On a more lighter topic, a problem that is happening with my wife's suv. Now, I've driven vehicles with warped rotors, so I've felt the pulsations in the pedal before. I've driven vehicles with out of balance tires, so I know how that feels. But, I ain't never felt anything like this before. When you get on the brakes, the steering wheel acts like a tire is out of balance, shaking back and forth, not much, as to loose control, but enough to be concerned about. Then as the car slows down, the movement is like you were standing in a little rowboat and rocking side to side a little. So, I jacked it up, all the steering joints have no play in them, the box seems to be ok, the tires are wearing great, not an alignment problem. Then, I took the trusty 4x4 block of wood and checked for bent rim or out of round tire. The driver's side tire "may" be a 16th out of round, but I doubt if it's that much. The car doesn't use a steering stabalizer, so it's not that, the front shocks are not leaking and are name brand. The drivers side wheel bearing was a little loose, so I tightned it. The rotors were new on the last brake job. The caliper mounting hardware was changed on the last brake job and good pads used. The tires have been rotated a couple of times and balanced. She drives down from work at 6,200 feet to our town, at 4,400 feet, and she tells me she uses the trans to hold back on the steep part of the grade. 16% incline. The vehicle is a F#*d Explorer, which she doesn't want to part with. Any ideas?

1. Does it have abs brakes?
2. Did the problem begin at the last brake job?
3. If yes to #2, was the runout checked on the new rotors?
4. Are the control arm bushings okay?

We have a few Explorers in our police fleet and have sen this before.
Scott

I'd say definitely the rotors (one or both) are warped. You don't always get a pedal pulsation with a bad rotor.
If you drive very slowly, like just barely moving, with the brakes lightly applied, can you feel the truck slow & not slow? I mean, similar to a pedal pulse, but the truck "pulses" instead if the pedal? If so, then the rotors are the problem. New or not, they just don't make 'em like they used to! Most rotors today are only designed to be resurfaced once. They're just too thin nowadays. Any amount of overheating will warp them.

I have also run across a problem on Exploders with the power steering creating a bad vibration/shake at slower speeds. This doesn't sound like what you are describing, but it is a problem.

You described the problem in your first sentence.

"My wife's SUV"

If she is anything like my mechanically declined wife, she'll tell you that the "Thingy shakes" when she's stopping the vehicle.

I'll wager on the rotors also. With a vehicle of that size, driving downhill for that long every day, I would guess that the rotors get overheated every day, even with using the transmission on a prolonged grade like that. If the rotors were replaced with a cheap brand,(even stock F**d parts) it would take my wife one day to warp those bad boys.

Now for a psychic prediction........

Your transmission in the Exploder is going to blow up.

Alan

Gee thanks Alan. Somethin else to look forward too. My pyschic prediction for you is: they are going to find a coal vein under your house and come up in your living room. LOL.

Dave

Does the Explorer have a steering shock absorber? I had a bad one on a Chevy 4X4  & it caused the same problem you described.... it was fine until you hit the breaks or went over something like railroad tracks. My wifes got a Explorer (2nd one)& she love it ...I just can't stand the Ford dealers...they,ve never fixed anything right the first time. I always put on new rotors now (sloted if I can find them)..just not worth the hassle anymore.

Alan

Alan, no on the steering stabalizer. I guess, I will go with new rotors, and an anchor and chain she can throw out when she goes down the 16% grade, or a parachute on the rear bumper! 

Dave

Pumps38567.4255324074

[QUOTE=Pumps]

My pyschic prediction for you is: they are going to find a coal vein under your house and come up in your living room. LOL.

Dave

[/QUOTE]

 

Good one Dave.  With the price of Energy these day's going up, Alan would be rich!!!  Hope the prediction comes true!!

[QUOTE=Pumps]

Gee thanks Alan. Somethin else to look forward too. My pyschic prediction for you is: they are going to find a coal vein under your house and come up in your living room. LOL.

Dave

[/QUOTE]

Dave,

 You're better than that Jamaican chick on TV. When we were buying our house, we discovered that there is a coal mine 400 ft. under our house. Therefore, EXTRA INSURANCE!!!

 Pretty safe bet, being that this is northeast PA., the Coal Barons of old pretty much robbed as much as they could out of Mother Earth. There are coal veins everywhere, and not just the mapped ones.

 I hope the ticker is still serving you well, and I wish you nothing but the best for your operation.

Alan

You probably have a ply seperation in one of the front tires.  If you rotate one front tire to the back, then the other you can pin point which one is the problem.  This is far more common than many folks realize.  When it gets bad enough you can see an uneven tread pattern when the tire is spun in the air.  A high spot will show up.  But symptoms present themselves before the damage is apparent, and it often does not show by visual observation or even measurement.   I'm  betting on a bad tire.