high speed vibration

stallone 81

stallone 81

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i think it may be my sway bar links because the boots are torn i see on rock auto for the front it just says front susp but for the back it specifies what side they are for so for the front should i just order 2 of the same ?
 
It's very unlikely that your sway bar links have anything to do with the high speed vibration you mentioned.
(Even if you removed the sway bar, it shouldn't matter as far as vibration goes.)

Road force balancing may help if your alignment is good, wheels are good, and tires are good.
 
Maybe the vibration is wheel bearings? The LS is notorious for worn wheel bearing/hubs. Mine required a new front Rt hub at about 50K and a left at something like 100K. It starts out as a slight vibration and hum and gets worse over time. I have also read the rear bearings tend to wear, but haven't had that problem yet.

Could be several other sources of high speed vibes, we would need to know more.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson
 
Jim Henderson said:
Maybe the vibration is wheel bearings? The LS is notorious for worn wheel bearing/hubs. Mine required a new front Rt hub at about 50K and a left at something like 100K. It starts out as a slight vibration and hum and gets worse over time. I have also read the rear bearings tend to wear, but haven't had that problem yet.

Could be several other sources of high speed vibes, we would need to know more.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson
Click to expand...

my thoughts were that it could be a wheel bearing but there is no noise so i cancled that out
 
I get some vibration from tire balancing. These continentals I have seem to need to be checked/tweaked every 3rd oil change, which is not unheard of really. Since my maintenance plan is every 2 I just do that. Costs me nothing.

I also have my suspicions about wheel bearings and ball joints. Sometimes, on the same stretch of interstate at the same speed, I get more or less vibration coming from the front. I plan to just change them out for the fun of it so I am not worried about it.

An alignment is worthwhile if you've never had one too (or it's been a while).

Like they said, sway bars wouldn't effect vibration, just bouncing and knocking and swaying.
 
stallone 81 said:
i think it may be my sway bar links because the boots are torn i see on rock auto for the front it just says front susp but for the back it specifies what side they are for so for the front should i just order 2 of the same ?
Click to expand...

Is it from the rear of the car? Mine had that starting around 60 mph and it got worse as I went up from there. Had to replace the halfshafts.
 
I crawled under the rear of my car without jacking the car up, and found these toe links had gone bad. I replaced them and the shaking/vibration is gone. Just slide behind each rear wheel and have a look.

0811111052.jpg


0811111057a.jpg


0811111922.jpg
 
yeah i noticed mine look like those you posted where did you order yours from do you have a part number ?
 
I called Max and got Motorcraft Rear Toe Links from him... see right side Sponsors section. Tell him you are from LVC to get a discount.
 
LDM said:
I called Max and got Motorcraft Rear Toe Links from him... see right side Sponsors section. Tell him you are from LVC to get a discount.
Click to expand...

Warning: The hardware (bolts and nuts) does not come with the Ford toe links. Be sure to order that too. The nuts are one time use. (If you reuse the old ones, they will vibrate off eventually.) The service manual also says the bolts have to be replaced.
 
I asked about those nuts and bolts and Max at the dealership said they are reusable, nothing is nylon. I would have ordered them. I would trust you joegr over anyone else... but I did check on these. If you are right I will have them replaced.
 
LDM said:
I asked about those nuts and bolts and Max at the dealership said they are reusable, nothing is nylon. I would have ordered them. I would trust you joegr over anyone else... but I did check on these. If you are right I will have them replaced.
Click to expand...

They're wrong. At the top of the nut is a nylon (or similar) ring that prevents the nut from vibrating off. It's a one time use though, especially after removing them from rusted bolts.
The aluminum parts expand and contract. Without the holding feature of the nuts, they would come loose eventually.
 
Thanks joegr!

What are the torque specifications for the inner toe link nut, and the outer nut?

I also had front and rear stabilizer/sway bar links replaced with Motorcraft parts, do I need new nuts for those too? If so, what are the torque specs for those? (I know, I should have got Moog...).
 
As some know this has plagued me for the last year. This is what I have done so far.

Wheels balanced a couple times with new tires: No Change

New front wheel hubs: No Change

Rear suspension toe bars: Slightly better

I'm up to replacing the front ball joints which can't hurt and based on everything else on this car that is original I'm quite certain they are originals as well.

joints.jpg
 
LDM said:
Thanks joegr!

What are the torque specifications for the inner toe link nut, and the outer nut?

I also had front and rear stabilizer/sway bar links replaced with Motorcraft parts, do I need new nuts for those too? If so, what are the torque specs for those? (I know, I should have got Moog...).
Click to expand...

Yes, they use the same nuts.

