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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Explorer / January 2007Pot Hole from Hell . . .
I had the sweetest and smoothest riding '92 Exploder on the planet (4wd XLT 4.0) and then two days ago I hit a major pot hole on the freeway going about 65 mph. In an instant I was driving a different vehicle. Now the steering wheel vibrates, and the suspension, and tires feel like they are made of concrete. It was so bad I thought I had a tire going down. I'll admit I used to giggle a little bit hearing about all the suspension problems other people were having, but now I'm eating my just desserts . . . Since I was getting ready to do the brakes anyway I went ahead and replaced the pads, rotors, and calibers. I also put in new radius arm bushings and new Monroe (Reflex) shocks. I also had the wheels aligned. None of that changed the rough ride. I carefully checked the front tires and rims (especially the one that got pot holed) and they looked okay. But, after New Years day I'll take them down for a re-balance. What ever is causing my woes is tied directly to that pot hole. Can anyone suggest something I might be missing? NickD I would inspect the tires to see if there is a bulge caused by a weak spot. And also see if there are matching weights on the inside and outside of the tire. It may have lost a weight on impact. Charlie >I had the sweetest and smoothest riding '92 Exploder on the planet (4wd > XLT 4.0) and then two days ago I hit a major pot hole on the freeway [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > NickD >I had the sweetest and smoothest riding '92 Exploder on the planet (4wd >XLT 4.0) and then two days ago I hit a major pot hole on the freeway [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >NickD Try switching front and back tires and see if that helps. >>Try switching front and back tires and see if that helps.<< I did that today, and had the wheels balanced, and there was no change. I then spent a couple hours underneath and torqued to spec every nut and bolt I could find. I also checked the leaf springs and shackles. The entire front end was already checked by a reputable shop and nothing is amiss. The only thing left (I can think of) is to replace the tires and wheels, but if I drop the big bucks on that, and drive away with the same problem I'm going to find a pier and drive her straight into the ocean . . . Thanks for the help, guys. NickD >>>Try switching front and back tires and see if that helps.<< > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >NickD I assume you only hit the pothole with one set of tires, either right or left. Is that so? If it is, you could try rotating the spare in for the two that were potentially damaged and see if that isolates anything. Make sure its balanced. As to "everything" has been checked, it's possible they are not checking things correctly, not all vehicles load the parts the same and they should be checking for looseness when the parts are not loaded. It could be the ball joint was damaged and is loose internally. I'm not sure there even is a easy check on them other then wear indicators but that's for wear, not necessarily for damage. Plus what some shops say "looks ok" might not look ok to another shop. After all, they are looking at used parts so they are not expecting them to be like new, maybe they look "good enough" but really aren't. >>>>Try switching front and back tires and see if that helps.<< >> [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] >they are not expecting them to be like new, maybe they look "good >enough" but really aren't. Also, both your front and your rear wheels can be knocked out of line. Before I spent money on tires and wheels, I'd take it to a GOOD alignment shop and have them spec everything... Alan >>It could be the ball joint was damaged and is loose internally. << Just to tie up this thread - its fixed finally . . . I purchased two new tires and had one ball joint replaced. The right side ball joint was very loose (the left side is good) and now she's riding smooth again. The biggest problem in all this was nobody who worked on the vehicle could fully isolate, or be definitve, on where the problem was. In any case, if anyone is having the same problem I had, I'd say start with the ball joints. And if you replace the ball joints get the ones with zerk fittings so you can grease them later on. (The stock ones don't have zerk fittings). NickD |
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