Hello All:

I am new to this board but need some advice/help with a problem I am having with my '97 Expedition EB with a 5.4L Triton V8.

Very occasionally (maybe 5% of the time) when travelling at highway speeds I get a serious vibration in the front end of the truck. It seems to occur if I hit a rough spot on the road or am travelling in a very grooved lane.

The problem is so bad that I need to let off the gas and allow the vehicle to slow down 10-15 mph before it goes away.

I purchased this vehicle used in late 2004 with 72K on it. The previous owner had put on custome 20" wheels and tires but I don't think that could be the problem. I am fairly mechanically inclined, but an out of my element when it comes to vehicles. My best hunch is that there is something loose or broken on the front suspension or steering mechanism. I am asking for help here because I do not want to take it in and get fleeced because I don't know what to look out for.

Does anyone else have this problem or any insight as to what may be causing the problem?

Thanks in advance,

 

Hello:
This is very interesting. Yours is the second post today with a similar problem and it just so happens that I brought my '99 EB in for service to day on almost the exact same problem. Mine is in the front right wheel. I only happens occassionally but when it does, it is pretty nasty. It sounds like a bearing or a universal joint or something, but A) I am not a mechanic; and B) I know nothing about 4WD. Fortunately, I have been going to the same mechanic(s) for about 12 years, so I trust them not to screw me. I should know something this afternoon and when they call me, I will post the information. Good luck.
Tom

 

Tom:

I will be very interested to hear what you find out. This is my first Ford product so I do not have a steadfast mechanic I feel I can take it to. Let us all know what you find out.

Eric

 

Does it do it if you just let of the gas, or do you have to put pressure on the brake pedal? If it seems to be worse with slight pressure on the pedal, I would check to see if your rotors are warpped.

 

I have a 2004 Expo XLT 4WD with the 5.4 engine. I have experienced the exact same symptoms as you have described. I still have a warranty, but the mechanics at the local dealers have yet to find any problems. They seem to be quite competent with other warranty issues and have checked the suspension thoroughly with nothing found. I realize that I'm not helping you, but possibly it's a common problem spanning a couple of model years.

Mark

 

A couple of days ago my wife and I borrowed my buddy Harold’s 3/4 ton Ford and gooseneck to go pick up a hay mower machine. 2 minutes after getting on the freeway, the front-end on the pickup started shuddering violently when I hit 50 MPH. So having been warned that this might possibly happen, I slowed down to 45mph and really annoyed a bunch of Friday afternoon Dallas rush-hour drivers. It behaved itself when I stayed under 45.



I told him I'd get it fixed because he is to cheap to get it looked at until it literally falls apart and my wife and I really like him so we figured we'd save a friend. I took it to an alignment shop this AM and they said it looked OK from what they could test. Then I went to a Ford truck dealer after striking out at a couple of parts houses asking for a steering damper kit. The Ford dealer said they didn't have one for the 97 F 250 but did have one to fit the F 350 so I bought it intending to fix the problem before Harold wrecked his truck. Obviously the parts guys knew what they were talking about because the kit I was sold did not fit without a lot of additional fabricating of parts which I opted not to do.



When I was at the Dealer I asked the service manager if there were any recalls or service bulletins on that model truck. He said he looked and found none. So now I have a kit I have to return and still have not fixed the problem. At least I now know that Ford aint talking about it.

The service manager did say that they had a lot of trouble with F350 wreckers which got real light in the front end when they had a load in the back. They recommended ribbed steel belted highway tires rather than knobby or aggressive tread designs. Funny a car maker designing a front end which spontaneously goes berserk after 65,000 miles.
Any solutions or repair kits out there would be great to know about.

 

My 97 5.4 has been vibrating pretty bad for some time now. I bought new tires a couple years back and it kinda went away but it then started getting worse. I replaced basically anything that moves up front and still after an allignment, rotation and balancing it still vibrates. Only on the highway around 70+ mph and now it seems like it is random like if the wheel gets jarred. The vibration wont stop after I let the gas go either. The only thing I have been told that it could be is the tires are bad.

 

I'm having a very similar problem. Has anyone come up with a diagnosis?

I have an '05 Eddie Bauer with 44k miles. I brought it in to the dealer with a vibrating front end and a thumping/banging in the front end. The banging was fixed (new rack and pinion - the old one all but disintegrated) but the vibration remains. It starts for me at about 65 mph.

Front end has been inspected and re-inspected multiple times over. My tires are the original Continentals (44k miles) and have been rotated every 10k miles or so. The dealer says they have plenty of tread left but are "cupped." I'm hesitant to drop a thousand dollars on new tires if that's not going to fix the vibration.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Todd

 

have you gotten your wheels balanced recently? With that much rolling mass, especialy with low pro tires, if they are off a couple of grams you will get "death wobble" It's pretty common in lifted jeep wranglers and miatas with aftermarket rims. Also, get underneath and tighten all of your bolts and check for play in the tie rods.

good luck tracking it down.

 

At the risk of sounding ignorant, is there a difference between balancing wheels and balancing tires?

And is there a "recommended" after-market tire for an Expedition?

Thanks,
Todd