'13 w/ Wheel Hub Bad...while on vacation no less...

R

r1crusher

New member
So I left for vacation from Ohio to Kiawah Island, SC for a week this past Saturday.  I had new tires put on as well as a power stop brake kit a week prior.  I noticed that I had some vibration in the front end and figured it was a combination of worn out tires and the pos OE rotors on the front.  Well...the problem didn't go away and I hit the road with it anyway.  During the trip the vibrations got worse and were very evident when driving at 60-75mph.  What was odd was I did not notice any grinding/growling you'd normally associate with a bad wheel hub.  Just a lot of vibrations.

So I called Palmetto Ford here in Charleston first thing Monday morning at 7am just to see if there was anything they could do to get me in and fix the car.  Well they snuck me in that day and they put me in a rental car for 2 days (thankfully I had purchased the Premium Care warranty).  So I drop the car off and explain my problem.  This morning I get a call from Palmetto Ford and the service advisor said that the car has a bad wheel hub assembly.  They're going to try to get it fix today if they get the part but no later than tomorrow.

I have never ever had a wheel hub assembly go bad on a car, make little noise but vibrate then entire car.  I just hope that's all it is and my car will be returned to me driving nice and smooth like it used to.  I'm thankful I left my 2-bar sensor and tuner in the car so I can put it back to stock before taking it in but I did have to go by some tools to put it back to stock.

It sucked working on a hot car in 85 degree heat with 70+ percent humidity...but I got it done and my car is getting fixed so I'm thankful for that.

Props to Palmetto Ford in Charleston, SC for taking care of an out of towner so quickly.
 
X2 VERY ODD,not sure if you have the PP but had my front hubs(wheel bearings)replaced twice along with thrust washers under warranty,but never experienced any shaking or vibrations to say the least,only a metal ting sound when turning the steering wheel and entering/exiting the vehicle,  BTW did you ever try rotating the wheels to see if any are possibly bent inside.  Z
 
My hubs were replaced at 8K miles for the ticking.  Now at 24K the ticking is back.  Dreading taking it back to the dealer, might live with it.
 
I never heard any clicking, ticking, grinding, etc. of any kind.  There was an ever so slight hum that was clear if you really listened for it when turning the wheel left at speed (say 50-60+mph).  I thought for sure the issue was with the half shaft or the PTU as I said previously I've never experienced a bad wheel bearing throw so much vibration into the drive train.  I also had the half shaft inspection done already and it was given the all clear.

The wheels were rotated a couple times actually.  Once when the tires were installed and again when I put the new power stop brakes on so they've been around the car a couple times in the span of a week and a half, def. not the issue.  The vibrations were always from the front right it seemed.  Oh, and I'm an non-PP also.

The 3-bar and tune will be going back on as soon as I get it back to the condo.  LOL!

In any case...here's a little pano pic of the vacation from our condo...

Ocean storm...
20150824_195813.jpg
 
Well, we've been home for a week now but after letting the car sit overnight and having to head to play some bball on Friday morning my car is still having some kind of issue with the front driveline.  The issue, while on vacation, appeared to be something with the front right side of the car.  After it was fixed I never had an opportunity to test it like I could when back home.

The problem now appears to emanating from the front left side...very similar to previously where if the car sits overnight you get in it and head right out and drive it to about 60-65 the whole front of the car shakes pretty good but it feels like the drivers side only this time.  I'm betting that I have bad front left hub as well given replacing the left side did help but did not completely fix the issue.

Guess I'll be calling up the dealership and making another appointment to take it in...again.  :(
 
It doesnt sound good as the vibration and shaking can lead to more components failing on the front end if not taken care of a.s.a.p, would of been great if they performed both sides,hopefully by fixing the other side it will be back to shoroom condition.  Z
 
I know Z...and that's why I sucked it up while on vacation to get it in any place that would take it before driving 9 hours back home. The closest place where I live is a very small dealership that has yet to even complete the door handle recall because "there is a shortage of replacement parts".  The service adviser in Charleston where I took my car to get the hub fixed said that parts have been coming in for a while there for that fix.  The next dealership is an hour plus way and because their so big it sometimes takes a while to get it in and forget about a loaner most of the time.

I guess I'll try the smaller place first and see how credible they can be with the drive train...haven't been too impressed so far with them.
 
So I just got the call from the dealership about my problems.  They were finishing up with the door handle recall...finally after waiting 6 months for them to do it.  But more importantly my vibrations are from 2 "severely" bent rims.  No I have no idea how this could have happened as I know for sure I didn't not hit anything other than normal driving...potholes, etc.  I'm a little confused as I had new tires installed 3-4 weeks ago and the installer never said a single word about them being bent or difficult to balance AND Palmetto Ford replaced a wheel hub and said they fixed the problem which they didn't.  The service guy said that all of the tires were out of balance actually and they did the best they could with the two bent wheels.  I guess I'll be making an ins. claim to get them replaced because I don't have $1600+ for two new wheels.

