2.3L ('83-'97) Vibration

[Dustnesko]

Hello all, I have a 1997 Ford ranger that vibrates around 55-60mph. I don't see anything but I also don't know what I'm looking for. It was worse, it would do it from 60-75mph but I took it to a mechanic who said my spark plugs were old abs causing a misfire which was the cause of the shake. Then said it was because all my tires had Slime in them so they cleaned them out (they're leaking air again so thanks for that) so really all it did was move the range of vibration. Any ideas what it could be?

 

[tomw]

Vibration is caused by something out of round, out of balance, or loose. Mostly. You could have a (or 2) bad u-joint that allows the drive shaft to oscillate rather than rotate smoothly. You can raise the rear wheels and rotate the driveshaft(in neutral, parking brake off) and watch that it rotates without wobble.
You could have out of round tires, or bent wheels. You can raise the tires and spin them looking for wobble, or out of round.
You could have misfire, but at highway speeds, it is generally masked by the speed of rotation and firing. Too many sparkings going on to note a few that don't fire.
You could have loose parts: transmission to bell housing, bell housing to engine, engine to mounts, transmission to mount, mount to crossmember. YOu could also have loose steering or suspension parts, or worn bushings that allow a little vibration to become a lot.
I think crawling under and trying to shake stuff may be a good first start.
I think your mechanic is full of beans saying a misfire at 50-60mph can be felt. You won't go that fast (or will take a week to get going that fast) if you have that much misfire.
Slime is for garden equipment that does not go on the highway. It will/can cause vibration as it can move around inside the tire. Either get some tires that don't leak, or get some tubes. Putting tubes into a tubeless tire is not generally a good idea, but if you do, make sure to drill several vent holes through the tire to allow any trapped air to exit.
tom

 

[Dirtman]

One thing is certain. You need new tires.

 

[Dustnesko]

Vibration is caused by something out of round, out of balance, or loose. Mostly. You could have a (or 2) bad u-joint that allows the drive shaft to oscillate rather than rotate smoothly. You can raise the rear wheels and rotate the driveshaft(in neutral, parking brake off) and watch that it rotates without wobble.
You could have out of round tires, or bent wheels. You can raise the tires and spin them looking for wobble, or out of round.
You could have misfire, but at highway speeds, it is generally masked by the speed of rotation and firing. Too many sparkings going on to note a few that don't fire.
You could have loose parts: transmission to bell housing, bell housing to engine, engine to mounts, transmission to mount, mount to crossmember. YOu could also have loose steering or suspension parts, or worn bushings that allow a little vibration to become a lot.
I think crawling under and trying to shake stuff may be a good first start.
I think your mechanic is full of beans saying a misfire at 50-60mph can be felt. You won't go that fast (or will take a week to get going that fast) if you have that much misfire.
Slime is for garden equipment that does not go on the highway. It will/can cause vibration as it can move around inside the tire. Either get some tires that don't leak, or get some tubes. Putting tubes into a tubeless tire is not generally a good idea, but if you do, make sure to drill several vent holes through the tire to allow any trapped air to exit.
tom

Ah hell that's a lot of possibilities. But at least I have some answers now. Thank you sir!

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I had a bad vibration problem from 45 to 65mph. Swapping to a 1 piece driveshaft solved it.

 

[Dustnesko]

I had a bad vibration problem from 45 to 65mph. Swapping to a 1 piece driveshaft solved it.

How would I do that? And it feels like it's in the front if that helps

 

[Eddo Rogue]

How would I do that? And it feels like it's in the front if that helps

Mine orginally came with a 2 piece driveshaft, and they were notorious for vibration and also limited lift potential.

They later switched to a 1 piece driveshaft ( I think 1998), so I just got one from a junkyard and put in new u joints.
You can go aluminum or steel. I went steel. I think it was out of an explorer.

I basically removed the old driveshaft, cut out the crossmember for the center support bearing, trimmed a bit off the side of the gas tank skid plate, and it bolted right in.

My vibration was from right in the middle, and was eliminated.

There is a really good how to in TRS tech section that lists which years are compatible.

This is the REAR drive shaft. For the front, tracking down a vibration is a little more complicated....I will list possible things you can check for:

With tires off the ground, jiggle the tires for play and see where its coming from:
-Loose/worn wheel bearings
-worn steering parts, ball joints or bushings

or it could also be:
-Tires out of balance (You may have lost a wheel weight)
-alignment out of whack
-Worn shocks and/or springs

If you describe more specifically, we may be able to further diagnose the problem.
Its nice to have a helper turn the wheel and jiggle the tires while you look around to see whats moving and what isnt.

 

[Dustnesko]

Well I'll get right on that, thank you for your suggestions!

 

[Dirtman]

Or you know, get new tires...

 

[Dustnesko]

Or you know, get new tires...

You wanna pay for my new tires?

 

[Dirtman]

You wanna pay for my new tires?

I'm sincerely sorry that the solution to your issue requires money...

 

[RobbieD]

Needing tires and not being able to afford a new set sucks; there's a lot of us here who have been there too. Try moving the fronts to the back; if the vibration moves with the tires, check into getting a shop to balance just those two.

 

[Dustnesko]

I'm sincerely sorry that the solution to your issue requires money...

First of all it's not my tires, I did what the nice guy suggested, put my truck in the air and rolled the tires. No wobble if you're not gonna be an actual help, stay off my thread

 

[Dustnesko]

Needing tires and not being able to afford a new set sucks; there's a lot of us here who have been there too. Try moving the fronts to the back; if the vibration moves with the tires, check into getting a shop to balance just those two.

I actually just had them balanced when the asshats cleaned out my slime

 

[Dustnesko]

I actually just had them balanced when the asshats cleaned out my slime

But I'll try that!