Unusual vibration problem

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LS04sport

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Hello,

I did look thru the search function and did not find anything similar. I have a v8 2004 LS that has a front end vibration. It is not a tire balance problem. The car does it normally in the 65 to 75 range and is some what inconsistant. It seems almost like it varies buy road surface. It is only in the front end and is transmitted thru the steering wheel. Here is a list of what has been replaced or is new.

Three different sets of wheels and tires, no difference
New shocks
New springs
Sway bar links are in good shape
Sway bar bushings are in good shape
Control arm bushings are in good shape
Ball joint appear to be good and tight, no clinks
Wheel bearings/hubs have no play in them

I am stumped. If I did not know better I would swear it was a out of balance tire, but as I mentioned above I have tried three different sets and they all do it. I am thinking that the steering rack or a warped rotor might be the cause. Any body have a similar experience or have any thoughts? Thank for any help you can provide.
 
Hey LS04Sport. I hopped on the forum today to see if I could find any answers to a vibration on my '00 LS Sport. Your post is exactly what I would have written, right down to the speed where it peaks. I just re-balanced the brand new Eagle F1 All Seasons and that did not help. Shocks are new all around. The only suspension component in the front not replaced is the right lower ball joint. I'm going to swap the tires around tonight to see if it changes anything for me. I'm also going to really dig into the suspension for anything loose. I'll let you know what I find. This has been very frustrating.
 
When I first bought my car I had that exact problem. I took all 4 wheels off, cleaned them very very thoroughly (inside and out) removed all the old weights, and then had them balanced. Seemed to work for a while, but then I noticed a clunk in the front end when going over bumps and around the same time, the vibration came back and I noticed that at speeds around 70 the wheel vibrated a lot. Sounds very very similar to your problem and it doesn't affect driving too much, but it is annoying. I dunno if you have the same symptom in the front end when going over bumps or uneven pavement, but when I do, it just sounds weird...hard to explain but it doesn't sound right - there is definitely something wrong. Unfortunately when I took it to a couple dealers they all said it checked out fine....Everything looked ok and everything was tight. It is frustrating because I've tried to explain the problem and show them the problem but they never seem to experience the same thing I do or simply suggest I get a balance...
 
I had that problem with mine, with that clunk sound you describe also. Did everything you guys did and I noticed no one mentioned the tie rods. My vibration and clunk was from a left outer tie rod that was loose. Get that checked out bet that it's your problem and mine is a 2000 V6. they were 108.00 for the pair.
 
+1 I was going to mention outer tie rods.
 
Your experience is the same as I've been having for some time. I have new tires now (Yoko YK520's), balanced the fronts twice and rears once and the vibration is still there. Changed the swaybar endlinks on the weekend but still have the vibration. Two shops have told me the front end is tight.

Not sure what to check next. I don't think warped rotors would cause a problem when driving and not braking.
 
Could be a coil starting to go too, if it's not the outer links. I know it sounds crazy but mine did the same thing twice. Checked everything just like you and nothing. Went away as soon as I replaced the coils. Somehow the engine vibration is being transferred through the steering rack while being isolated from the chassis?
 
Ok so apparently this isn't nearly as uncommon a problem as we all first thought. I'm definitely gonna look into the tie rods, but like I said, I've told the dealer to check out the front end and they always tell me that there isn't a problem. Is there a way a mechanic can check to see if a tie rod is bad other than me saying, "Hey, I have a clunk and I visit websites so I think my outter tie rods are bad." Is there a simple test they can do or is it strictly a road test? I know the couple places I take my car (which usually do good work) really could care less what I suggest since they are the mechanic and they assume I'm just some dumby that knows nothing about cars. When my coil(s) went I told them I was 99% sure it was a coil problem and they kinda brushed me off...until they realized I was right.
 
Well maybe its time for a new mechanic if they don't wanna look into the problem you ask them to look at. Afterall you are the one paying them. And warpped rotors will cause vibrations also even if you are not braking. Try a new mechanic they should be able to tell if the tie rod is loose when they have it on the lift, also check your tires, is one wearing unevenly.
 
