not sure which section this goes in - help with car shaking

[cranshinibon]

whenever i hit 68-75 ish my car starts shaking really violently. like while im driving the **** in my coin holder, and ash tray (not ashed, just a bunch of stuff) will hop around and a loud shaking noise erupts. anyone have any idea what i should do to fix it or to find a solution?

[Nors]

I'd check to see if you are missing a wheel weight. or just get all 4 tires balanced and see if that helps.

[Chris(NJ)]

yep, check your tire balance. Once those check out, get your alignment done. Its gotta be one of those 2.

[redline]

I agree with both above and also check your lugs! If it is the brakes try bedding the pads

[WrxJC]

My car does that ish too, cus i have like 3 bent rims. Even if you can't see the bend, put it up on a lieft and spin the wheels, you may see that they are straight. I'd try that before i spent money on an alignment.

[MuddyREX]

Dude, you have way to many problems with that car. Take it to a mechanic to get a really thorough once over since it seems you aren't too good with stuff like this.

[Danronian]

I really think this is a Taurus problem, b/c every one I've been in does that at higher speeds.

[05GT]

Sounds like an alignment issue to me. Back in the day I use to have a 96 Explorer that once I hit about 70mph that thing would start shakin and wobbling (sp? lol) all over the place. Took it in and got an alignment and drove great afterward.

I've been in a few taurus and I've never seen/felt them do it.

[turbo4g63]

just have your tires balanced....i used to get the death shake in my old blazer if i had my foot to the floor at about 75 -80 mph i thought it was hilarious though b/c it was a piece of crap car

[Danronian]

I remember we had our old family taurus aligned at least twice, and nothing could help it...so we just didn't take it over 60.

[99SL2_Modder]

An alignment that's totally ****ed up could do it, but it's not normally an alignment issue.

Alignments only really cause wanders, darts, and pulls. A shaking and shimmy would be felt at all times, and it's when your toe is so completely ****ed, you can see it with your naked eye.

[cranshinibon]

well it basically just shakes the entire dash and i can feel it pretty bad, itll actually make my portable cd player skip like a mother too when its on the passenger seat.

also i was wondering, is it possible to get a realignment and wheel balancing on my taurus bc i called the mechanic down the street and he said something about not being able to do something with a cam or something that sounded like that and he'd only be able to high speed balance the front tires? any input?

[cranshinibon]

:bump:

[99SL2_Modder]

Your camber might not be adjustable because the Taurus is like Ford's Civic. (Honda's have like NOTHING factory adjustable for alignments). Look up camber kits for fords...actually, wait, I have a parts book next to me that might have it. I'll look it up tonight after my shower.

You have 5 basic measurements in an alignment:
Camber
Caster
Toe
Toe-out on turns
SAI (Steering Axis Inclination)

3 of them are adjustable. Camber, Caster, Toe. EVERYTHING affects toe. Camber and Caster won't affect each other much.

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Caster...If you're looking at a tire from the side, the struts are angled different for caster.

Front / Rear = Positive Caster. Slightly harder to turn the wheel, but auto-finds center very well
Front | Rear = 0 Caster. Sucks, don't aim for it.
Front \ Rear = Negative Caster. VERY easy to turn, does not auto-center for ****.

These are dramatic, of course, but that's basically that. Think of it as a bike. It's normally a positive caster on it, but if you have the bars that turn all the way around, did you try riding with it? It's all over the place. This adjustment can cause a "pull" in a direction when set incorrectly.

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Camber...if you're looking at the tires from the front of the car, look at the top of the tire.

Outside \ Inside = Positive camber

Outside | Inside = 0 Camber

Outside / Inside = Negative camber

Depending on your setup will call for camber. Generally, you want close to 0, but different loadings and different driving conditions will change it. I have mine hard negative because I corner like a demon. By setting it hard negative, when you turn right or left and teh car leans the opposite way, it will roll the tire under the car and ride on full traction. You'll wear your tires inside edge more, but you'll have better grip. This adjustment can cause a "pull" in a direction when set incorrectly.

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Toe...if you're looking down at the tire from above.

Outside \ Inside = Toe out. Too much of this will cause constant vehicle correction. Even more (a super high amount) COULD cause a vibration felt at all speeds. FWD vehicle manufacturers tend to put a little toe out on their cars because the driveline has a habit of pulling them in, and the setting would bring it to 0 toe.

Outside | Inside = 0 Toe. Optimum setting that you want to achieve, however, each application has a different spec depending on what the action of acceleration has on the vehicle.

Outside / Inside = Toe in. Too much of this will cause vehicle "darting" when slight steering is induced. Could also produce a darting wander. RWD vehicle manufacturers tend to put a little of this in their vehicles because the act of accelerating has a habit of pushing the tires backwards, and changing the setting to 0 toe.

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The other two measurements, SAI and Toe-out on turns can tell you how your current suspension is looking.

Toe out on turns is how much toe out the tires have when turning. (duh). It is the measurement that allows one tire to spin slightly faster than another in order to track properly around a turn. This could indicate a bent or broken component if it does not match up to factory.

Steering Axis Inclination is a measurement of many things, and I'm not going into specifics, but if your alignment tech knows how to use it, then he can find the defective component VERY easily. It will almost ALWAYS point out if there's a bent or broken component.


Fun ****. Now it's time for my shower, and I'll let you know if I have a part number for you.

[99SL2_Modder]

****, I only have the engine parts books next to me. Not the suspension....they're packed for my move.

As far as I can see, it may be factory adjustable, however it may not.

If you want to get it aligned anyway, and have a few extra bucks floating around:
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?carcode=1138676&parttype=10399&a=FRc1138676k1023600

I'd recommend opening up these menus:
Alignment Camber Plate Kit
Alignment Camber Toe Bushing Kit

And close the one that's already open.

Now, I'm not sure what your car is going to need for the alignment, but if nothing's factory adjustable, I'd recommend these:
-SPICER Part #6111147 (The spacer plate is in that one, but I think you'd need one for either side.)
-MOOG Part #K8627. (This shows a set of 2, but I can't recall how the rear is set up on the Taurus, so it may be one side, or it may be both.

Rock Auto is very good with pricing and very reliable. I would call about those parts and see if they know if it's each for one side or both. I would assume everything is 1 side so you need doubles. Otherwise, if you have connections, get it looked at on a rack first and see what needs to be done before you spend the money. If you DON'T have connections, spend the money since your car is older anyway, and it may need some of the refreshers that you can get like these. Alignment things break ALL the time from age.