Truck intermittently shaking badly
 

I have a 2010 Ford Ranger Sport 4x4, 4.0 manual shift truck. It is in stock form.
After a couple miles of driving, the truck will begin to shake to the point it feels like a wheel is falling off.
Just when I'm ready to pull over, it comes out of it and drives fine. It may return in a few more miles, or maybe not.
This morning it shook after a few miles then came out of it, then I drove another 25 miles or so with no issue.
I have crawled around underneath, rotated tires, looked at brakes. I cannot see anything loose or broken.
I'd like to have an idea of what is going on before I take to a shop , just don't want to start replacing parts.
If you have any ideas, I'd like to hear what you think.

thanks in advance.

Depending on the speed at which the shaking starts and stops, it is most likely a bad tire, bent or out of round wheel, bad rotor, or even s caliper or brake shoe that occasionally sticks.
One of your statements where it is shaking and when you slow to pull over the shaking stops sounds like a bad tire, possibly the interior of the tire is comming apart. That dosen't sound like a bad rotor, or even an out of balance drive shaft as if those were the problems
it would be at all speeds and would be constant.
Possibly a very bad case of front end out of alignment. Bad alignment can drive as normal, and then suddenly start to shake, then go back to normal.
Have you hit a curb or a bad pothole lately? That can throw an alignment out , bend a wheel, or cause the cords in a tire to come apart.
If you have rotated the tires, and still get the same shaking , it's going to be in your front end , either alignment or linkage.
Grumpaw

Grumpaw, thanks for the information, it gives me a place to start.
I do not recall hitting any curbs or such, but we do have some bad roads with pot holes.

I did edit my response as I didn't notice at first that you had rotated your tires. If it were a bad tire'wheel on the front and you moved it to the back, you'd still get shaking, but not as severe and it would not be as bad from the front.
I would lean toward a bad alignment or a damaged linkage part.
Grumpaw

Thanks again, I'll get it in to have the alignment and front end/tires checked out.

Have a look at your "tie rod ends" as well.



GB :)

did you ever find out what the problem was? I've replaced the tie rods, inner and outer, rack and pinion, both hub assemblies, upper and lower ball joints, brakes, rotors, calipers, CV axles, and had a new set of tires put on and it's still shaking. If I can't figure this out soon I'm getting rid of this pos

the shop found one tire out of balance and the driver side front brake cylinder sticking. After that the problem went away.