'06 4x4 4.6L 6" lift and 35's

Yesterday I took the truck to have the tires rotated and balanced. After leaving the shop all was well. This morning I was heading back to work and all of the sudden out of the blue I starting getting this vibration around 40mph, but the faster I went the worse it got.

Now, before anybody says anything about re-balancing, that's already been done. The problem seems to get worse as the driveline warms up. When the truck is cool, its still there but not as bad. Before I take this thing to have it looked at, I figured I would ask you fellas.

 

could be a IWE problem ... see if the problem goes away as you shift it into 4Hi

 

Don't really have anywhere "close" to get into 4x4 at 45-50mph.

Also, there is little to no vibration in the steering wheel. Partially the reason I have ruled out the front end.

 

highway it .... have ran into these problems at work some even work

 

Check for an ebrake dragging. They will cause all kinds of vibration if dragging and heating things up.

 

I thought about that. This might be a real dumba$$ question, but how?:o

 

from not being used much and then they get applied by the driver and stick in place

 

Jack up the rear, take out of park, and see if the rear wheels spin freely. My Parking brake stuck once and the whole rear end shook like a %@!#$!@^&%!!

 

I never used mine on my 04, but they started giving me trouble. BAD vibrations when they were rubbing and heating things up. In my case it was only occasionally though. Could be different reasons. Something leaked on the pads causing them to swell. Pad is separating from the backing plate, etc.

 

I bet thats exactly whats going on. I had exhaust work done 2 days ago. I set the e-brake when i got out of the truck. I'll check that tomorrow. Report to follow.

 

***UPDATE***

Well I pulled the rear brakes apart and checked the e-brake on both rotors. Problem is still there. The thing that absolutely baffles me is that the rear rotors (around the e-brake "drum"), specifically the passenger side, were hot as a firecracker right after I got home. The more I drove the truck today, the more everything pointed to the rear brakes. What PO's me is I can't seem to find any kind of evidence of a problem. I sure don't want to start replacing stuff that ain't broke.

If anybody else has any ideas, all help is welcomed. If I can't figure it out by Monday its going to the shop.

 

If it is that hot, something is rubbing. Whether e-brake or brake shoes.

 

I had that happen, took a big flat ended screwdriver, hammer and whacked the hook where the cable attaches back. Problem solved- for sticking hot ebrakes. Shakes? I had this too, switch the tires front to back and see if the problem is felt more in the steering. If so, one of the tires is unbalanced. I had my tires balanced and rebalanced because the weights kept flying off. Otherwise it might be a u-joint as well.

Describe the problem more, always does it shake, alternate speeds, consistant with rear end speed? OK, re-read your first post, after 40 mph, but does it quit at any speed faster than that, say 80? I'm thinking it's a tire.

 

Definitely not a tire issue. The shake/vibration associated with a tire is usually an intermittent shake, rarely is it at any and all speeds. Not to sound like a smartass, but this aint my first rodeo with trucks, let alone 4x4's and big tires. Like I stated in the OP, there is no "shake". It's a strong vibration that gets progressively worse the fast the truck is moving. There's no way that I am even going to try getting it above 60mph. I'm going to jump into feet first again tomorrow and see if I come up with anything else. Again, I'm not trying to be a smartass, just saying that I've already looked very strongly at a possible tire issue and have ruled that out.

BTW, thanks for the hammer and screwdriver advice. I tried that earlier today also with no luck. Like they say, all else fails.....get a bigger hammer.

 

I have an 07 with a 6" procomp and 35's also and I have what I believe is the same problem you have. When I hit 40 mph I feel a vibration and can hear a griding noise. Im pretty sure its my transfercase. A buddy of mine is a ford mechanic and we spent an entire day going over the truck and we have ruled out everyhting but the transfercase. Im actualy in the middle of putting my new transfercase in now.

You can try putting the truck on jackstands and put it in drive and get down there and listen to whats making the noise, yes its dangerous but its what i did to figure out where the vibration was coming from. I wouldnt say crawl under the truck with it in gear but you can get down next to it with someone in the driverseat to hit the brakes just in case something goes wrong