There aren't too many Ford dealers close to me. The one I used to go to had slightly nicer people, but they also didn't seem to be as knowledgeable. For example, I had the stripped wire under my seat (common problem) and the "nicer" place couldn't figure it out and replaced all kinds of electrical crap but the problems continued. Finally I got sick of it and took it to the other place and they were able to fix it immediately - so I guess I put up with the fact that they aren't very customer friendly as long as they fix the car. Anyway, I had my car in about a month ago(when they inspected the front end and didn't find anything) and they also checked the brakes and said they were fine so I have no idea anymore. And yes, all the tires are wearing evenly.
 
I suggest checking the front end , some cars when checking rod ends you have to unload the suspension by putting a jack under the lower control arm then shake down the front end holding wheel at 12/6 for ball joints and 3/9 for rod ends.

As the previous post suggested check the mating surfaces on the wheels and rotors front and back.
 
I did check the tie rods. They seem to be good. I will go back and check again with some tension on the suspension. I changed the tie rods on my wifes Jaguar S type which has the same ones. Hers were in really bad shape, but never presented a vibration. I did find a Lincoln LS TSB that talked about adding friction modfier to the power steering fluid. It reference a vibration in the steering wheel caused by incorrect fluid. It really is annoying to drive. Thanks for the suggeations so far.
 
I just bought a 2005 Lincoln LS V8, and it is REALLY wierd that I have the same problem.

I am on the highway, and I cruise around 70 + mph coming from work. Only and ONLY when I hit + 70 does it start to shake, and I've realized the faster I go, the more the steering wheel shakes. As soon as I go below 70 MPH, it doesnt shake anymore.

Now theres 2 things I can do.


1. I can be a good car owner, and find and fix the problem, or get it fixed.

2. I can act totally oblivious to what is going on, and continue to do so, until the tire pops off and I die in a car crash one day.


I think I am going with numero uno. (number 1)


So if anyone has found a solution to this, I am open with all ears!

Thanks guys.


P.S.

My 2005 Lincoln LS V6 never had this problem, only my V8. Wierd huh?
 
kingtonghsp said:
I just bought a 2005 Lincoln LS V8, and it is REALLY wierd that I have the same problem.

I am on the highway, and I cruise around 70 + mph coming from work. Only and ONLY when I hit + 70 does it start to shake, and I've realized the faster I go, the more the steering wheel shakes. As soon as I go below 70 MPH, it doesnt shake anymore.

Now theres 2 things I can do.


1. I can be a good car owner, and find and fix the problem, or get it fixed.

2. I can act totally oblivious to what is going on, and continue to do so, until the tire pops off and I die in a car crash one day.


I think I am going with numero uno. (number 1)


So if anyone has found a solution to this, I am open with all ears!

Thanks guys.


P.S.

My 2005 Lincoln LS V6 never had this problem, only my V8. Wierd huh?
Click to expand...

v8 has more power haha:D
 
kingtonghsp said:
...
P.S.

My 2005 Lincoln LS V6 never had this problem, only my V8. Wierd huh?
Click to expand...

I think this is more likely to be a car to car variance, than a V6 vs V8 thing. I have two LSes (04 and 06) and both are V8s. The 2006 has never had any kind of steering shake (unless you count the first few miles after sitting a week, I understand that one). The 04 has always had one to a varying amount. I have tried alignments and tire changes. The tire changes cure the problem for a while, but each time it comes back. If anyone comes up with a solution, I'd like to know too.
 
+1 on the shaking/vibration.

My Continental ContiExtremeContact DWS's should be in next week... we'll see if that fixes it...

if not... ill move on to tie rods.

right upper and lower ball joints are newer dealer parts (about 5 months old) so i wouldnt think they would be the problem.

after the motor was installed a few weeks back the idiot dealer forgot a bolt on the stearing shaft, causing a nice dead zone in the steering, thought that was the cause, but of course, the shaking is still there, not as bad now that the steering is tighter, but deffinately still there.

cars going to the dealer to have the tires mounted/balanced so i will have them check the tie rods (this time its going to the linc/merc dealer not the ford dealership)
 
Vibration over 75 mph

Add my '02 LS V-8 to the group....same symptoms, same attempted fixes.
 
