Pot Hole from Hell . . .

I had the sweetest and smoothest riding '92 Exploder on the planet (4wd
XLT 4.0) and then two days ago I hit a major pot hole on the freeway
going about 65 mph. In an instant I was driving a different vehicle.

Now the steering wheel vibrates, and the suspension, and tires feel
like they are made of concrete. It was so bad I thought I had a tire
going down. I'll admit I used to giggle a little bit hearing about all
the suspension problems other people were having, but now I'm eating my
just desserts . . .

Since I was getting ready to do the brakes anyway I went ahead and
replaced the pads, rotors, and calibers. I also put in new radius arm
bushings and new Monroe (Reflex) shocks. I also had the wheels aligned.
None of that changed the rough ride.

I carefully checked the front tires and rims (especially the one that
got pot holed) and they looked okay. But, after New Years day I'll take
them down for a re-balance.

What ever is causing my woes is tied directly to that pot hole. Can
anyone suggest something I might be missing?

NickD

I would inspect the tires to see if there is a bulge caused by a weak spot.
And also see if there are matching weights on the inside and outside of the
tire. It may have lost a weight on impact.

Charlie

"NickD" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I had the sweetest and smoothest riding '92 Exploder on the planet (4wd
> XLT 4.0) and then two days ago I hit a major pot hole on the freeway
> going about 65 mph. In an instant I was driving a different vehicle.
>
> Now the steering wheel vibrates, and the suspension, and tires feel
> like they are made of concrete. It was so bad I thought I had a tire
> going down. I'll admit I used to giggle a little bit hearing about all
> the suspension problems other people were having, but now I'm eating my
> just desserts . . .
>
> Since I was getting ready to do the brakes anyway I went ahead and
> replaced the pads, rotors, and calibers. I also put in new radius arm
> bushings and new Monroe (Reflex) shocks. I also had the wheels aligned.
> None of that changed the rough ride.
>
> I carefully checked the front tires and rims (especially the one that
> got pot holed) and they looked okay. But, after New Years day I'll take
> them down for a re-balance.
>
> What ever is causing my woes is tied directly to that pot hole. Can
> anyone suggest something I might be missing?
>
> NickD
>

On 31 Dec 2006 17:09:46 -0800, "NickD" > wrote:

>I had the sweetest and smoothest riding '92 Exploder on the planet (4wd
>XLT 4.0) and then two days ago I hit a major pot hole on the freeway
>going about 65 mph. In an instant I was driving a different vehicle.
>
>Now the steering wheel vibrates, and the suspension, and tires feel
>like they are made of concrete. It was so bad I thought I had a tire
>going down. I'll admit I used to giggle a little bit hearing about all
>the suspension problems other people were having, but now I'm eating my
>just desserts . . .
>
>Since I was getting ready to do the brakes anyway I went ahead and
>replaced the pads, rotors, and calibers. I also put in new radius arm
>bushings and new Monroe (Reflex) shocks. I also had the wheels aligned.
>None of that changed the rough ride.
>
>I carefully checked the front tires and rims (especially the one that
>got pot holed) and they looked okay. But, after New Years day I'll take
>them down for a re-balance.
>
>What ever is causing my woes is tied directly to that pot hole. Can
>anyone suggest something I might be missing?
>
>NickD

Try switching front and back tires and see if that helps.

>>Try switching front and back tires and see if that helps.<<

I did that today, and had the wheels balanced, and there was no change.

I then spent a couple hours underneath and torqued to spec every nut
and bolt I could find. I also checked the leaf springs and shackles.
The entire front end was already checked by a reputable shop and
nothing is amiss.

The only thing left (I can think of) is to replace the tires and
wheels, but if I drop the big bucks on that, and drive away with the
same problem I'm going to find a pier and drive her straight into the
ocean . . .

Thanks for the help, guys.

NickD

On 3 Jan 2007 16:51:27 -0800, "NickD" > wrote:

>
>>>Try switching front and back tires and see if that helps.<<
>
>I did that today, and had the wheels balanced, and there was no change.
>
>I then spent a couple hours underneath and torqued to spec every nut
>and bolt I could find. I also checked the leaf springs and shackles.
>The entire front end was already checked by a reputable shop and
>nothing is amiss.
>
>The only thing left (I can think of) is to replace the tires and
>wheels, but if I drop the big bucks on that, and drive away with the
>same problem I'm going to find a pier and drive her straight into the
>ocean . . .
>
>Thanks for the help, guys.
>
>NickD

I assume you only hit the pothole with one set of tires, either right
or left. Is that so? If it is, you could try rotating the spare in
for the two that were potentially damaged and see if that isolates
anything. Make sure its balanced. As to "everything" has been
checked, it's possible they are not checking things correctly, not all
vehicles load the parts the same and they should be checking for
looseness when the parts are not loaded. It could be the ball joint
was damaged and is loose internally. I'm not sure there even is a
easy check on them other then wear indicators but that's for wear, not
necessarily for damage. Plus what some shops say "looks ok" might not
look ok to another shop. After all, they are looking at used parts so
they are not expecting them to be like new, maybe they look "good
enough" but really aren't.

>>It could be the ball joint was damaged and is loose internally. <<

Just to tie up this thread - its fixed finally . . .

I purchased two new tires and had one ball joint replaced. The right
side ball joint was very loose (the left side is good) and now she's
riding smooth again. The biggest problem in all this was nobody who
worked on the vehicle could fully isolate, or be definitve, on where
the problem was.

In any case, if anyone is having the same problem I had, I'd say start
with the ball joints. And if you replace the ball joints get the ones
with zerk fittings so you can grease them later on. (The stock ones
don't have zerk fittings).

NickD