Random Tremor vibration has taken the joy out of driving

[ksuds49]

I have a frustrating tale of random vibrations in my 2021 Ford Ranger tremor after a recent accident. I am running stock, suspension, stock, tires, and stock wheels.

TLDR Summary

• At 47,000 miles I was side swiped on the rear drivers side of truck bed. I was stopped and the car that bounced off me was going 70mph.
• Damage to side of bed and cosmetic damage to rim. Damage to tire. Still drivable.
• No vibrations noticed while driving to work for a week after the accident
• Body damage repaired, rim re-conditioned, 4 new tires
• Alignment
• Drove great for ~200 miles then vibration - felt primarily in seat - between 45-70mpg
• Rebalance (roadforce) and rotate multiple times, still vibration - usually no issues immediately after service
• Dealer determined bent rim and replaced, still vibration a day later
• Dealer says no driveline issues
• Road test ride along with dealer produced no vibration, but I felt it again after 2 days

The rear of my truck was sideswiped in April causing damage to the truck bed on the driver side and some cosmetic damage to the rear driver side rim. Tire also had minor damage. Impact was only on the side and not the rear of the truck. I drove for a week after the accident and don’t remember any vibrations.

The body shop fixed the damage to the side of the bed and had the rim reconditioned. There was some minor damage to the tire and the insurance company agreed to only replace one tire. The new wheel and tire were balanced, and an alignment was done. When I picked up the truck from the body shop, I drove straight to the tire shop and had the remaining three tires replaced so I would have a set matched for wear.

For the first 200 or so miles the truck drove great, but then I started feeling the vibrations in my seat at highway speeds. I took the truck back in to the tire shop to have all of the wheels rebalanced and felt no vibration on the drive home but vibrations returned the next day.

At home I swapped each rear tire with the spare and did a road test. Still had vibration. A few weeks later I brought the truck into Ford for an oil change and they noted that the wheels seem to have excessive weights and did a rebalance and a tire rotation. The vibration remained so I worked with the tire shop and manufacturer and got all four tires replaced free of charge. The vibration returned. My insurance company covered me taking the vehicle into Ford for diagnosis and Ford found a bent rim. They moved the rim from the rear to the front and you could definitely feel the vibration in the steering wheel but it felt like a new vibration in addition to the other one. The rim was replaced and all wheels were rebalanced. The truck drove great for a day or two and the vibration returned. The day I brought it back to Ford to have the foreman ride with me the vibrations were not present.

The vibration is not consistent. Some days I feel it and other days I don’t even when traveling over the same road at the same speed. Vibrations present somewhere between 40 to 55 miles an hour and then disappear and reappear around 65 to 70 miles an hour. The vibrations are felt primarily in my seat. Vibrations are felt whether I am in drive or coasting in neutral. Felt whether I am going uphill or downhill or swerving. Ford says they have checked for driveline issues and do not notice anything else wrong (driveshaft, u-joints, carrier bearing, front driveshaft, suspension)

Someone on Facebook suggested the possibility of a slightly bent axle, but I would think that the vibrations from something like that would be constantly present and not randomly appear and disappear.

My previous factory Tires had roughly 47,000 miles on them. I had a similar problem within the first couple thousand miles of owning the truck and tire shop said one of the wheels threw a weight, so they rebalanced and added correct weights.

What else might cause this that I should look into? This is driving me nuts because I always loved how smooth the Tremor ride was for a truck.

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[Stevedbvik1]

I have a frustrating tale of random vibrations in my 2021 Ford Ranger tremor after a recent accident. I am running stock, suspension, stock, tires, and stock wheels.

