Rosa the Ranger (formerly: I blame y’all)

[Texan209]

If I can pick your collective brains for a moment, the truck has a noticeable vibration a little above 40 mph, which goes away around 48 mph and returns much worse around 62-69mph.
Surprisingly, it gets significantly better if I'm steering slightly to the right, which leads me to believe it's alignment related. I got an alignment before the big trip; everything is clost to spec, but they couldn't get everything quite right without some $15ea OEM washers to space everything out

Would y'all suggest checking anything else? the alignment is so close to spec that I'm concerned it's something else, and since it's so significantly affected by the direction I'm steering (it gets significantly worse on either side of 5 degrees to the right), I'm wondering if there might be something up with the front suspension that I can't place.

 

[Snoranger]

If I can pick your collective brains for a moment, the truck has a noticeable vibration a little above 40 mph, which goes away around 48 mph and returns much worse around 62-69mph.
Surprisingly, it gets significantly better if I'm steering slightly to the right, which leads me to believe it's alignment related. I got an alignment before the big trip; everything is clost to spec, but they couldn't get everything quite right without some $15ea OEM washers to space everything out

Would y'all suggest checking anything else? the alignment is so close to spec that I'm concerned it's something else, and since it's so significantly affected by the direction I'm steering (it gets significantly worse on either side of 5 degrees to the right), I'm wondering if there might be something up with the front suspension that I can't place.

Where does the vibration start? Do you feel it in the steering wheel or the seat first?

 

[Texan209]

Where does the vibration start? Do you feel it in the steering wheel or the seat first?

I'd have to say the seat - I can certainly feel it in the steering wheel, but it's more the entire cab shaking the steering column than the vibration coming up through it.

 

[bhgl]

If I can pick your collective brains for a moment, the truck has a noticeable vibration a little above 40 mph, which goes away around 48 mph and returns much worse around 62-69mph.
Surprisingly, it gets significantly better if I'm steering slightly to the right, which leads me to believe it's alignment related. I got an alignment before the big trip; everything is clost to spec, but they couldn't get everything quite right without some $15ea OEM washers to space everything out

Would y'all suggest checking anything else? the alignment is so close to spec that I'm concerned it's something else, and since it's so significantly affected by the direction I'm steering (it gets significantly worse on either side of 5 degrees to the right), I'm wondering if there might be something up with the front suspension that I can't place.

It would be pretty helpful to have a better idea of where in the vehicle it seems like the vibration is coming from, front or rear, left or right.

To my mind, here's what I think your vibration might be in no particular order:

1. Front wheel bearings, these are cheap and easy to replace if you're already doing a full disk and pad replacement, so if you haven't replaced those yet, or you feel like upgrading. pick up some new inner and outer bearings and get some fresh grease in there, you'll have the opportunity to inspect the knuckle entirely to make sure it's not worn out or completely damaged.

It's possible that the many bearings in the rear axle are going out as well, but they typically last a lot longer than the ones at the front.

I did mine before going on a huge roadtrip, and while I didn't notice a bad bearing before, i did notice a smoother experience on the highway after doing them.

2. Double check your lug nuts and make sure you're torqued to spec, it seems like a dumb thing to say, but sometimes you never know!

3. Other worn out suspension components, since you mentioned it gets better with steering input, and varies with speed, it's possible you're getting some kinda of harmonic vibration from worn out components that only comes out when the wheels have reached a certain speed. Although, the guy doing your alignment probably would have mentioned something if it was out of whack.

Check these things regardless: Inner and outer tierods, upper and lower control arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, sway bar links, sway bar bushings, check your rear suspension components for play as well.

4. Drivetrain/driveline:

I had a significant vibration coming from 2 dying u-joints on both ends of my drive shaft, these were made even worse after lowering, and eventually created such a violent vibration that the only highway speed the car could comfortable drive without acting like a washing machine was nearly 80 mph.

If you have worn motor or transmission mounts, combined with worn suspension components in the rear, that could explain why the vibration dips in and out when turning as the suspension and driveline load up under throttle at highway speeds.

Aside from possibly the u-joints, I dont think this is your issue.

5. Anything that spins: Tires, wheels, rotors, the driveshaft itself, e.t.c. Make sure all this stuff is in good shape, and if possible make sure your wheels/tires are balanced properly.

 

[Texan209]

It would be pretty helpful to have a better idea of where in the vehicle it seems like the vibration is coming from, front or rear, left or right.

To my mind, here's what I think your vibration might be in no particular order:

1. Front wheel bearings, these are cheap and easy to replace if you're already doing a full disk and pad replacement, so if you haven't replaced those yet, or you feel like upgrading. pick up some new inner and outer bearings and get some fresh grease in there, you'll have the opportunity to inspect the knuckle entirely to make sure it's not worn out or completely damaged.

It's possible that the many bearings in the rear axle are going out as well, but they typically last a lot longer than the ones at the front.

