now, the second set still shakes the Trac at interstate speeds. We want to put BFG AT's on it but I want to know if the shake is normal or if my dealer just cannot balance tires. There is also a drivetrain vibration at speeds above 80. I am not too worried about that yet. Anyway, we are very happy with the ST. Gas mileage is 16 mixed driving. Power is great compared to the Rubicon. It got lousy gas mileage and had no room but the wife loved it. It was just too small for what we were needing. Thanks for the help.
 
We are having the same issue with our 01 Trac. I actually have it in the shop this afternoon for a diagnosis to determine if the drive shaft is bent or out of balance. If you do a search on vibration you will find that others have had similar issues with different causes, of which, several have been an out of balance drive shaft. My mechanic also mentioned the CV joints as a possible culprit.



I'll post my mechanic's findings when he calls me with them later today.





Also ... if you have the OEM shocks, check out the postings concerning replacing the shocks or you'll end up with cupped tires that add to the problem.
 
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We have an '03 ST, and no vibration problems at any speed up to where the governor kicks in, so I think yours is not normal. We are running the Michelin tires.
 
Welcome!



You shouldn't have vibration at any speed. Try rebalancing the tires once or twice, then replace them. The dealer should be able to remedy all this.
 
I get a slight vibration every once in awhile, but nothing concerning me enough to get it to the dealer. If I get it there for my back window, i will mention it to them. Good Luck
 
I have an 03. No vibrations.



As far as the drive shaft goes it was limited to the Tracs that have the steel shaft. The aluminum shaft is the replacement and came OEM on the 03's.



Some early 03's did not get the updated shaft. Ford must have used what they had left in stock...
 
Kevin You may find I believe that the 4x4 has a steel driveshaft and the 4x2s the aluminum. I have the 05 4x4 and have steel (12\04 prod date). By the way my trac has 255s and no vib.
 
Yeah I have the Goodyears. They definitely leave a lot to be desired. My Trac has a steel driveshaft (4X4). Rust and all.
 
Well, I got my Trac back late yesterday and my mechanic is telling me that my drive shaft and U Joints (?) are both OK. He feels that it's the cupped tires and stated that I could balance them all I wanted, but the only way to resolve the issue is to replace them. Man do I wish I had found this site early enough to have replaced the shocks in time to prevent the cupping. I have more than half the tread life left on those tires.



I know everyone talks bad about the Goodyears, but does anyone have any experience with their new tire (I believe it's the Fortera)?
 
I too have the "orange colored" driveshaft. I had it balanced and there is an improvement at 85+MPH. I think the balance was $35.00, $65.00 with new u-joints. Oh - they painted it pretty, too.
 
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I had a vibration problem on my '04. I had the Goodyears spun balanced. The mechanic said he used all the weights he could and felt either the tires or wheels were defective. I took it to the dealer and they rebalanced the tires but had to put weights on the outside of the wheel, which I was trying to avoid. They also replaced the driveshaft. It was much better. When the snow came, the Goodyear's were terrible so I put on Michelins. I have a very slight vibration over 70 (the passenger seek vibrates slightly but I don't feel anything). So I am not sure what the problem is / was.

Ed
 
I've basically rebuilt the suspension of my '04 ST (four new shocks, camber kit, rear swaybar ends, and three different alignments) and am still getting uneven wear on the insides of my tires. I spoke to my dad about this, and he said ALL 4WD vehicles have this problem (he just bought new tires for his Suburban for the same problem). Has anyone else heard this about 4WD vehicles?
 

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