Heavy Vibration

[razorSVO]

I have finally had a chance to drive my new SVO. I took it on the freeway and was going through the gears when at about 85-90 MPH a massive vibration started and I could not even hold on to the Gear shifter. I slowed down and then sped up again and it happened again, any ideas what the problem is.

Ray

[lonewolf]

check the drive shaft to axle flange bolts.

[BrianO]

if the tranny is shaking then so is the motor.. check all your mounts, motor, tranny, etc...

[Horsewidower]

U joints on the driveshaft.

[tateg]

+1 for U Joints.

[Bruce]

If all checks good have the drive shaft checked for straightness! I have run into this before with a single post lift in the wrong place.

[razorSVO]

Thanks for all the input. I took the car in to Ford and they have not been able to find the problem. They told me they cannot drive the car to 85-90 to try and find the issue. I will have to find another shop to fix this.
Ray

[SVOeric]

I may get slammed here for the 1 or 2 exceptions, but I would NEVER EVER take my SVO to a ford dealership for service...

Heck, my local ford dealership is so inept, I'm afraid to take my 06 f150 in for a recall. The last recall they did for me on my 93 ranger, they caused the parking brake to lock, and not release.

Bottom line, these cars are old enough now, that Ford is about the worst place to take them for service. Find a good shop, with someone that has a clue about 2.3 turbos

[razorSVO]

I actually was a little worried about the same thing. I had a bunch of small things done to the car and was not able to do them myself so I thought I would see if they could help me out with the vibration problem, which they were not able to help me on.

I actually had a great experience with them. The SVT Tech knew what he was doing and fixed everything I asked them to do.

I will try and fnd a local shop with experience on these cars to try and fix the vibration issue. It happens when i hit a certain speed under hard and gentle acceleration above 65.

[razorSVO]

Sorry, but you're never gonna find any reputable shop in this country that's gonna drive your car on a public road at 90MPH to try to replicate a symptom - that's just plain stupid in addition to being illegal.

You *might* get a place with a 4-wheel dyno to run it that fast though.

Don't need to be sorry Mike. Thanks for all your help though.
Ray

[SVOJames]

Sorry, but you're never gonna find any reputable shop in this country that's gonna drive your car on a public road at 90MPH to try to replicate a symptom - that's just plain stupid in addition to being illegal.

Heck, in "this" country, if you go about 40 miles west of Midland, TX on I-20, the posted speed limit (during the day) is 85 mph. That's not the illegal 90 mph Mike posted about, but it's in the 85-90 range the OP posted. I've heard Wyoming and Wisconsin have similar areas, but I haven't had recent experience with them.

Regardless, this is a moot post, since the OP isn't in "this" country.

[tateg]

Something else to look at is the driveshaft. I don't really know if the SVO is the same or not, but on my '79 the driveshaft had a tube inside the shaft suspended inside all this rubber junk. I can only assume it was there to dampen vibrations and noise. Not to mention that it was very heavy. Anyway, I had a DS vibration at high speeds so I took it to a local shop (in fayetteville, NC) that balances driveshafts. They couldn't balance it so they opened it up to see what was inside it and that's when they found all that junk. I had them make me a new shaft using the original DS ends. They then balanced it for me and my vibration went away permanently.

[84JOETURBO]

had the same problem with my 93 cobra dn it turned out to be the bushing in the tail shaft of the tranny was bad. Would get a terribel vibration around 70. Have you checked to make sure you have not lost a weigth on your drive shaft? I figured out my problem by checking how much play there was at the transmission. I could move the DS up and down freely. just something else to look at

Joe

[razorSVO]

Thanks for all your help. I will be dropping the car off in the morning with all these possiblities being checked. The few fixes that Ford helped me out with has made the car a pleasure to drive, Vacuum hoses and PCV were bad. There are a few other issues that I cannot solve yet but as soon as I do she goes in for paint.

Ray

[razorSVO]

Looks like my drive shaft is the problem. What drive shaft should I get and where do I find it. Is it worth getting an aluminum shaft?

Ray