Persistent Vibrations at Highway Speed and Pulling to the Right

[GPappas]

Hi all! I'm new here so I apologize in advance for any formatting issues. So, I have a '96 2WD Ranger XLT with a 3.0 V6. The problem I'm having at the moment is pretty significant vibrations at highway speeds as well as a slight pull to the right at any speed. These issues only started within the past month or so. I've already had work done on or personally replaced several components that other threads said could be causing the issue.

I had both my U-joints replaced by a shop a little over a year ago, and within the last month I've replaced my rear wheel bearings and axle seals, brake shoes and drums, front brake pads and rotors (I didn't replace the front wheel bearings, but they seemed fine when I did the rotors), sway bar links, and all four shocks. I also get new front tires about 6 weeks ago and new rear tires this week, and an alignment pretty recently. The only notable issue with the tires is that the front right tire was starting to separate according to the shop where I got my tires replaced. Also, the passenger side sway bar link was broken clean off at the sway bar.

The only other diagnostic ideas that I've run across are that the driveshaft could be out of balance or that the ball joints/control arms may need to be replaced, but any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

 

[pjtoledo]

find a nice flat even road and drive around 30-45. if something is bent or out-of-round it can usually be felt at those speeds.
an alignment shop should have checked for or found bad ball joints. did they check thrust angle?

if a bushing or spring is screwed up in the rear so that the rear axle is crooked the symptom is the vehicle will need constant
steering input to go straight, it will pull to one side.

for the vibrations I would wait for the new rear tires then see how it drives.


I'm up in Toledo, where 'bouts are you? and do you have any good rust free salvage yards in your area?

 

[bobbywalter]

any issues like this should be immediately investigated... by unloading the suspension and seeing what is loose or smashed.

 

[GPappas]

find a nice flat even road and drive around 30-45. if something is bent or out-of-round it can usually be felt at those speeds.
an alignment shop should have checked for or found bad ball joints. did they check thrust angle?

if a bushing or spring is screwed up in the rear so that the rear axle is crooked the symptom is the vehicle will need constant
steering input to go straight, it will pull to one side.

for the vibrations I would wait for the new rear tires then see how it drives.


I'm up in Toledo, where 'bouts are you? and do you have any good rust free salvage yards in your area?

I can definitely feel the vibrations at lower speeds as well, but they're not nearly as bad. The alignment shop never mentioned anything about bad ball joints or about checking the thrust angle, but I had two techs from the same shop tell me I had a broken coil in the front right, but I checked it very thoroughly later that day and there were no cracks or thinning spots on either of my coil springs. I might have to take it do a different shop to have an alignment redone and have them check over all my suspension components while they're at it.

I gotcha, the springs seem fine in the rear as far as I can tell, but I could definitely be missing something.

Unfortunately I already got the new rear tires on a few days ago, but the vibrations didn't get any better. I'm guessing that eliminates my tires as an issue at this point.

I'm just south of Cleveland! Not sure of I do or not, but I could definitely do some searching around.

 

[MaicoDoug]

Broken coil spring? Two different techs? Perhaps where in sits in the A arm perhaps. Without a picture and they should be showing you themselves, sounds like a story.

No doubt your new tires are suffering if this is a front end issue. Such as a ball joint or steering tie rod. Ask questions, talk to the tech and inquire what, how & where. All they want is your check book, not any questions. English is an option.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Since you're in the rust belt, check your frame carefully, especially in the front. Another member here had similar problems to yours at highway speeds, and he discovered his frame had rusted through near the front suspension. There was no effective repair without a replacement front frame.

 

[GPappas]

I'll definitely do some more careful inspecting, thanks for the help ya'll!