Hi, I'm a moron. I wanted to change the calipers on both front sides of my 2004 escape AWD. Instead of doing one side at a time I decided to use my 6 Ton bottle jack to lift the whole front end and then add my jack stands. Job complete I decided to test brakes and they worked great, but with brakes fully engaged I heard this awful vibrating noise. I thought I messed up the brakes. This time I checked each side one at a time. Still there. Brakes look good. 243K miles so I've actually done this before with no issues. Nosing around under the car I noticed a cross beam (?) directly under the trans. was bent upward. I'm thinking that while in drive with the brakes on it's causing the tranny to come into contact and vibrate against this beam. When I let off the brakes and start rolling forward it quickly goes away. Doesn't do it in reverse. I'm not ruling out the breaks but it doesn't seem like it is.

So. questions:
#1 could this be it?
#2 I'd have to remove this bar so what would be the best way? I have a bottle jack, 2 jack stands, and a set of ramps. Can I just put the car on the ramps and unbolt it? Just asking because I don't know if it's something that would be impossible to get back on while say the wheels are on the ground.

Thanks in advance.

I'm including images.

 

I just had that brace off replacing my cats. You know not to pry between the brace and tranny for any reason. Simple enough to unbolt, but not 'easy' so it's a breaker bar / impact operation. Mine were quite tight so I loosened a little and shot PB Blaster in a few times and waited just to reduce chance of snapping anything. On the ground just bend it back straight to eliminate that as a pot. cause.

Otherwise, that brace likely flexed enough to touch the tranny under weight, but hopefully sprung back. And the tranny doesn't move much under operation, so I'd be surprised if it's the cause if there's currently >1/4" clearance there.

 

thanks for the reply. Turns out to have been that cross member catching set transmission when in drive. I took it off and yes it was quite hard but thankfully I used my impact driver. A little judicious use of a hammer and problem solved