Steering wheel nibble/shake finally solved!

[Heavy D.]

Hi all,
I have been following these threads since I was experiencing the same problem, but until now have had nothing to contribute to the dialog:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=10284
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=9624

A brief history…

My L/M dealer (Westgate L/M in Lombard, IL) was unable to solve the problem, so I took it to a local shop but the problem still persisted. Here’s what the two shops did in total:

1 Complete inspection and tightening of all front end/ suspension/steering
fasteners (L/M dealer)
2 front end alignments (Bad from factory, L/M dealer screwed up 1st
alignment, local shop got it right)
3 new rims (L/M dealer damaged them mounting tires and aligning).
4 new tires (I needed rears anyway, but the fronts were “cupped” from the
bad factory alignment so I replaced those too).
4 wheel balances (3 conventional, 1 road force).

Needless to say I was extremely frustrated, and having followed the discussions here I was beginning to wonder why my problem wasn’t solved by the road force balancing. My L/M service advisor told me the car drove fine and there was nothing they could do, so I took a hike vowing never to have service done at a L/M dealer again.

I decided to try an SVT dealership, figuring if they were used to dealing with Cobras and Lightnings they would be able to figure this out. I found an SVT dealer that was Blue Oval Certified and Quality Checked in Willowbrook IL, Willowbrook Ford and Kia.

They assigned their SVT Technician to my problem, and after a short test drive with me he agreed that the nibble was excessive. They found two issues and solved my problem, but it took them a few days and a couple of calls back to Ford. Here’s what they found:

1) Side backlash in the steering gearbox needed adjustment. Apparently this
helps dampen steering feedback, and was out of spec in my car.

2) Yep, another road force balance – apparently the L/M dealer wasn’t
satisfied with merely scratching rims and a mis-alignment, they needed to
get the road force balance wrong too.

I got the car back last Thursday, and had a 4 day weekend to shake things out. It drives as good as new, probably better now that the alignment is good.

Thanks to everyone who posted on this subject and I hope my experience can help others solve this problem!

[FiveO]

Good to know.

Thanks for your persistence... :up:

Also glad you finally got to the root of the problem.

[rookie1]

I too have eschewed going to the L/M dealer in favor of a Ford SVT dealership. The technicians expertise is in a different league than your average L/M mechanic.

[Bradley G]

Thanks Heavy D FINALLY got new tires ordered 3rd. road force balance (still shakes). I am going to ask them to check front end and steering box side back lash as you posted . I have two issues steering shake & feedback through steering wheel .

[jgc61sr2002]

Heavy - Glad it worked out for you. :D

[valleyman]

OK, what's a "Ford SVT" dealership and how do I find one? Just ask them when I call them on the phone?

[Haggis]

I too have eschewed going to the L/M dealer in favor of a Ford SVT dealership. The technicians expertise is in a different league than your average L/M mechanic.


Do it! If you have a SVT Dealer close by or even if you have to travel an hour or two to get there, do it!! I do and it is well worth the time and effort.


OK, what's a "Ford SVT" dealership and how do I find one? Just ask them when I call them on the phone?

That'll work, but the best thing to do is show up in person and talk to the S/M and techs and get a feel for them. Get a fee for the people that will be working on your car. It is always better to talk to someone in person then over the phone. If you don't get a good feeling go somewhere else.

[Heavy D.]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Bradley G., good luck with the new tires and gearbox adjustment - I hope it resolves it for you. Valleyman, check out http://www.svt.ford.com/ and do a dealer search. I went to the nearest one that was Blue Oval certified and Quality checked (it will show in the results of your dealer search). I also did as Haggis suggested - I went there and made sure that the S/M was truly interested in helping solve my problem - if I hadn't gotten a good feeling I would have went somewhere else. As an added bonus there was no damage to the wheels!

[Bradley G]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. Bradley G., good luck with the new tires and gearbox adjustment - I hope it resolves it for you. Valleyman, check out http://www.svt.ford.com/ and do a dealer search. I went to the nearest one that was Blue Oval certified and Quality checked (it will show in the results of your dealer search). I also did as Haggis suggested - I went there and made sure that the S/M was truly interested in helping solve my problem - if I hadn't gotten a good feeling I would have went somewhere else. As an added bonus there was no damage to the wheels!My problem is I now work for the dealer that I purchaced My MM . I have to tread a fine line.My wheels have a few small but deep gouges in 3of 4 like you posted . I have shown my LM service Mgr.He didnt offer any warranty claim.He is trying to set me up for some of my complaints never being resolved. It is very encouraging to hear you were able to post the results "good or better than new" how many miles do you have on yours ? Did it develop the symptoms you described or did you live with them until finding SVT dealer??

[Heavy D.]

Bradley G,

I currently have about 23K miles. My problems first started after a road trip out to the East Coast last November, at about 18K miles. Thinking it was a balance issue, I decided to deal with it after I started driving it again in the spring. I had lived with the problem for about 5K miles (I average about 2500 miles a month on business).

Bummer about your wheels; I understand your reluctance to pursue your employer for a new set. Although I haven't tried this product, I'm planning on picking some of it up for the inevitable wheel scratch somewhere in the (hopefully) far future: http://www.eastwoodco.com. Do a search for "almost chrome" (no quotes) - they make a spray and a touch up pen that looks pretty close. This might help your rims look new again.

I think the reason it feels as good or better than new is the fact that it's now properly aligned - the improper alignment seemed to cause this harmonic vibration throughout the chassis, which I had always attributed to crummy roads and the larger size tires. This disappeared after the second, correct alignment but before the steering wheel nibble/shake was solved.

Best Regards,

[Bradley G]

thanks Heavy D for the info I'll post how it turns out.

[Bradley G]

still getting feedback from steering wheel over bumps . I asked S/M if they would check steering box backlash. He said he understands what this adjustment is,none of our techs have ever done one .He also stated he would call ford hotline, But wasn't interested in any info uncovered in HeavyD's case:shake: