New Tires..let the shaking begin

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LoriMaury Kimbrough

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So I had new tires put on the truck on Tuesday. Traded up from P265/70R16 to P265/75R16. With the old tires there was a slight shake between 45 and 55 mph. It was so slight that most people didn't notice it. With the new tires there is a very noticible shake between 45 and 75 mph, it never really goes away after 45 it's just not as noticable after 75. The shake is in the rear of the truck and has really been present since we bought it. When we had the 33x12.50R15's on it was really bad. We were told that the truck probably just couldn't handle that size tire. The change to the P265/70R16's made it much much better.



When I drove the truck home on Tuesday, I didn't notice it. I drive it everday and am very tuned in to the feel of the truck. Yesterday I noticed a little more, today it's horrible.



Since it had the problem before, I'm thinking that it's not a problem with the tires (unless I threw a weight) but instead a problem with the truck that the bigger tires are just making more obvious.



My question to you...what could it be? My thoughts...



1) drive shaft - but it doesn't have the problem that's described in the TSB. Should my local dealer be able to check the balance of the drive shaft?

2) rear end - could there be a problem here?



I'm taking the truck back to Big O tomorrow morning and am going to ask them to check to make sure that the tires are balanced properly, if so, then I guess I'll just go back to the 70's. I sure do like the look of the 75's. I know that some of you are using 75's and I've never seen any mention of a problem. I would love to figure out what's wrong with my baby. The dealer will just tell me that it's the oversized tires and after market wheels, that's what they told me before. They aren't even willing to look at other possibilities. Since they are the only game in town, I'm kinda stuck.



Ideas?????



Forgot to mention..2002 - 4x2 - 3" body lift
 
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most of the issues with the drive shaft were at high speed.. 70+... if you can drive out of the vibe, its probally a tire ballance issue.. only way to prove its not a tire/rim problem is find a tire dealer with a HUNTER tire FORCE Balancer... this machine has solved my problems in the past...



troy



http://www.gsp9700.com/

http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/4159T/index.htm
 
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With the first set of wheels/tires, we did the road force balance. It never got rid of the problem completely. It made it better, but the problem always returned within about 1000 miles.
 
There was a thread about the driveshaft a while ago (a year of more ago) where there was a discussion about the driveshaft. Some people just had high speed issues with it and some had low and high speed. I personally had the high speed drive line vibe, the faster I went the worse it would vibrate, at passing speeds it felt like I was going to vibrate right off the road. Some people on this site that were out of warranty had their driveshaft balanced at either truck or offroad places for minmal cost (I think around 70 bucks if I remember correctly) instead of buying the new one. Maybe this will be an option for you and rule out that issue one way or another.
 
Could it be alignment? Is the body lift the only thing done to raise the truck or is there been some modification to the suspension to help the lift? I ask this due to the fact maybe the rear axle isn't "tracking" right.;)
 
Hi Lori!

Congrats on the new rubber, and sorry your Trac is having any issues at all!

After you have the tires rechecked, *my guess is they will be fine, Big O here in town does good work (but you know that already :) *



then, I'd have our Friendly local Ford dealership take a look at it.



See if the drive shaft needs balanced. If this is the 2nd set and happened previously it's gotta be something to do with the d shaft or axel, Lets hope it's the shaft if not the tire balance.



We need to do Dinner soon or lunch even... "chilies?" ha ha!!



 
The body lift is the only mod that we have to raise the truck...it came with it...we bought it used.



GM...we're thinking drive shaft as well. I'm going to call Ford tomorrow and see if the are able to check the balance of the drive shaft. If they're not able to, I'm not sure who we'll take it too. We haven't had much luck with local shops, they talk a good game but do crappy work. Lunch...dinner...sounds great...Chili's....had dinner there tonight..:rolleyes:
 
My truck does the same thing. I went through hell trying to figure out what it was. I have a replacement drivers side rear axle shaft that I will be installing soon. I have a feeling the previous owner might have got hit there and it bent the shaft. it had aftermerket 15" wheels when I bought it so I wouldn't be suprised.
 
GM...Before this whole deal is done...it's gonna be margarita time I'm sure.



Brandon64..how did you finally determine that was the problem? Our truck had aftermarket 15" wheels too. I've pulled a carfax on the truck and it didn't list it being in any accidents, but of course if it was and they didn't file an insurance claim to fix it then it wouldn't be listed.
 
Wow bummer Brandon, Lets' hope that is not the case for yours Kimbro. I sure hope it's not the axel that's more costly than the balancing of tires or drive shaft. Ford here in town is pretty fair and good. I really like them :)



Lemme know Lori! You got my cell # :)
 
Look at your Drive Shaft. Is it steel or Aluminum? If it is steel you may very well have a shaft issue. The Aluminum one seems to solve that.



Rotate the tires and see if the vibration moves or changes. This will at least isolate out the issue as to whether it is in the tires/ rims or another item.
 
Did the trac shake with the stockers? Do you still have the stockers that you can replace them and check? I'd also consider the pinion angle of the drive shaft. Probably not a factor but ya never know. If you take it back to ford for the drive shaft, you should make sure the vibration is there with the stock wheels otherewise they'll be looking to place blame eslewhere.
 
So Big O says that one of the rear tires has a very 'high road force balance number'. No clue what that means but he is going to replace the tire. He said that he doesn't think that it's a driveline issue and that the new tire will fix it. I still think that there is a problem because it doesn't matter what tire/wheel combonation we have there is still a vibration between 45 and 55 miles per hour.



How do I tell if we have an aluminum or a steele drive shaft? I remember someone telling you how in a post a long time ago, but I can't find that post now.
 
Good idea. I think it's aluminum...from reading somemore I think the steele ones are painted, the hubby says ours isn't.



We called a dealer in Vegas, our local dealer has blamed aftermarket wheels/tires in the past so we aren't bothering with them again. Friendly Ford in Vegas said that they cannot do the work but recommended a driveline shop. We called and talked to them and from our description, they said that it could very well be a problem with something in the drive line. Problem is that they are only open M-F and the hubby has to give 30 days notice for a day off. So we'll have to hope that the new tire will keep the problem down to a level that it's tolerable until we can get it to Vegas.



Thanks for everything.
 
Kimbro, I don't think the steel ones are painted, they will be rust coloured. (from the rust)
 

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