Road Force balance needed?

[Denise Hayes 2]

Some of you have read my post about a shakey steering and a vibration I have in my 07 V-8. Well, sadly it still goes on, Firestone has put 3 sets of new tires on it, today I was back there and they were convinced I had a driveline problem. Took it to the dealer, charged me a 141.00 to tighten the flange nut, still shaking. Back to Firestone today, they send me to a transmission shop to let them look at it. Firestone claimed there was a little movement where the driveshaft goes into the back of the transmission. The transmission shop says it all seemed normal, that it had to have a little slack for proper operation. He drove it and thought it was tire issue. He recommended having the tires Road Forced Balanced. Instead I went back to Firestone( these people are sick of seeing me), I told them I wanted them to take those Bridgestone tires off and put the Michelin Cross Terrain back on it, the original factory tires. They agreed to do that, but it really did not help with vibration. My question is after 3 sets of new tires being put on, could road force balance fix the problem?, Or is there another problem that is being overlooked? BTW, the extended warranty I bought from the dealer is a joke. The transmission and driveline have to fall out before it is covered. I want buy another extended warranty. Highway Robbery!!! Any ideas ??

 

[Jeff Jolley]

Have you checked the rims to make sure you don't have a bent wheel?

 

[Denise Hayes 2]

Firestone called themselves checking the rims.

 

[EddieS'04]

Some years back. We had a member that finally traced his vibration. Turn out to be a slightly bent rear axle flange. I think that discovery also helped another member find his vibration.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

I know you have done a lot, but try this as it will help isolate things out better.



Rotate the tired from the front to the back and back to the front. Then drive it and see if the vibrations is EXACTLY the same or if something changed.



If it is exactly the same, then you need to look at bent axles and things to this nature based on you have looked at most any other issue it could be.



If the vibrations DOES change, then you have to go with a tire and or rim issue and dig a bit deeper...

 

[Denise Hayes 2]

Would this road force balance method find a bent rim, and since we have changed out 3 sets of tires, would it be a waste of time and money? We are not trying to get just one set of tires to balance, 3 sets....

 

[scott degroot]

So it is obvious that you don't have a tire that is going bad and balance doesn't seem to be the culprit...even after 3 times a blind monkey could get it right once. IMO road force balancing is only really required on large tire/rim combinations and your stock setup doesn't fit into this catagory. There is a good possibility that you still may have a bent rim though, now this should be noticeable while the tire is on the balancer but some people may not see it. You say that you can feel the steering wheel shake so that would tell me that the problem is in the front end, if it were in the rear then you would feel the steering wheel shake. Have they moved the tires from front to rear to see if the steering wheel stops shaking? 2 more ?? I have to ask...Can anyone else feel the vibration when they drive it? This vibration isn't happening while you are braking is it?

 

[Denise Hayes 2]

Tech, The transmission guy drove it and also felt it. It is not just in the steering, the whole truck, feel it in the seats and floor also. Tires have been moved from front to back. I can feel it having a bit of a wobble feeling in the steering even at low speeds, especially if I turn the wheel a fraction.Someone else might not notice that so much, but I am used tohow the truck should drive.The vibration is worse at high speed, in the whole truck. I am in touch with a dealer, maybe trading it for a 09 V-6. I'm scared this a V-8 transmission issue.