Shimmy - Help, what could be wrong?

[dapakattack]

Changed out the 17"s for the 18"s again. Didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Made sure to use the proper tightening pattern and torqued to 100 ft lbs. Still a bit noticeable...but didn't seem to be quite as bad. It is at the dealership now for a Thrust Angle Alignment (the dealership opens at 7...I was 3rd in line when I got there at 6:40).

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[airline tech]

Changed out the 17"s for the 18"s again. Didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Made sure to use the proper tightening pattern and torqued to 100 ft lbs. Still a bit noticeable...but didn't seem to be quite as bad. It is at the dealership now for a Thrust Angle Alignment (the dealership opens at 7...I was 3rd in line when I got there at 6:40).

With you getting a noted change - when swapping wheels, still brings me to a high probability of a rotor issue.

 

[dapakattack]

UPDDATE: They did the Thrust Alignment.....it needed it. They test drove it....did not solve the shimmy. Dealership kept the truck overnight thinking it was a driveshaft issue. Found that the driveshaft was fine. Not sure what else they will be doing to troubleshoot.

Will they even consider the rotors as being an issue? I take it that rotors are not warranty covered components?

With you getting a noted change - when swapping wheels, still brings me to a high probability of a rotor issue.

AT, anything other than new front/rear pads/rotors that I need to replace?

 

[Motorpsychology]

UPDDATE: They did the Thrust Alignment.....it needed it. They test drove it....did not solve the shimmy. Dealership kept the truck overnight thinking it was a driveshaft issue. Found that the driveshaft was fine. Not sure what else they will be doing to troubleshoot.

Will they even consider the rotors as being an issue? I take it that rotors are not warranty covered components?



AT, anything other than new front/rear pads/rotors that I need to replace?

It may be only one rotor, if that indeed is the cause. If so, replace the pads on both calipers on the same axle.

 

[Jason B]

I guess they could get the 4 wheels off the ground, then run it in 4x4, watch the wheels for any wobble or run out.

 

[TJC]

Drive the truck and have a spotter driver follow behind and look at the wheels when the shimmy occurs. Look for wobbles / bouncing tires, anything out of the ordinary. etc. It may help you narrow down the possibilities.

 

[Rp930]

Do you have the alignment specs?

 

[airline tech]

If it is not the rotor or rotors then it would be something that ties into them and changes when you swap the wheels. Hub assembly (bearing) or CV Half Shaft.

It depends on where you feel the shimmy.
Steering Wheel or Seat plus under light brake pressure, do you feel anything in the brake pedal?
and does the light brake pressure stop the shimmy?

another possible could be sway bar links - uneven tightness or worn, cause the front end to jounce

 

[dapakattack]

Update: Got a call from the dealership. Apparently they have resolved the issue...by balancing the wheels....which revealed that one of the tires had water in it. I do not know how much. Again, these wheels/tires were take offs. No telling where they were stored (the tires on 3 of them were separated from the rim). So water could have been introduced then or Discount Tire got water in it when they Road Force Balanced them last Wednesday.

Why was Discount Tire so off on their balancing? Not just their normal balancing, but their Road Force too?

The Ranger does ride better. The shimmy doesn't appear to be there. Still, I am not totally sold on this, but will get a better feel over the next couple of days.

Do you have the alignment specs?

I am going to post the latest Ford Alignment here later tonight (although the numbers are almost identical to what is shown from DT.

 

[RangerBill]

Update: Got a call from the dealership. Apparently they have resolved the issue...by balancing the wheels....which revealed that one of the tires had water in it. I do not know how much. Again, these wheels/tires were take offs. No telling where they were stored (the tires on 3 of them were separated from the rim). So water could have been introduced then or Discount Tire got water in it when they Road Force Balanced them last Wednesday.

Why was Discount Tire so off on their balancing? Not just their normal balancing, but their Road Force too?

The Ranger does ride better. The shimmy doesn't appear to be there. Still, I am not totally sold on this, but will get a better feel over the next couple of days.



I am going to post the latest Ford Alignment here later tonight (although the numbers are almost identical to what is shown from DT.

Did both sets of tires have water in them? I think that you said both sets had a shimmy.

 

[dapakattack]

Did both sets of tires have water in them? I think that you said both sets had a shimmy.

Bob, no, the "new" 18" set had a tire that had water in it. (not sure if water was there when I picked them up or if water was introduced in the Road Force balancing done a week ago by Discount Tire). Only experienced the shimmy after DT mounted the new 18" wheels. Shimmy was also present when switching back to former 17" wheels (dry as far as I know), but was not there prior to having the 18" installed.

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

Since you believe the shimmy to be gone now - are you second guessing yourself on the second set of wheels having a shimmy as well? In your original post you admittedly do not sound very confident with the second set of wheels saying words like "maybe a bit worse".

I understand if that is the case. There are definitely instances in my own life where I've made myself hyper-sensitive to an issue.

Your story I feel gets a bit confusing via your own confusion. Hah. Even now you say "It appears to be gone but I'm not sold."

Does the truck shake?

 

[dapakattack]

Since you believe the shimmy to be gone now - are you second guessing yourself on the second set of wheels having a shimmy as well? In your original post you admittedly do not sound very confident with the second set of wheels saying words like "maybe a bit worse".

I understand if that is the case. There are definitely instances in my own life where I've made myself hyper-sensitive to an issue.

Your story I feel gets a bit confusing via your own confusion. Hah. Even now you say "It appears to be gone but I'm not sold."

Does the truck shake?

Adam,

No, the truck doesn't shake.

It makes sense in my head...no confusion....maybe just poor explanation. One thing that I failed to mention is that the alignment and balancing were done with the 18" wheels on.

So driving home tonight there wasn't a shimmy (maybe now a hyper sensitivity to the drive shaft that I didn't pay any attention to before...but that is minor and no real issue). Again, taking everything that happened, it is difficult to accept that rebalancing at a different shop was the answer...but I will be thrilled if, after a few days of driving, the shimmying doesn't return.

Thanks again for everyone that provided suggestions. I'll update the thread if needed.

 

[Chris M]

Does road force balancing introduce water in any way to the process? I don't understand why @Discount Tire would have had opportunity to have done that.

 

[Rp930]

Does road force balancing introduce water in any way to the process? I don't understand why @Discount Tire would have had opportunity to have done that.

Road Force does not involve water. Probably came from an air line at some point. I assume they missed it because of the water in the tire which was a good find on the Ford Techs part.

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