ksguy73

I finally got back from overseas Monday and took delivery of my car. Man is she beautiful! I took delivery in Las Vegas and immediately left for vacation. By the time I got to California it was shaking pretty bad going at highway speeds. The steering wheel was shimmying back and forth and my leg and seat were vibrating. It does not pull to one side so the alignment is on. I took it to a fairly large dealer in California and they gave me a hard time saying the 18" aluminum wheels on my GT/CS were not factory and are not coverd under warranty. They said those wheels were dealer option wheels. These are the same 18" wheels that are on every 18" GT/CS I have seen. They did not have a GT/CS on the lot for me to show them but they had planty of Roush, Foose, Shelby, etc. I attached a pic but the wheels weren't the focus when I was taking delivery because I wasn't expecting this. Anyway after a little complaining on my part they agreed to balance the front two under warranty. After that the shake was less but not gone so I took it to a tire shop, not wanting to fight with the dealer again, and they balanced all four. They told me all four were off balance and did an "Alloy 2 counterbalance". Well this made it a lot better but the shake is still noticeable in the steering wheel and seat, but mainly the steering wheel. I made another appointment with the dealer tomorrow and I'm taking the window sticker and grabbing an 08 brochure to prove the wheels are factory. I haven't hit anything, there is no visible damage and the car only had 7.4 miles on it when I took delivery. Have any of you had anything like this happen or have any ideas what it could be? Is this normal for the new Stangs? I really need to get on with my vacation to see the rest of my family before my leave is up but I don't want to drive it and make things worse. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

eci

Torque the lugnuts to 100lbs. I bet they're loose. The manual even states you need to torque them after 100 miles or something.

MustangRetribution

that would make sense if he didnt already have them balanced at a tire place, they generally torque things properly.

it may be an issue with a tire, or maybe some jack hole at the dealership hit a curb with it and since there wasnt any noticeable damage decided to not say anything.

sorry to hear about your issue, I hate it when dealerships are like that.

ksguy73

Thanks for the responses. The tire place did torque the lugs, I watched them do it to make sure. I thought about the dealer hitting something too and asked the tire place if they could tell if there were broken cords in the tire or anything bent in the wheel when balancing. They said they would be able to tell and looked for me when they were doing the balancing. They said everything looked fine. I asked the same thing about flat spots in the tires since the car set for a while before I was able to take delivery. They said there were none. I'm baffled.

ShowGT

Since you are active and just back from service, take the bill from the tire shop and demand they reimburse you for labor they claim they already done.

Mustangfreak

That sucks dude.

But I know the feeling of waiting, what seems like forever, while over seas to pick up your GT. I waited 2 years while I was in Japan.

Webba

I would personally call the 800 number at Ford and talk with them next. I wouldnt even take it back to those dipsh*ts at the dealer you are dealing with. The first thig out of there mouths was BS and that wont change.

smokenpony

Ford places a clip on one lug on each wheel at the factory to hold the rotors. This clip is supposed to accept the factory wheels (17" or 18"). This clip is removed when you install aftermarket wheels, if you don't the wheels don't fit properly and causes a shimmy . Even though you have stock wheels try removing these clips and see if that doesn't solve the problem.

2k5GTC

The continuous shimmy may be the result of an out of round tire. Since your balance was bad to begin with, this could have damaged the tires during your trip from LV to CA. Just a thought. Oh, and welcome back to the good ol USA !!

Falchion

Congrats on your car, but sorry to hear about your issues with it!

I agree that you should just call Ford's 1-800 number. Don't let them blow you off!

