Hello,

-I have a 2007 Expedition EB with 20" wheels that we bought used with 43k miles on it
-It had the original Pirellis on it and would vibrate at both 57 and 78 mph
-Replaced the tires with Hankooks (inexpensive, highly rated tires) and it did the exact same thing
-Tires began to wear unevenly because of it
-Rebalanced several times to be sure
-Made a stink at Belle Tire about bad tires, for a few extra $$ they replaced with Bridgestone Alenzas
-Same problem, vibration like a washing machine at 57 and 78 mph
-Took it to the dealer. They re-balanced and "found nothing wrong up front"

-Ford mechanic told me it's impossible to get a good balance "on these newer cars," and that I needed to take it to a dealer that has a road-force balancer like they do at the factory

Am I being fed a line of BS? Wouldn't you reasonably think you could get a new set of tires, balanced and true that do not make your car vibrate?

 

I think a road force balance is crucial, but I also have a bend in one of my 20's.... weak wheels.

 

X2 on the road force balance. Had a real hard time getting the 20" Pirelli's on my old 06' F150 to balance without vibration the regular way. Tire guy recommended the road force balance and tires were fine after. Also you could try rotating the tires to the back and see if it makes a difference. The balance only has to be off by a tiny bit to really screw things up at high speed.


Matt

 

There is somthing in the steering/suspension setup on these trucks that makes them ultra sensitive to tire balance issues. The slightest misbalance on a tire feels like hell. Road force by someone who actually knows how to do it should help.

 

Quick update on this.

Because of all the trouble I've been having, Belle Tire did a road force balance for me n/c. Made no difference. In fact, the balancing tool showed they were already within spec, but they went ahead and balanced them to almost perfect for me anyway.

They did a visual inspect on the axles to see if they were out of balance. They looked fine and the weights were still in place.

Their thoughts were either the torque converter or drive shaft, but diagnosis was going to be a lot of labor and hassle. This coming from Belle's tech lab in Allen Park - not their usual retail shops. I was the only person their and 5 guys were working on my truck. I was talking to the head of the lab and he was really helpful and knew his stuff.

Problem is, I have an extended warranty through Ford. If I can get them to acknowledge the problem, they'll fix. If not, they charge me labor for diagnosis.

Any suggestions on how to proceed with this? Am I taking the right steps?

 

Check the wheel torque. Most tire shop monkeys over torque the rims of

Make sure the caliper doesn't have any of the retaining clips on the surface the rim sits flush against. Some trucks have small retaining clips on the studs. It causes a small clearance for some...which can cause issues

Rotate tires

 

Try a different set of known good wheels/tires. If the vibration is consistent with your OEM tires/wheels, it's for sure a problem elsewhere.

 

Maybe you have a bad wheel bearing causing excessive play while in motion.

 

Why not jack up the rear end chalk the tires and run it up and look for the vibration? Should be easy to spot.

 

Contact your closest Ford rep. Find the dealer closest to you that has a "Reed Tachometer". With a Reed tach and the accompanied graph, you can quickly find out if the vibration is in the wheels, drivetrain, engine, accessory item(alternator,water pump.p/s pump,etc) or transmission. I had access to one many moons ago and it was very cool.

They have an electronic version out there too....thats probably better....but my service manager was too cheap!

 

J-38792-A Kent Moore EVA tool rental, electronic vibration analyzer, EVA, EVA2, Rotunda, SPX, OTC, Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda

 

Do you have the correct lug-nuts?

 

Ebrake sticking? My old 2004 F150 would do this when the ebrake would seize up at one of the wheels and the rotor got hot.