Feelin' a little shaky

bradleyheathhays

bradleyheathhays

Member
I've got an '02 Ford Taurus with 99k miles that's got something loose in the front end but I'm not entirely sure what it is. When under moderate to hard braking there's a quick shaking in the front of the car and the steering wheel jerks in sync with the shaking. Jacked up one front wheel, left the other on the ground, and sure enough the wheel moves when pushed at 3 and 9 o'clock, but not at 12 and 6.

Any advice on where to go from here?
 

Check air pressure.
You could have a warped rotor.
A wheel way out of balance or under aired.
A bad wheel bearing...

When you do the 3-9 o clock shake, is there a click feel or is it solid and does the steering linkages tre move solid or is there movement in the joint?

If the linkages don't move and or you feel a clicking the wheel bearing can be bad. If the tie rod end joints are loose replace them.

My guess is a warped rotor. Take both fronts off and let someone spin them and measure for warp. Oreilys does this. They may check for free before cutting.
If warped they may be cut but in most cases they need to be replaced. I'd replace them if the warped.
But do cheap items first.
 
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TerryMason said:
If there's any age on the brakes then I'd be tempted to do a brake job. You can get rotors and pads for $66 shipped from Amazon

Sorry! Something went wrong!

It's so cheap that you may as well do it.

You may also want to make sure that you don't have a frozen caliper. I'd expect that if only one front wheel were braking, it could cause the wheel to jerk to one side.
Click to expand...

Terry, you just awesome with your response.
 
Man I had a bearing go on me. The whole axle came out of the drivers side rear. I was on a 4 lane highway and I seen the $ob come out in my mirror. It came out, the jeep droped and the tire and axle passed me. I'm like oh boy as I watch this tire and axleget to the top of the hill and stop. Well the $ob rolls back down the hill pretty as you please, and passes me going in the oppisite direction. I watched in my rear view mirror where It was going.
It made a bueatifull turn down the street right in back of me. I'm like panic time in overdrive. Got jeep out of road then went looking for the rest of my vechile. It came to rest pretty as you please resting in the middle of a driveway.
 

Gennybro said:
Man I had a bearing go on me. The whole axle came out of the drivers side rear. I was on a 4 lane highway and I seen the $ob come out in my mirror. It came out, the jeep droped and the tire and axle passed me. I'm like oh boy as I watch this tire and axleget to the top of the hill and stop. Well the $ob rolls back down the hill pretty as you please, and passes me going in the oppisite direction. I watched in my rear view mirror where It was going.
It made a bueatifull turn down the street right in back of me. I'm like panic time in overdrive. Got jeep out of road then went looking for the rest of my vechile. It came to rest pretty as you please resting in the middle of a driveway.
Click to expand...


That must have been crazy. I had a rear tire come off once when I was a teenager - I was screaming, sparks from the rear drum were shooting up, then there goes my rear tire - passing me on the road and continuing on..
 
Yeah we all likely had a situation that caused us to soil ourselves.

Was about 18 years old when riding a paved back country road. The kind of road that's long and straight. Where you could see for a mile, but it was weathered and uneven. Ragged so if your tire catches the side it will pull you into the ditch.
Well I was driving with a friend sleeping in the passenger seat and I could see a car approaching from the other direction. I start to slow when the thread flew off the rear tire and all that was left was the steel belt.
It was like hitting a patch of ice. The back end fish tailed throwing the car from lane to lane. ...
That's why I will only buy new tires and do so at the first sigh of dry rot.





Regards,
JPNinPA

Sent using TapTalk
 
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Thanks for all the good advice and crazy stories!

JPNinPA, when I do the 3 and 9 there's def a click feel, not solid. Haven't gotten a chance to observe the TRE joint when doing the test though. Need someone to help w that one.

Hey Terry or anybody really. That looks like a great deal for a break set, even ceramic. What kind of search did you do on Amazon to find that deal? I'd do this more often but Amazon just isn't a place I'm used to going to for parts like these.
 
Two people works better. To investigate. Or set your phone up to video that spot. terry did some nice videos showing loose track bar.I read about a test for wheel bearings. Engine off and parking brake or wheel chocs? Jack the wheel up so it could spin freely. Grab the spring behind the tire and feel for vibration while you spin the tire. If you feel the grinding vibration it is that wheel bearing. If not move to the next wheel.


Regards,
JPNinPA

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up. -Jesse Jackson
 
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