I did mine before going on a huge roadtrip, and while I didn't notice a bad bearing before, i did notice a smoother experience on the highway after doing them.

2. Double check your lug nuts and make sure you're torqued to spec, it seems like a dumb thing to say, but sometimes you never know!

3. Other worn out suspension components, since you mentioned it gets better with steering input, and varies with speed, it's possible you're getting some kinda of harmonic vibration from worn out components that only comes out when the wheels have reached a certain speed. Although, the guy doing your alignment probably would have mentioned something if it was out of whack.

Check these things regardless: Inner and outer tierods, upper and lower control arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, sway bar links, sway bar bushings, check your rear suspension components for play as well.

4. Drivetrain/driveline:

I had a significant vibration coming from 2 dying u-joints on both ends of my drive shaft, these were made even worse after lowering, and eventually created such a violent vibration that the only highway speed the car could comfortable drive without acting like a washing machine was nearly 80 mph.

If you have worn motor or transmission mounts, combined with worn suspension components in the rear, that could explain why the vibration dips in and out when turning as the suspension and driveline load up under throttle at highway speeds.

Aside from possibly the u-joints, I dont think this is your issue.

5. Anything that spins: Tires, wheels, rotors, the driveshaft itself, e.t.c. Make sure all this stuff is in good shape, and if possible make sure your wheels/tires are balanced properly.

Thanks for the recs, this is a great list.
I'll start with the wheel bearings and checking the U-joints as these sound like likely culprits/the easiest to start with.
The rubber bushings around the truck generally look good - esp the engine mounts are solid so I'm not too concerned about that.

The U joints sound like a real possibility because it really smooths out above ~75...

 

[bhgl]

Thanks for the recs, this is a great list.
I'll start with the wheel bearings and checking the U-joints as these sound like likely culprits/the easiest to start with.
The rubber bushings around the truck generally look good - esp the engine mounts are solid so I'm not too concerned about that.

The U joints sound like a real possibility because it really smooths out above ~75...

The smoothing out over a certain speed thing is pretty inconsistent phenomenon, in my experience that speed varied as the u joint went out until eventually it was all vibrations all the time.

If it is in fact the U-Joint/s, it seems strange that the vibration would get better or worse depending on steering angle, which could be indicative of some kind of bad motor/trans mount, or most likely, some play in the rear suspension.

When it comes to the bushings on these trucks, both yours and mine are now over 20 years old, so even if they aren't visibly worn or cracked, if they've never been replaced then they're far passed their useful life and could do with replacing.

My best guess is that if it's not the front wheel bearings, then you probably have one or two bad u-joints, as well as some play in the rear suspension.

 

[Texan209]

The smoothing out over a certain speed thing is pretty inconsistent phenomenon, in my experience that speed varied as the u joint went out until eventually it was all vibrations all the time.

If it is in fact the U-Joint/s, it seems strange that the vibration would get better or worse depending on steering angle, which could be indicative of some kind of bad motor/trans mount, or most likely, some play in the rear suspension.

When it comes to the bushings on these trucks, both yours and mine are now over 20 years old, so even if they aren't visibly worn or cracked, if they've never been replaced then they're far passed their useful life and could do with replacing.

My best guess is that if it's not the front wheel bearings, then you probably have one or two bad u-joints, as well as some play in the rear suspension.

Makes sense - I'm ordering the bearings and some brake parts (not sure if I want to buy new rotors, but they certainly wouldn't hurt).

I'm thinking the bushings must have been replaced at some point since they look so good, but I'll poke around while I'm down there to check on them. I've been tempted to buy a whole-vehicle bushing kit and just swap them all out over time, but most of those kits seem to be poly bushings which I really don't want for this.

 

[bhgl]

Makes sense - I'm ordering the bearings and some brake parts (not sure if I want to buy new rotors, but they certainly wouldn't hurt).

I'm thinking the bushings must have been replaced at some point since they look so good, but I'll poke around while I'm down there to check on them. I've been tempted to buy a whole-vehicle bushing kit and just swap them all out over time, but most of those kits seem to be poly bushings which I really don't want for this.

If you're going to be doing the bearings, I'd also get new rotors just because it'll make the job easier, and you won't have to do them again for some time, but waste not want not of course!

I was also considering getting one of those whole vehicle bushing kits, unfortunately though it seems that, especially for some of the less frequently replaced bushings that may be the only option.

Given how these trucks ride in general though, I sincerely doubt that going from rubber to poly bushings is going to make the ride that much more harsh.