TLDR Summary

• At 47,000 miles I was side swiped on the rear drivers side of truck bed. I was stopped and the car that bounced off me was going 70mph.
• Damage to side of bed and cosmetic damage to rim. Damage to tire. Still drivable.
• No vibrations noticed while driving to work for a week after the accident
• Body damage repaired, rim re-conditioned, 4 new tires
• Alignment
• Drove great for ~200 miles then vibration - felt primarily in seat - between 45-70mpg
• Rebalance and rotate multiple times, still vibration - usually no issues immediately after service
• Dealer determined bent rim and replaced, still vibration a day later
• Dealer says no driveline issues
• Road test ride along with dealer produced no vibration, but I felt it again after 2 days

The rear of my truck was sideswiped in April causing damage to the truck bed on the driver side and some cosmetic damage to the rear driver side rim. Tire also had minor damage. Impact was only on the side and not the rear of the truck. I drove for a week after the accident and don’t remember any vibrations.

The body shop fixed the damage to the side of the bed and had the rim reconditioned. There was some minor damage to the tire and the insurance company agreed to only replace one tire. The new wheel and tire were balanced, and an alignment was done. When I picked up the truck from the body shop, I drove straight to the tire shop and had the remaining three tires replaced so I would have a set matched for wear.

For the first 200 or so miles the truck drove great, but then I started feeling the vibrations in my seat at highway speeds. I took the truck back in to the tire shop to have all of the wheels rebalanced and felt no vibration on the drive home but vibrations returned the next day.

At home I swapped each rear tire with the spare and did a road test. Still had vibration. A few weeks later I brought the truck into Ford for an oil change and they noted that the wheels seem to have excessive weights and did a rebalance and a tire rotation. The vibration remained so I worked with the tire shop and manufacturer and got all four tires replaced free of charge. The vibration returned. My insurance company covered me taking the vehicle into Ford for diagnosis and Ford found a bent rim. They moved the rim from the rear to the front and you could definitely feel the vibration in the steering wheel but it felt like a new vibration in addition to the other one. The rim was replaced and all wheels were rebalanced. The truck drove great for a day or two and the vibration returned. The day I brought it back to Ford to have the foreman ride with me the vibrations were not present.

The vibration is not consistent. Some days I feel it and other days I don’t even when traveling over the same road at the same speed. Vibrations present somewhere between 40 to 55 miles an hour and then disappear and reappear around 65 to 70 miles an hour. The vibrations are felt primarily in my seat. Vibrations are felt whether I am in drive or coasting in neutral. Felt whether I am going uphill or downhill or swerving. Ford says they have checked for driveline issues and do not notice anything else wrong (driveshaft, u-joints, carrier bearing, front driveshaft, suspension)

Someone on Facebook suggested the possibility of a slightly bent axle, but I would think that the vibrations from something like that would be constantly present and not randomly appear and disappear.

My previous factory Tires had roughly 47,000 miles on them. I had a similar problem within the first couple thousand miles of owning the truck and tire shop said one of the wheels threw a weight, so they rebalanced and added correct weights.

What else might cause this that I should look into? This is driving me nuts because I always loved how smooth the Tremor ride was for a truck.

Were the tires conventionally balanced or RoadForce balanced?

 

[ksuds49]

Were the tires conventionally balanced or RoadForce balanced?

Roadforce multiple times

 

[ksuds49]

Were the tires conventionally balanced or RoadForce balanced?

Some of the wheels have like 10oz of added weights which seems high to me.

 

[Techcargt]

Are you sure what you are feeling is a vibration and not a transmission shudder? It could be a coincidence that it started around the same time as the accident. Sometimes ,as a retired auto tech we have to think outside the box ,and separate speculation from unknown facts. Most times if it were a bent rim,or axle it will not come and go . But there are exceptions to ever rule .But I have seen transmission shudder blamed for a lot of different problems,such as engine skip, bad u-joints ect. You can also check the EGR sensor as it can mimic some of the same symptoms.It can send you down a rabbit hole .Good luck .

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

This sounds very frustrating.

Was the anlignment only the fronts and not the rears? Just a thought because if the rear is out of alignment from the hit, you might not feel it through the steering wheel but feeling it through the seat makes sense.

Best of luck getting this solved.

 

[RangerBill]

The driveshaft center carrier bearing has been known to cause vibrations.