Maybe even threaten to return the car to them under the lemon laws! That should get their attention!

holeshot

it could be something as simple as you lost a counter weight that was used to balance the tire. I had that happen before. Those weights can come off, and it will cause those symptoms.

ksguy73

Thanks again for all the inputs. I just got back from the dealer and it was an entire different experience this time. They were very helpful and didn't give me any problems about the wheels. He took me for a drive to see what was going on and immediately said there was something wrong with my rearend. It clunks when you let out on the clutch. I haven't owned a 5 speed since I traded my last GT in back in 96 and I just assumed that sound was normal. He then got out on the highway and immediatley said "yep you're right" about the shaking. So it is in the shop right now. He said they might have it for a couple days depending on what is wrong but said he would personnally make sure it was fixed correctly for me. I think maybe he feels a little dumb after figuring out the wheels were stock I hoping whatever is wrong with the rearend explains everything and I can have it back soon so I can put some miles on it!!!! If this don't work out I will call the 800 number and have to become a royal pain in the butt. I hate having to get that way though so hopefully it works out. Thanks again for all the help.

jayguy

Hope it all works out for you quickly, your car should be on the road, not in the shop.

Just curious, what unit were you in at Osan? I spent 4 years there myself.

kevinb120

Where the heck are the proper wheels for your car??

bah, nm, I thought you had the 18" forged marauder wheels on the car like they had swapped them or something

ksguy73

I got the car back but the steering wheel still shakes a little. The dealer said there were no problems with the rearend and the clunking was normal, like I originally thought it was. He said they were unable to properly balance the wheels because they don't have the right plate for their "road balancing" machine. He explained what a road balance is compared to a normal balance. It's a bit confusing but they ordered the plate but he was not sure when it would be in. He said the 18" wheels are deeper where the lugs are than the 17" so the plate they have would fit a little different every time they balanced the wheel. I'm just curious how everyone else with the 18" have had their wheels balanced for the past year. Maybe I'm just too picky. They said it would be alright to go ahead and drive the car to Kansas with the little shake it still has wouldn't harm anything. I'm not sure about that but at least I have documentation if it does mess up the tires. I will check with the dealer in Kansas when I get there and see if they can do it.

Jay - I was assigned to 51 MXG at Osan and worked as QA. What unit are you with at Nellis? That is my next assignment and I get there on 4 November. I would love to check out your car when I get there to see all your mods in person.

MustangLynda

[quote]I had experienced the exact same thing with my 06 GT, except I have the 17" wheels. Vibration in steering wheel, seat, and felt it in the gas pedal and my feet. Also, at highway speeds I could see the headrest on the passanger seat vibrating like mad.

I had the tires rebalanced twice and no help. Then I took it to a performance shop that had the roadforce balance equipment and sure enough my drivers side rear tire was all messed up. Balanced it using the roadforce and WAY improved, not 100% gone, but totally acceptable. Hard to believe one tire can cause all that!

Tony Alonso

This is my shadetree mechanic's assessment of the issue. Did your dealer make any mention of this?

There should not be any need to balance on a new vehicle, let alone one that has a tire that has normal wear (rotations performed, suspension not out of alignment) as the miles accumulate.

jayguy

Jason,

I'm not in anymore, but I was in the 303rd (and 6903rd , Skivvy Nine) way back in the day. The last time I left Osan was '94.

I work in a software office now, doing nothing related to what I did when I was enlisted.

I'd be happy to meet up with you when you get to town. Just pm me on here when you're ready, and we'll meet up and talk cars.

mach1fever

I would have thought bent axel. Is there a squeak in the rear end or a clunk/?

ksguy73

The rearend is just a clunk type noise when I let the clutch out after coasting (like going around a corner). I seem to remember my 95 GT doing the same thing. The dealer said it was fine after looking at it. I took it to another dealer south of here where they have the road force balance machine. After trying to balance them they told me all four of my tires were out of tolerance. They showed me the numbers they got and all four tires ranged from .27 to .29. They said they don't like anything above .1 so I was basically 3 times out of tolerance on all tires. They said this was probably due to the car sitting at the dealer for 2 months straight between delivery and me being able to pick it up and never being moved. I am actually happy with that, I would rather have that than 500 miles on it when I picked it up. They ordered 4 new tires for me and they should be in Tuesday. I had to delay my trip a few days but am so relieved they figured out the problem. This might sound wierd but I can finally enjoy drving her since I know what the problem is. Too bad I don't have it broke in yet or I would have a free weekend of tire burning!!! Thanks to everyone that helped, without you guys I would probably still be stuck.
Jay- I will PM you when I get there and get settled. Thanks.