Vibration in front end
 

2013 5.0 GT. Had a major going through just at the start of the pandemic including shocks, struts, bushings at 105k miles, now at 140k.

Hey, all. I only seem to come here when I have a problem. Well, I have a problem. Last Sunday while out on a drive I found a vibration/shudder in the front end at above 70 mph. 69mph = no problem/71mph=vibration sufficient to cause the rear of the hood to bounce 1/4 to 1/3rd of an inch. I thought maybe the front end tray had come loose but no. Took it into the tire store thinking it was a wheel balance problem and, indeed, there was. It had thrown 2.5 oz weights on one and 1.5 oz weights on the other. They replaced the weights and rotated all the tires. Today I take it up on the freeway on a very smooth patch and on a number of occasions and the vibration is still there on the front end and at the same speeds so I don't think its a tire/wheel problem. Its not so bad as to threaten control loss but its very noticeable and these things rarely solve themselves. Has anyone experienced this and what turned out to be the problem?

I haven't been in a position to check the newly rotated front tires but the condition IS unchanged. Might be a place to start?

I'm hoping your tire shop checked for a broken tire belt (or two). This is not always looked for by some shops and sometimes not easy to spot either. How old are your tires? Quality make like Michelin or Goodyear? How much mileage on the tires? All are factors in this case.
The belt issue can raise it's ugly head at low or high speeds. I cut this section below out for you from one of many internet sites. Maybe it's as simple as this. If no help, then I'm hoping you find the problem. Good luck!!
You can get vibrations, steering wheel shaking, bouncing at low speeds, and at high speeds if you have a broken belt in tire. If you have any of these symptoms you should look for new tires as soon as possible. This is a dangerous form of tire damage that can lead to a potential tire blowout.

did you recently change from OEM to aftermarket wheels by any chance? just checking

Big O tires with appropriate speed rating. 2 years old with 26-27K miles on them. No unusual wear patterns. As I mentioned above, all 4 were rotated when I had it in the first time. I'd have thought that moving the fronts to the rear during the rotation would have eliminated that issue. Unless one of the fronts was moved to the other front axle....hmmm, something to ask but right now IDK
The 7 Y-Spoke Polished 18x8 Alloy Factory Wheel OEM for the GT that year.and came with the car.

junkman9096 yeah, some shops do that criss cross rotation. I HATE that and always do front to rear. That's just me anyway. You should definitely ask.

I'm not familiar with Big O tires. Is that an actual brand or a chain of tire shops? With over 25k miles on 'mongrel' tires you could be having all sorts of issues, from tramlining to belt failure. I'm NOT saying you have a mongrel brand but I never heard of Big O brand tires. They are even making tires in China now. No thanks!! Again, best of luck if this is off base.

Big O has been around a long time (1962) just mainly in the Midwest and West coast and just like Discount they sell tires no one else does.

Well, I thought I'd follow up.

Big O checked the entire front end and everything was tight so the consensus was bad struts. They asked what struts had been put it. I'd had the the entire car gone through and all parts subject to wear replaced (brakes, bushings, shocks and struts, etc) at the beginning of the pandemic or 35K miles ago. Took it back to the independent shop that I'd had the work done and they asked to do their own evaluation. Wonders of modern science, the owner had an app wherein you enter the car in question, take it for a test drive, and it locates and evaluates aspects that are out of the norm. In this case it detected the vibration was localized to the drive train (drive shaft, u-joints/c-v joints, etc). Inspection showed that there was wear at both ends of the drive train and (I'll blow the description but) a center support for the driveshaft. Good news it was found before there was damage to the tranny (6 speed auto) and rear end. Bad news is the drive shaft is produced to order with none kept in stock. It will be in between 1 and 3 weeks from now. So I've got a garage queen for the next several weeks.

(In case you're wondering, KBB is $13K (+/-) and a new GT 5.0 is over $44K in this area with the closest being 100 miles away. Plus no one is bargaining. Going to keep my eyes on the 2024 both for hoping the production situation solves itself by then and also hoping there isn't another big ticket repair in the meantime. At some point its cheaper to get a new one than to sink money in an old one.)

^^^ Thank you for the follow-up. We always appreciate the info. Sorry to hear it was something so costly. I was hoping for the best for you.
With 140k miles on your car I would be thinking along the same lines as you. I probably would NOT put even more serious $$$ into the car. That's me, one of many opinions you will get. Good luck with your decision.

CJ's says they have the replacement that looses the Carrier Bearing in stock.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/themust...ddbbe6ddb1.png

Thanks for that. I told the owner of the shop that I wanted to keep it as close to stock as possible. After checking CJ's and American Muscle I also notice a wide variety of prices what with material (aluminum/carbon fiber etc) and shipping costs. At the end of it all the prices are fairly close unless you splurge for the CF ones. Will keep everyone posted.

PS: I can't express how good it feels to use a repair shop that I have confidence in. No, not the cheapest but the work is done properly and honestly.

Final update: Today I finally got my Mustang back home and with all (known) issues dealt with. After waiting 4+ weeks for Ford to spit up a replacement driveshaft, I told the garage to see if a used one could be sourced. They got one out of Texas I'm told. I kind of hate going that route but there were.....considerations. #1 it existed and could be sent to me rather than waiting on inventory shortfalls and promises. #2 My car now has 140K miles on it and the sourced driveshaft has 59K before I got it so its likely that I'll completely use up this Mustang before the driveshaft goes bad if ever. #3 we now had a driveshaft in hand for $450 as opposed to the promise of one from Ford for north of $1000. As a prophylactic the shop did work on the tranny's output shaft transmission bearing. On top of all that, and without asking, the owner went through the car (he had done a major refresh of all the components at the start of the pandemic) and tightened/lubricated a number of suspension points so that now it doesn't "clunk" going over speed bumps. Its all good right now.

^^^ Outstanding!! Best of luck with it in the future. In the meantime, start a savings account for a new car. The time will come. $50k+ new Mustang GT models are now the norm. Ouch!! :eek:

Yes, I know. I've been building my next Mustang on the "Build your car" app on Ford.com. Am already at the "ouch" stage.

Congrats on conquering the vibration issues. Did not add since all those before me gave you everything I could come up with.

As to your next Mustang, it sounds like the start of a great adventure. Always fun for me to find that perfect next ride. Best wishes and hope the Ford car gods are nice to you. Right now my car gods are stabbing me in the wallet and want an arm and both legs for the rides I have looked at. Still a bit concerned with the quality issues that keep showing up since the Covid lock downs. Hope they get that fixed soon.

@junkman9096

Glad to Hear You Got Everything Squared Away. Could You Possibly Find Out What That App Was Called and Anymore Info on it. We Have a New Member in Canada With a Noisy BOSS 302 Who I Believe Could Really Benefit From Using it!

Thank You!

Kc