Drivetrain? Tires? Something isn’t right

[Foxman276]

2004 XLT. Drove smooth as silk. Now in the morning when I roll slowly in my paved driveway either in gear or neutral, it feels in the seat like my rear tires are squared off. It’s really noticeable. After driving, the sensation isn’t present. Sometimes while I’m driving I get a sporadic vibration that feels kind of bouncy. I had it in to my fav shop. It didn’t appear when they drove it. There are no noises, vehicle shifts perfectly, engine is smooth. I am running new Toyo Observe winters. Tires have been rebalanced and runout checked.

any ideas?

 

[curtis james]

i would check for a separation in tire, i have had new toyos be out of round but you have to be driving at higher speeds to notice, toyos were really good 15 years ago, i have had major issues with them and switched brand, separation are more common on older tires but the way your describing it and after putting new tires on it started. i would jack up rear and put in neutral and spin and check closely.

 

[curtis james]

Your truck looks like what mine did when i bought it in 04, i painted it silver but thinking of going back to white, a cleaner look.

 

[DILLARD000]

+^^^
Ditto, if this started shortly after new tires were mounted, good chance its a tire problem.
Always a good bet to look closer at any recent work\change, when a new problem pops up.

 

[Foxman276]

Thanks everyone. No evidence of faulty tires - a close friend has his own tire shop. Tires don’t reveal any issues when rotated slowly, they are balanced, and road force doesn’t return any results. For now I’ll just keep driving it and try to ignore the shudders. My shop checked all my u-joints and everything is tight. Perhaps in Spring when I swap my wheels, I’ll know more. Let’s hope the drivetrain doesn’t fall on the road!

 

[Tombstones81]

If nothing is obvious with the tires or suspension.
Jack the rear up & do a thorough check of the wheel bearings.

never had a problem with them on either ST's I've had.
But on my old grand am, the front end would vibrate/shake making certain turns (been almost a decade)
ended up being the wheel bearings.

Also wouldnt hurt to just check the rear end & make sure nothing is loose or obviously out of whack.

 

[Gimbree]

One time I found that there was a little play in the back end of the vehicle, it took me a few times to figure out that it was a swaybar link issue. at first I thought it was a tire issue. The top bushing of the link had broken away which led to play in the link and it was only noticeable because I had looked closely at the suspension components and notice it was missing.

 

[Ed Fenwick]

Is it cold where you live? My tires would get cold and have a flat spot when I lived In Maryland.
After driving they warmed and went round.

 

[Gimbree]

I live in New England and never experienced an issue with cold tires.

 

[DILLARD000]

I

Is it cold where you live? My tires would get cold and have a flat spot when I lived In Maryland.
After driving they warmed and went round.

Reminds of the old joke about the flat tire only being flat on the bottom side!

 

[Emory]

Nothing wrong with your truck. It's a tire. It only takes one. Had the same issue with a set of Goodyears (never again). The shop was able to determine it was a belt separation on damned near new tires. Replaced it. Since they're new, it's sometimes difficult to make the determination. It takes an experienced shop. And they're sometimes difficult to convince. My last two sets of tires have been Cooper's and no more problems.