Now that Spring is here I took the sand bags out of my truck bed. Right away I started noticing a shudder that feels like it's coming from the passenger rear tire.

I feel it when I got over a bunch of small bumps on the road. I also notice a lot more noise when I'm taking a corner on that side.

I jacked it up and checked the lug nuts and they're fine. I also checked for play in the wheel by rocking it back and forth and up and down and it didn't budge.

I check underneath for anything rattling including the spare tire and skid plates; nothing loose.

I'm left with the shocks. I have 60K miles on them. Could the passenger rear shock be causing the shudder? It almost feels like that tire is moving up and down a lot on small bumps.

One last thing I should mention, I just had that tire patched, around the same time I took the sand bags out of the bad. Could it be wheel imbalance? I only feel it on bumps though.

I got a quote on shocks from my local Monroe Muffler, 4 for the price of 3. But they told me they didn't carry the Reflex shock for my truck, only the Sensatrac.

Thanks for any help!

I love this message board! It has bailed me out more than once!

Mark


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I have a problem similar to the one you decribe. I swear it is coming from the right rear. I have ruled out a balance problem because the ride is the same every day over the same stretch of road. I am beginning to think it is the shocks. I have 47k on the Xpy. Dealer has found nothing...big surprise there, right?

 

I'm installing new shocks on Monday and I'll let you know what happens. It's damn annoying.

Mark D.


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I just wanted to followup on my initial post. I installed new shocks today, Monroe Sensatracs. No change. I still feel the same shudder coming from underneath close to the rear. I needed new shocks anyways, but I was hoping it would cure this problem.

Next chance I get I'm going to go under the truck and torque the frame bolts and the U-Bolts for the leaf springs. If that doesn't fix it then I'll check the gas tank straps. And if that doesn't fix it I'll take the back seat out and torque the frame bolts underneath there.

Mark

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Ok, I figured this one out. Driving home from work Friday, I listened for the shudder when I went over bumps, and realized that I heard it first when the passenger side front tire would cross a bump. Then it hit me. Last December I changed the front rotors, and in order to do that I had to remove the anchor plates for the calipers. Reinstalling the anchor plates I guess I didn't torque them enough and the passenger side plate started rattling.

So last Friday evening in the rain I jacked the front up and tightened the anchor plates. The manual says to torque them to something like 120 lb/ft. I couldn't muster that with my torque wrench, so I did the best I could. No more shudder! I got a head cold, but my truck is solid once again.

Mark


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Thanks for keeping us "posted" on your progress. I'll be checking my brakes now too.

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1998 Expedition EB
- 4x4
- LLS (4 corner)
- Premium MACH Sound System w/6-CD changer
MODS
None yet (But I wanna be like you guys)
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I get something similar to what you guys are talking about. If I go over even a small bump or rut in the road, it feels like something heavy in the bed flies up just a bit and bounces back down. There is nothing in the bed. The spare is tight and secure.
I have crawled under and checked for anything that might be loose. I even checked the tailgate for play but there was none. It's not a tire bounce. As I said, it feels like something is loose in the bed, like you had a spare tire sitting there that bounced up when you hit a bump. Could the bed itself be loose?