Steering Wheel Shake

[Guest]

I went on a 200 mile trip this weekend, first trip of any length since the expy was new. I picked up my expy about 3 months ago and had the tires aligned and balanced when I took delivery. Everything works great, in the city.

When I hit about 72 MPH (yes I know that is speeding) I have some steering wheel shake and a slight left pull, as the speed goes up so does the amount of shaking. Once you drop below 65 or so, both symptoms are not there...

Wondering if this is something that is normal for the expy and will the dealer even bother with it because it is over 70mph???

Traffic on our freeways very seldom moves at less than 75 MPH so on the hwy it will be somthing we encounter often...

 

[Guest]

I had the same issue...steering wheel "shimmy" at approx. 70 mph and got worse the faster I drove. I had the dealer look at it and they found that the Front Driver side tire failed the "Excessive Road Force" test. I am not too sure what it is but it has something to do with the tire and wheel put on to a machine that is made specifically for this test. What it does is recreate driving conditions and measures the amount of tire that "droops" (for a lack of better words) over the wheel rim. This is caused by uneven tire walls. If it is too much, you get a shimmy or shake that most would think it is a balance issue when in fact it is this.

The dealer replace the tire and I have noticed marked improvement. From what I have seen from other posts, the standard tire that come on the Expy - Continentals, not too many people like them. I only have 5000 miles on them so I really can't complain too much yet. I have found though that they are noisy - they are beginning to "whine".

If it is still under warranty, I would suggest you talk with your dealer and have them specifically perform the Excessive Road Force test.

 

[rwinch]

Go to this post, it may explain some things...

http://www.expeditionforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1946#post1946

 

[Guest]

I had 2 tires replaced and the whole freaking steering rack to fix my '03 Expo POS!