What's funny is, only the steering wheel shakes, and not the whole car. I take my hands off the steering wheel for a brief second and put it on the dash or the seat, and they seam to be steady and smooth.

Since only the steering wheel vibrates, I think it's mainly the front tires, or somewhere in that general region.


Any suggestions anyone? We seem to have alot of people with the same problem.
 
Alright, here's my story.

Earlier in this post I explained how I had the vibration and a clunk in my front end. My mechanic found the clunk was due to sway bar links/bushings and replaced them and no more clunk YAY!!!

He also rebalanced the tires, rotated them, and did a complete alignment. I picked it up and like I said, the clunk was gone, but I still had a faint vibration in the wheel (much much less than before).

So I started thinking about it and the only logical answer could be my wheels. My tires are pretty new but ever since I bought the car, I knew the rims were kinda iffy cuz the chrome was peeling and it was especially bad on the inner part of the rim. When I say especially bad, I mean on the inner part of the rim, pieces of chrome bigger than my hand were peeling off. I cleaned em up and scraped the peeling chrome to get to bare metal and attempted to seal em with some high temp spray paint which is working ok for now, but who knows.

I'm looking into to some new wheels and I'm praying this fixes the problem.
 
Thats pretty interesting. My wheels are factory, the tires are Falken and have about 75%+ tread left on them. The alignment is off, so that will be first to try out. I don't hear a clunk in mine though...when do you hear a clunk?
 
kingtonghsp said:
I just bought a 2005 Lincoln LS V8, and it is REALLY wierd that I have the same problem.

I am on the highway, and I cruise around 70 + mph coming from work. Only and ONLY when I hit + 70 does it start to shake, and I've realized the faster I go, the more the steering wheel shakes. As soon as I go below 70 MPH, it doesnt shake anymore.

Now theres 2 things I can do.


1. I can be a good car owner, and find and fix the problem, or get it fixed.

2. I can act totally oblivious to what is going on, and continue to do so, until the tire pops off and I die in a car crash one day.


I think I am going with numero uno. (number 1)


So if anyone has found a solution to this, I am open with all ears!

Thanks guys.


P.S.

My 2005 Lincoln LS V6 never had this problem, only my V8. Wierd huh?
Click to expand...


I have an '03 Lincoln with the identical problem.

Little or no vibration up to 60mph.

When I go 75, 80mph, I can feel a strong oscillating movement in my steering wheel, as well as a noise and a vibration. VERY noticable. Dealer didn't notice anything, probably because there's nowhere in this area to go 80mph legally, but I had bigger problems (throttle body) to deal with.

I figure I will start with getting the tires balanced, and cross my fingers that it's the problem. I hear that LS's have unorthodox suspensions, so I have a feeling it would take a very skilled mechanic to identify the problem component - and I doubt the fix will be cheap. :(
 
Just popped in on this thread. Although I have seen that people have re balanced their tires, I would recommend that they be Road Force Balanced if it has not been done yet. My 04 LSE is extreamly sensitive as are my vintage BMWs. I have had new tires balanced to no avail until I started to insist on Road Force Balancing.
 
When I switched rotors, my vibration was virtually eliminated. Try removing the rotors and cleaning them up, paying close attention to the mounting surfaces (wire brush or even draw filing). It may be impossible to get rid of all of the vibration, but this might make it more bearable. Remember that tires can wear funny if you've been driving with it vibrating for a while- maybe rotate the tires at the same time and clean the wheel's mounting surface as well.
Also, torque the lug nuts in the proper sequence. I like to snug them by hand all the way down as far as I can while pushing the wheel on flat. Then I torque all the way around in 20 lb increments, up to 90.
Noise is probably the pesky sway bar bushings (and/or end links).
 
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