Front end shake

Tiny
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  • 2005 FORD MUSTANG
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 191,000 MILES
Car has aftermarket wheels and new tires. Starts to shake around 60 and over. While driving on freeway if I go over bump's rear moves side to side, is that usually weak struts? I am trying to figure out whether struts on front if weak can cause vibration or if it's a tire balance issue.
Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 10:50 AM

10 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
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It sounds like a couple issues. The shake at speed could be tire related if it started right after the tires were installed, not uncommon for a weight to get tossed or slip sometimes. Were the wheels installed at the same time? If so, then I would check the balance and for tire runout as well. Some rims mount in a way that can make them act this way as well, they are the types that don't center on the axle hub and instead use the lug nuts to center, they can be touchy if they are not installed just right.
The side to side on a bump could be related to them installing the tires, if you have worn suspension bushings, raising the car during the tire install could have shifted them or even caused them to come apart so things can now shift. If you can get under the car, you could have someone push down on the car and watch the circled areas for movement other than just up and down rotation. I would suspect the track bar bushings more (in orange) but they all could do that. The motion could also be normal as the track bar will try to push the rear end sideways as it moves, but it shouldn't be really noticeable.
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 1:43 PM
Tiny
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Don't think they were installed at the same time; wheels are older than tires. I will check if bolts aren't lined up and if the rotor clips are still there or were removed. Found that an inner tie rod is bad and pretty much both sway bar links rubber is gone and making sounds, will replace all that then check balance. Also, for some reason it appears that one of the rear wheels is out more than the other side, weird. What is a track bar bushing?
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 1:48 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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Track bar bushings are the items I circled in the picture. It holds the rear axle in place, so it doesn't move side to side. However, it sounds like you have an issue with it if one tire is sticking out. Is this car lowered or stock? If stock, there is an issue with either the track bar or the mounts for it. If it's lowered, it sounds like they didn't install an adjustable track bar to center the rear axle.
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 3:09 PM
Tiny
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Not lowered. I'll take a look in the back.
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 3:14 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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With a stock ride height, the rear axle should be centered. I would check that and maybe check that the rims are all the same. It could be that one has different backspacing or even a wheel spacer depending on how different they are.
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 5:37 PM
Tiny
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I will check tomorrow. I checked if there are wheel spacers but there aren't any on any of the wheels. Also, wheels are identical.
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 5:45 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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Could you please take a couple of pictures and post them showing the tires and how they stick out? No rush, just trying to determine the problem.
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 7:43 PM
Tiny
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Sure.
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 AT 7:46 PM
Tiny
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Everything in the back looks okay nothing out of the ordinary, no spacers. Sometimes it looks like they are out the same width sometimes it doesn't.
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Saturday, January 8th, 2022 AT 8:54 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
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The way the track arm works it can push the rear from side to side a bit, but you shouldn't really notice it. If you were to lift the rear off the ground you would see the left tire move out farther as the bar pulled it sideways, but it's not all that far. You might feel it move if you are hitting large bumps that cause the suspension to compress and then rebound a lot, but normal bumps shouldn't be noticed much. Looking at the pictures it doesn't look that far out but I'd still check all of the bushings.
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Saturday, January 8th, 2022 AT 11:09 AM

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