I'm just really confused as I don't believe I caused the damage.  I can't say that the tire installers caused it obviously.  And I can only assume the new diagnosis is right.  I plan on getting the car this afternoon and then later this evening removing the two wheels they've identified as being bent to check them myself.  I just don't understand because when I put the brakes on before my trip I cleaned all 4 wheels before installing them again and did not notice anything wrong with them.

:banghead:
 
I'M glad you finally got to the bottom it and quite honestly many dealers or tires installers have unexperienced kids installing and balancing tires which many dont care or dont know how to perform a proper high speed road force balancing which takes more time,BTW did mention the possibility of bent rims above.lol  Z
 
I see your in ohio. Try blackburns wheels in Macedonia. I picked up a used wheel for $190 a few years ago. Looked brand new. This was for 2010 so it didn't have the flower wheels 

http://www.blackburnwheels.com
 
ZSHO said:
I'M glad you finally got to the bottom it and quite honestly many dealers or tires installers have unexperienced kids installing and balancing tires which many dont care or dont know how to perform a proper high speed road force balancing which takes more time,BTW did mention the possibility of bent rims above.lol  Z
Click to expand...

Well Z... :) ...I ruled out any physical wheel problems because one would think that the tire installer would have informed me of any bent wheels when the new tires went on.

So, I had to pay to get them balanced again at $56.  Not being someone to pay for something twice I promptly went back to the tire store to talk to the owner and explain my recent findings.  Needless to say he wasn't really interested in refunding me the $56 for re-balancing which should have been done right the first time, IMO.  I didn't think that was so far fetched and out of line.  Instead he tried to blame the dealership for balancing them again and said he'd give them a call to get THEM to refund the $56.  This statement just really confused the **** out of me adding to his not wanting to do the right thing.  On top of all that he tells me that he didn't really make any money on selling me the tires.  I'm thinking well that's not my problem, you gave me the price and sold them to me.  So I decided to push the issue and I pulled out my papers from having to get a new wheel hub installed at $100 because of the out of balance tire on the front right (which had the worst out of balance).  He just said that there's no way a wheel that's off by 2.5 oz. would cause a hub to fail prematurely.

The service guy at the dealership was really good about what they found and offered me a couple different options to help me get the wheels fixed/replaced.  The balances were off on every single wheel by as little as .75 oz to as much as 2.5oz!  There's over 6 oz. of weights on one of the bent wheels.  So I get under the car to look at the wheels more closely and I realize that the lips were not bent outward like what would be typical of say a pothole hit, etc.  The lips are actually bent inward which I just can't rationalize how they would do that.

I'm going to give the ins. co. a call tomorrow and see what they say about me making a claim on the wheels.  I have a written quote for new ones from the dealer at around $900 ea.  If they will cut me the check directly I'll be doing some shopping for maybe something different or just two replacements and saving some $$$ or whatever comes to mind.  I did find a complete set of '14-15 wheels for $1300...just not sure if I can give up the flower power.  :D
 
One thing about alloy wheels has always distressed me:  the ease with which they crack or get bent out of shape despite their purported strength.  Hope you get it worked out with your insurance company, but the installer really should have noticed bent wheels when they had to put 6 oz on there to balance one!
 
Rotate the wheels to the back to see if the problem goes away?

Sounds odd, I'm not sure who I would believe.  Be nice to swap wheels with another '13 SHO just to know.

If it started on your trip, then the wheels must have got bent while driving on your trip. 

 
ZSHO said:
I am just quoting what my service advisor recommended performing a high speed road force balancing,will try to obtain the work order.  Z      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQxVAssnbp8
Click to expand...
Great vid to explain it Z! Thanks for posting.
I can testify, from my current Ford truck, that it doesn't always do it.... Remember when there were shops that could "shave" tires to make them round?
Still, trying the tire/wheel combos from another vehicle and being sure they are road force balanced (aka indexed) is the place to start to do a systematic diagnosis... May even have to move the tires to different wheels (wheels are not uniformly round or weight distributed either!) may be required.... If these things don't work then the case for a suspension, hub, etc problem is made.
 
PokerMunkee said:
Rotate the wheels to the back to see if the problem goes away?

Sounds odd, I'm not sure who I would believe.  Be nice to swap wheels with another '13 SHO just to know.

If it started on your trip, then the wheels must have got bent while driving on your trip. 
Click to expand...

The tires were installed 6 days prior to my trip to S.C. The car sat for all but 2 days and I dove it very shortly on the same roads I always do here plus the trip south was all highway so the roads were pretty much good from that stand point.  I'm fairly certain they were not bent during the trip.

The dealership did balance everything again (the bents as best they could) and move the good wheels to the front. I was feeling a LOT of vibrations from the front end and now it's all but gone...because the vibrations are from the back now.

SHOdded said:
...but the installer really should have noticed bent wheels when they had to put 6 oz on there to balance one!
Click to expand...

^^^^ THIS!!!!!

Since the tire installer did not mention ANYTHING about the rims being bent I'm forced to consider what if they bent them somehow. Seems highly unlikely but the thought does cross my mind.


Regardless, at least I know for certain the cause of my problems so I just need to work on getting them replaced.


As always I appreciate everyone's input, thoughts, etc. on this seemingly crazy ordeal I've been dealing with. :thumb:
 
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