Vibration And Pull To Right

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 28, 2003
Messages
11,977
Location
Cajun Country, La.
2004 F-150 Lariat, 43K Miles
This is my sons truck. Yes, he still has the 96 Corolla with 260K miles.
At 51-54 MPH ONLY, the front end of his truck vibrates/shakes. If he removes his hands from the steering wheel the truck slightly pulls/wanders to the right. He re-balanced the tires twice. I think he needs an alignment. Opinions?

21.gif
confused2.gif
 
Find a shop with a Road Force balancer, as it can pinpoint tire issues pretty well. It's important to find a competent tech that actually uses the machine properly, though.
 
Also check everything on the steering up there, my Dad's 03 would cup the front tires but otherwise drive normally and it was a barely loose joint in the steering that caused it.
 
Originally Posted By: Kurtatron
Try swapping front and rears and see if anything changes.
+1
 
Originally Posted By: oldhp
I think you have a belt starting to separate in one of the front tires.
Maybe, and if it is then the tire shouldn't be driven on. Jack the front wheels up one at a time and spin them by hand. If a belt is separating, you should be able to see or feel a high spot on the tread. Great time to put on the spare.
cool.gif


PS this may be a crazy thought, I'm a grandfather. If the tires or whatever the front end trouble turns out to be is being put off due to lack of funds consider giving him an early Xmas present. Small investment in future grand kids.
 
When he bought the truck it had factory BF GOODRICH RADIAL TA'S on it. It drove good, no pulling or vibrating. He put on new tires, which currently have about 1K miles on them. They are Goodyear Wranglers.
 
Are they LT tires or P-metric passenger tires ? I think the road force measurement advice is sound: Tirerack installers have to list if they have this machine, so that is one source to use.
 
Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
When he bought the truck it had factory BF GOODRICH RADIAL TA'S on it. It drove good, no pulling or vibrating. He put on new tires, which currently have about 1K miles on them. They are Goodyear Wranglers.


With the sudden appearance of the vibration with a tire change, it's almost certainly the tires. Agree with swapping them around, maybe L-R and see if the problem moves to pulling left....not a fan of moving a bad tire to the rear to mask the problem, but as a diagnostic tool....
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
When he bought the truck it had factory BF GOODRICH RADIAL TA'S on it. It drove good, no pulling or vibrating. He put on new tires, which currently have about 1K miles on them. They are Goodyear Wranglers.


If the vibration occurred immediately after the tires were installed, it's likely a balance or runout problem.

If the vibration wasn't there immediately after the new tires were installed, but occurred later, I'm guessing a thrown weight.

In either case, take the truck back to the tire dealer for a rebalance. Don't deal with the pull until you have the vibration fixed (but do mention it to the tire shop). The pull could be the result of the vibration.
 
I'd try the rebalance and check all the front end stuff for play.

This doesn't explain the pull, but if it's 4WD, I had a vibration that felt/sounded identically to a out of balance tire in my Liberty that ended up being a worn intermediate shaft. Replaced the passenger side CV axle and the intermediate shaft and it's been good. I think I took it back to Discount tire like 4 or 5 times to get them rebalanced. Lol.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: HoosierJeeper
I'd try the rebalance and check all the front end stuff for play.

This doesn't explain the pull, but if it's 4WD, I had a vibration that felt/sounded identically to a out of balance tire in my Liberty that ended up being a worn intermediate shaft. Replaced the passenger side CV axle and the intermediate shaft and it's been good. I think I took it back to Discount tire like 4 or 5 times to get them rebalanced. Lol.

He had the front end checked by one of the Ford techs and he stated it was tighter than a Conservatives wallet!
laugh.gif

He already crossed the tires, still the same. So, he's going to rebalance the tires and go from there.
To be continued.........
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top