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So guys I'm drowning here. I've had this front end issue for so long and dumped so much $ into my truck with no luck. First off I have an 07 2.3 liter 2wd xlt. Nothing fancy. Anyway I've had this shaking/ noise in the front end mostly when I get on the brakes. With that being said it seems like it's just a spot in the brake pedal where it does it. And it will only do it sometimes, and not always as bad. I cannot figure it out. I started off with new rotors a yr ago (did nothing) did my lower ball joints later on, I revisited the big nut that holds the rotors on (seemed to help some), I did my bearings twice, and I've had an alignment. Yesterday I went ahead and got the whole 13 pc set with inner and outer tie rod ends upper and lower ball joints. I also plan on having my rotors turned at the same time. Idk what else it could be??? I noticed that the driver's wheel is toed in I think (/) from the front... Causing some tire wear issues. I just got new tires so I need to fix this issue. Also since the new tires I swear I can hear this problem too. It's like a roaring out of round sound. I'm so sorry for the long post but I'm at a loss and I can't fix it!!! I'm no mechanic but I know my way around this truck and I think I'm fairly technically able. Thanks SOOOO much for your time. Any advice has got to help!!!
Maybe engine mounts, tranny mount, out of balance drive shaft ?
Worn bushings on a-arms where they connect to frame...something not usually checked, or maybe loose bolts/nuts connecting them.
Worn out front coil spring mounts ? Bad upper shock mounting point...
If it's occurring when you hit brakes, your transferring weight to front, loading up components. Sounds like something under load is loose/deteriorated/busted.
Just other stuff to take a look at.
A spot where you "feel" something when pushing down the brake pedal reads like a caliper OR slave(wheel cylinder in the rear) is sticking
If it seems to be in the front then have you changed calipers?
And when were the rear brakes last checked?
They don't wear out that fast but DO wear out, lol
If you replaced the ball joints and tie rod ends then an alignment is needed, and if tire wear on the front wasn't even then go to a different alignment shop the last guys were idiots
And make sure they do a 4 wheel alignment
New tires can make a different noise if the treads are more "aggressive", i.e. spaces are larger, larger spaces in the threads trap more air which is what creates the "noise" at highway speeds
And have to ask, the 2007 Ranger has a clean title? not a salvaged or rebuilt title, because that can matter ALOT when there are alignment issues
I see in the classified your looking for a bed for your Ranger...said you got rear ended.
Did the shaking your experiencing start after you got hit ?
If your Ranger got hit hard enough to warrant a new bed, it's likely the collision damaged something else, a suspension component, body/cab mounts, tweaked the driveline, ect.
Also read your first posting about your building your Ranger out of two trucks. As RonD asked, was it a salvage truck, and if so, what was damaged ?
So the only damage I'm aware of was in the rear and just on the bed both times. I'm almost 100 % positive there wasn't anything damaged causing this problem either occasion. The symptoms were ongoing before the wreck also. It seems to be getting worse as of late, yesterday I was stopped, turned the wheels and was getting some odd pop like sounds. After some research and the trial and error I've been thru, I'm leaning towards my front shocks being bad or the mounts. I've double and triple checked the suspension up to the shocks and springs. So I think I'm gonna get all new shocks and lowering springs while I'm at it. It has 145000 on it so it can't hurt. Lol
If its popping while at a stop while turning the steering components, its in your front suspension. Since you have replaced the normal front end parts, and barr any of them being defective, chech the shocks/mounts. Another part that can fail and is totally out of sight
is the coil spring insulator. Sits inside the front coil spring
mount...spring sits inside it like a cup, and prevents metal to metal contact. If its shot, your coil spring may be hitting metal at times when turning the wheel, hitting a bump, braking, ect.
Rotors are not expensive. I would replace not turn the rotors. Install quality ones and also replace the inner and outer bearings and seal. Pay special attention to the spindle nut installation and torque specification. I would also install new brake pads, I can recommend AKEBONO brake pads, good pad and excellent customer service if you need it from the manufacturer.
Of course this should take care of the brakes besides making sure the Calipers are functioning properly. Additionally, make sure that the front end components are all in good order.
my rotors werent cheap. about 80 bucks apiece!! lol but i literally just did rotors and bearings and i really dont see the point in doing pads at this point. theyre fairly new and wearing evenly. also my rotors were broken in properly fyi. since my last post, i did new front shocks. the upper mounts looked fine, however upon looking for the "insulator" that the spring sits on i didnt see one. just the spring in the lower control arm. also just from what i know ive been leaning to the drivers side. i retightened the spindle nut and backed off it per an oldtimers advice. while putting the wheel back on i noticed that the wheel still had some 6 & 12 oclock play that is coming from the upper control arm ball joint or bushings. so now thats what im thinking. i have an extra for the passenger side too... lol but as i mentioned earlier im still waiting on the 12 pc front end kit that has what i need. springs will be the only thing not new in the front end. thanks for your advice so far!! this site is second to none at diagnosing an issue on these trucks. they dont make anything like em any more!!
I have some shaking/vibration in front at times during aggressive braking from speeds 45 mph or greater. I thought I had warped rotors. I had two used tires installed yesterday and the tech pointed out my left front wheel is slightly bent. He let me watch it while spinning on the balancing machine. He said that it may not even have any affect on the driving. I thanked him for the heads up. I will eventually replace my rear tires and when I do, I will probably just rotate the wheels front/back.
See I thought the same but I've had mine balanced several times and even the tpms sensors removed thinking they were loose. But I feel I've got it figured out now ... Lol there's this
This has been rubbing it looks like, it was pretty tight. The other side don't look like that. And also I noticed I don't have spring insulators either. Did they dry rot out?? But given the ride today on the highway, I wondered if I'd make it back!! But this makes sense to me. Putting it back together and we'll see if that was it!! I'll check back in...
Ok my Ranger is an 07 2wd xlt regular cab. After changing both (worn out) upper ball joints, (I did both entire uppers) it's really made an improvement. I still get just a little spot of shaking while braking though. Mash harder and it stops. I put new rotors on while this problem was ongoing so I'm wondering if a rotor resurfacing will fix that. Or do you guys think my lower ball joints need to be done too??? Or do you think my newish tires have just worn funny from the issue and need to be rotated?? My alignment is spot on though!! I really appreciate y'all's help. This has been getting worse for about a yr!!!