Here are the torque details, as well as the official warnings about not reusing the hardware.
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x42010.htm~gen~ref.htm
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x41010.htm~gen~ref.htm
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x42009.htm~gen~ref.htm
 
De-marko said:
As some know this has plagued me for the last year. This is what I have done so far.

Wheels balanced a couple times with new tires: No Change

New front wheel hubs: No Change

Rear suspension toe bars: Slightly better

I'm up to replacing the front ball joints which can't hurt and based on everything else on this car that is original I'm quite certain they are originals as well.
Click to expand...

Maybe your wheels are bent??
 
I had the toe links, sway bar links and bushings and new tires installed etc and that fixed most of the vibration/shaking problem.

It wasn't completely fixed until we found that both rear brake calipers were stuck in the extended position, always having a brake "on" position and improperly warn rotors. I had the rotors, pads and rear calipers replaced... that finally made it roll nice and smooth, with no shakes or vibrations.

So my vibration/shaking issue was a combination of things.

Thanks again joegr for the torque spec links and tech info stating the bolts and nuts need replaced!
 
BlackLS06 said:
Maybe your wheels are bent??
Click to expand...

Eh, anything is possible, but I bought them brand new. It wasn't like this either when I first bought them. It has just become worse over time and like others have described, it's intermintent.
 
joegr said:
They're wrong. At the top of the nut is a nylon (or similar) ring that prevents the nut from vibrating off. It's a one time use though, especially after removing them from rusted bolts.
The aluminum parts expand and contract. Without the holding feature of the nuts, they would come loose eventually.
Click to expand...

I can recall at least 6 times in the past year ive posted the same thing. Sticky maybe? A good majority of our suspension is aluminum, or bolted to something that is aluminum. Aluminum is more malleable than steel when under strain. As joe said, as you drive the car a reused lock nut will back off and possible damage one or more suspension parts.

This can take time or happen quickly. A couple of years ago, when I had my lower ball joints replaced, the shop mistakenly reused the original nuts. Within a month, I was driving on the highway when I lost control of the driver's side wheel. Got the car up on a lift and there was so much play on the spindle, you could get 15-20* of rotation without moving the tie rod end. The nut had backed off less than 3 threads. There was a possibilty that the hole on the lower arm was damaged, but I got lucky.

After that, I keep a stockpile of the 3 common sized nylon lock nuts in my garage. I would recommend doing the same. They are about 2$ a piece from your dealer.

I really think this should be more stressed on all of the tech articles.
 
joegr said:
Warning: The hardware (bolts and nuts) does not come with the Ford toe links. Be sure to order that too. The nuts are one time use. (If you reuse the old ones, they will vibrate off eventually.) The service manual also says the bolts have to be replaced.
Click to expand...

joegr said:
They're wrong. At the top of the nut is a nylon (or similar) ring that prevents the nut from vibrating off. It's a one time use though, especially after removing them from rusted bolts.
The aluminum parts expand and contract. Without the holding feature of the nuts, they would come loose eventually.
Click to expand...

LDM said:
I also had front and rear stabilizer/sway bar links replaced with Motorcraft parts, do I need new nuts for those too? If so, what are the torque specs for those? (I know, I should have got Moog...).
Click to expand...

joegr said:
Yes, they use the same nuts.

Here are the torque details, as well as the official warnings about not reusing the hardware.
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x42010.htm~gen~ref.htm
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x41010.htm~gen~ref.htm
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x42009.htm~gen~ref.htm
Click to expand...

Got the new nuts and bolts for the front & rear sway bar links & toe links today.

You can see a nylon/plastic/rubber bushing above the threads in this picture I took. They are one-time use.

Installed them today. Thanks again joegr for the warning to replace them.

1020110725.jpg
 
I' m with LDM. Joegr's posts have saved me a bunch of hassle. I know this thread is old but I don't want to make a new post.
I've been having a similar vibration that starts about 55 and gets pretty violent by 80. The problem started after replacing a bad rear wheel bearing on the passenger side. I replaced the axle nut as the shop manual recommended but not the lower arm to buckle bolt/nut or the toe link nut/bolt. After reassembling everything the vibration appeared. Tire place rebalance everything and said it should be fine. I noticed slight improvement but still pretty bad vibration at 65 or higher. I asked for an alignment and the tire guy said "oh that's not the problem". So I left frustrated because the tire guys always miss me off with their ignorance.
That was several weeks ago now and I just today ordered those single use parts. Should I try anything else to solve the problem? The toe links themselves seem in good enough shape. No cracks in the boots, and everything is still torqued properly. Any thoughts? The bolts and nuts don't come in till Friday.
 
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