 

[ksuds49]

Are you sure what you are feeling is a vibration and not a transmission shudder? It could be a coincidence that it started around the same time as the accident. Sometimes ,as a retired auto tech we have to think outside the box ,and separate speculation from unknown facts. Most times if it were a bent rim,or axle it will not come and go . But there are exceptions to ever rule .But I have seen transmission shudder blamed for a lot of different problems,such as engine skip, bad u-joints ect. You can also check the EGR sensor as it can mimic some of the same symptoms.It can send you down a rabbit hole .Good luck .

Would the shudder present in neutral while coasting?

 

[SouthValleyMustangLLC]

Are you sure what you are feeling is a vibration and not a transmission shudder? It could be a coincidence that it started around the same time as the accident. Sometimes ,as a retired auto tech we have to think outside the box ,and separate speculation from unknown facts. Most times if it were a bent rim,or axle it will not come and go . But there are exceptions to ever rule .But I have seen transmission shudder blamed for a lot of different problems,such as engine skip, bad u-joints ect. You can also check the EGR sensor as it can mimic some of the same symptoms.It can send you down a rabbit hole .Good luck .

Going to say the same thing. A mechanical failure with something being bent would be present all of the time and not come and go. Trans/TC shudder is much more likely based on description. Usual recommendation is fluid and filter exchange with some Ford friction modifier.

 

[got3fords]

Some of the wheels have like 10oz of added weights which seems high to me.

Holy crap! All in one place or scattered around?

 

[OGMix376]

This one seems like a tough one..
might want to try and pull in as much detail as possible when it happens..
Rpms, gear you’re in, speed you’re going, how often does the vibration last if intermittently appearing during a single trip, and possibly where you are…
I only mention the last one because there is a few spots on my routes that I drove that cause a vibration feeling (drove me nuts for a couple weeks)
The feeling of wait what!? Why is my truck vibrating.. after geeking out on it.. I found that it was just a corse stretch of roadway that lasts a few miles in a few different areas..

other than that carrier bearing is a common (intermittent though could be it’s starting to go but hasn’t completely)
Does it happen after being on the road for awhile or more so when you just started.?
Shoot maybe it could be that the driveshafts just need a service. (Greasing?).
Or perhaps something is knocked a little loose and is not properly torqued..
Hope you get it sorted out brother.

 

[rang19ca]

I keep going back to the excessive weight on the tire balance. It does seem like a lot of weight and could be causing issues. Did they check leaf spring hangers and bushings? How about the rear shocks?

 

[ksuds49]

Just came to a stop light and had a hard downshift followed by a lurch. Torque converter/transmission?

 

[airline tech]

Due to the intermittent vibration that comes and goes, my theory is a Drive Shaft U-Joint is sticking (intermittently) throwing the shaft off balance or there is unseen damage in the rear differential from the accident that went beyond only the rim and depending on internal positions (play) of the axle shafts (may be producing) intermittent vibrations.
If the Rim took a hit, then the axle shaft absorbed some side impact as well and the symptoms of that impact may only be showing up at intermittent times.
or
The differential itself (mounting) was tweaked and its allowing movement, and depending on the resting position of it, may be producing the vibration at intermittent times

What does the printout for the alignment show for the Rear?
I would be curious to see a compare to other alignment posts and only compare all of the rear readings with attention to the LR over a few comparisons to note any major differences in the readings.

 

[procitysam]

I'm having some very very similar behavior to you with my Tremor after my dumbass activities back in January caused me to slide the rear left into a parking curb twice lol. So far, I've replaced the entire set of wheels and tires, rebalanced the wheels twice, replaced all 4 brake rotors, replaced the left leaf spring (it was fanned out and looked weird), and now the last thing was both axle shafts with new bearings from Yukon. The axles seem to have improved things but there's still definitely something there on mine around 50-80 and a little bit down around 30mph. My next thought is maybe the driveshaft/CSB but I cannot find the part number for the DS. I've found the regular DS part number but the Tremor has a CV flange on the rear diff instead of U-joints.

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