Ford Explorer 1999 has a shimmy in the steering wheel, plus a noticeable vibration throughout entire car. Why?

Question

When I drive slowly the wheel actually moves back and forth. The ride is no longer smooth at higher speeds. I am due for tires in about six months, however the tires are properly inflated. I feel this issue has less to do with tire balance and more to do with the axel system... any one have a suggestion of what the issue may be? Thanks in advance for your serious and well thought out reply!

Answer 1

We're not going to be able to give you a definitive answer in this forum of course. You need to have it checked (maybe by the dealer would be best).

Could be a simple alignment problem or perhaps a bent axle or other component.

I bet you or another driver may have hit a pothole or drove over some rough railroad tracks causing this damage.

Answer 2

alignment and tire balance cannot cause this type of problem. tire balance can cause a vibration at speeds but not a slow speed problem. Wheel alignment cannot cause vibrations at any speed. Sounds as though you have a seperated tire. You can check this by placing your hand on the tire tread and slowly sliding your hand around the tread it should be smooth and uniform all the way around. if you feel a raised spot on the tire or see a spot where the tread is noticeable worn more than another then the tire has a seperation and needs to be changed. If you feel the problem in the steering wheel then the problem is most likeley in the front but you should look at all four tires just to be certain.

Answer 3

More than likely it's a tire thing. The steel belts encapsulated in the rubber are not all perfectly aligned and this can make one tire kind of "off" and pull one way or push one way compared to the other tires. The best thing to do is to have them rotate the tires as most owners manuals suggest. Not just left front to left rear or right front to right rear, etc.. At least every other rotation the tires should be rotated like this: Left front to right rear and right rear to left front. Right front to left rear and left rear to right front. If you know exactly how they rotated your tires this time around, then you can have them switch the left front with the right front and vice-versa. Then drive the car and see if that solved the problem. If not then have them switch the left rear with the right rear and then drive it again and see if that solved your problem. Hopefully since the vibration is in the front then just switching the two front tires left to right and right to left should solve this. If if doesn't, then I'd suspect it's a transmission situation where there's not a perfect balance of the torque convertor (they all are balanced in the factory and metal strips are welded to them before they are painted and put in a car) or even the flex plate that connects the engine to the transmission isn't balanced perfectly or as one guy suggested, maybe the driveshaft needs balanced or at least the u-joints lubricated if they have grease zerks on them. See of the vibration shows up if the cark is in park and you slowly step on the gas pedal and reach a specific RPM. If this is the case then it's not the tranny or driveshaft but the torque convertor or flexplate. Before I jumped into spending any big money, I'd make sure all of the spark plugs are gapped perfectly the same so that one cylinder isn't firing slightly out of sync. Good Luck!!!

Answer 4

Shimmy is usually caused by a combination of tire unbalance and steering/suspension components wear. Most likely the tie rod ends but it could be many other parts such as the ball joints or the steering idler arm (I don't know if your vehicle has an idler arm for certain). Since suspension wear is such a critical safety problem, have the car checked by a mechanic right away.

Answer 5

Sounds like bad tie rods or ball joints.
If you take it in for an alignment they will need to fix that stuff to do the alignment.
Also take a close look at the tires are they showing uneven wear.
If the problem is as bad as it sounds the tires will probably wear out fast.

Answer 6

OMG. Enough with the dooms day predictions. You tires are most likely not properly balanced and unevenly worn. This happens when tires get wornout. Tires life can not be measure in time so you maybe over due especially if you have not rotated them properly.( This adds life to your tires). Get new tires if you cant afford all 4 atleast get the front 2 replaced. God bless.

Answer 7

Don't assume your tires are okay just because they are properly inflated. If you are near being "due" for tires, my guess is that you have a lot of miles on them already. It could simply be uneven wear over time. Very common for your symptoms. Have a professional tire person examine them for problems. If you know how to check your treadwear indicators, do that yourself. If the wear is down to the indicators, just replace the tires now. It's a safety issue you can't afford to roll the dice on.

Answer 8

do the whell check thing...but also spend 10minutes at most and lookj at all your tires. my car did that b/c a bubble was created in the tire. the bubble can range anywhere from dime size to golfball size. (at that point you feel like your entire car will fall apart while driving) WEE (JUST ADDING HUMOR) seriously take it to a tire and alignment specialist and have them check it out.

Answer 9

it sounds like a tire issue, but it could also be a wheel bering, it definately needs to be checked properly since both are dangerous

Answer 10

You have some "scalloping" on one or more tires. You are due for new tires now.