 

[superj]

it smooths out while turning the wheel a little? thats odd. i wonder if those little spacers are camber bolt kits? i need them too but i don't have any vibrations at certain speeds. i wonder if a tire is bad or a rim is slightly bent?


instead of those spring clamps, you can get some really awesome anti-wrap bars, aka traction bars from james duff taht are specific to rangers. that is my january mod for my truck because i feel like i get some spring wrap with letting the clutch or downshifting while decelerating. and if actually am not getting spring wrap, i will have some cool traction bars that everyone that has installed them said make a notable improvement in the trucks handling.

and i have a few stock sway bars from the junkyard if you ever drive through corpus that we could throw on so you could see how they feel. explorer and bronco2 removals

 

[Texan209]

Yeah, I think the vibrations subsiding when turning is due to a slight misalignment. I had the tires mounted and balanced at different shops (long story) and neither place mentioned a bent rim or difficulty balancing, so I'm thinking it wouldn't be that.

I'll have some time to crawl under the truck this weekend so hopefully I can find some answers then.

Appreciate that offer superj; this truck doesn't even have a rear sway bar, let alone an explorer front bar, so if I get another invite to my buddy's fishing boat, I'll have an excuse to get out that way

 

[Snoranger]

I'd have to say the seat - I can certainly feel it in the steering wheel, but it's more the entire cab shaking the steering column than the vibration coming up through it.

If you feel it in the seat first, it’s driveline related, not steering.

I usually suspect and check for a bad u-joint. Remember, they can be either loose (which is easy to tell with the driveshaft installed, or tight (which is difficulty to tell without pulling a flange and trying to articulate the joints in every direction.)

Since you say it goes away with a slight turn, I’d start thinking carrier bearings or spider gears. Pull the rear axle fill plug and check the fluid for glitter.

 

[Texan209]

Update & TLDR: Wheel bearings made all the difference.

Since last post, I've swapped the upper control arms & greased the lower bushings that probably hadn't gotten touched since Rosa rolled out of the factory. This allowed for a proper alignment - no spacers needed, like I was advised to install previously.

Last night I finally found time to swap the front brakes, rotors and wheel bearings and the vibration is gone. I don't want to jinx it, but she drives so much better now. The old brakes were fine, but rusty enough that I swapped for some bosch rotors while I was at it.

She definitely needs some more bushings, as y'all mentioned, but Rosa is finally road-trip-worthy.

Next up may be looking into shocks, because without the terrible vibration, I'm noticing some more bouncing in the suspension than I probably need. I'll put some miles on her before throwing more parts at it.

 

[bhgl]

Update & TLDR: Wheel bearings made all the difference.

Since last post, I've swapped the upper control arms & greased the lower bushings that probably hadn't gotten touched since Rosa rolled out of the factory. This allowed for a proper alignment - no spacers needed, like I was advised to install previously.

Last night I finally found time to swap the front brakes, rotors and wheel bearings and the vibration is gone. I don't want to jinx it, but she drives so much better now. The old brakes were fine, but rusty enough that I swapped for some bosch rotors while I was at it.

She definitely needs some more bushings, as y'all mentioned, but Rosa is finally road-trip-worthy.

Next up may be looking into shocks, because without the terrible vibration, I'm noticing some more bouncing in the suspension than I probably need. I'll put some miles on her before throwing more parts at it.

Ay congrats!

Glad it was the bearings giving you trouble.

As someone who recently did a Bilstein shock replacement front and back, and as much as I prefer how they ride (I also installed belltech lowering springs so your mileage may vary), fixing this truck's ride almost feels like an endless pursuit of marginal improvement.

Short of adding weight, I don't think you can get these things to ride what we call 'well', short of maybe installing air suspension or something.

 

[Lefty]

Ay congrats!

Glad it was the bearings giving you trouble.

As someone who recently did a Bilstein shock replacement front and back, and as much as I prefer how they ride (I also installed belltech lowering springs so your mileage may vary), fixing this truck's ride almost feels like an endless pursuit of marginal improvement.

Short of adding weight, I don't think you can get these things to ride what we call 'well', short of maybe installing air suspension or something.

You are most certainly right about that endless pursuit. Granted, a truck is a truck. It's not all about comfort. It's about hauling things, sometimes even off road, stopping better and faster, and reducing body roll under hard steering. Ford, and others, may build with safety in mind, but also want to reduce cost. Can't b;ame them either. They want to keep that sticker price competive.

That's why we're all here on this site. It's a big self-help group for many of us who have come to the same conclusion: that if we can improve our trucks, we should.

No doubt, the best, and most inexpensive upgrades are not so much about the drive train. Most of us do not have the time or the money for that. It's about suspension instead.

And speaking of which, why do Ranger owners want to replace the upper control arms?

 

[Texan209]

After a roundtrip to Dallas, I think shocks are worthwhile, along with a rear sway bar (because I have nothing back there) and a handful of bushings, but after that, I think I'm fairly tapped out on suspension upgrades for the time being (famous last words, I know).

@Lefty, I did both of mine recently since my passenger-side bushings were absolutely shot. It looked like the driver's side had been replaced already but they're not expensive so I just did both.

I could have just swapped bushings but they were ~75% of the cost (at least on rock auto) and I don't have a press/ the desire to jerryrig anything to save $20 over buying the whole arms