Getting a vibration

[FiddleKat]

I never posted in this forum and we have been getting a strange vibration in our van. So I thought I would post to see if any of you out there might have an inkling of what it could be.

We have a 1999 Ford E-150 Conversion van. It just hit 75,000 and runs well. We maintain it as much as possible as we have had it three years and would like to see it last at least another five or more years. Or even longer if possible.
Back in november we had the Ford dealership replace the two front tires as the van really needed tires. But being on a very fixed income, we couldn't do all four but did the front as they seemed to be the worst.We also replaced brake pads, and dealership said we would need rotors in near future.
I think we were already getting the vibration at that point. I really can't remember.
A month later we took the van to a small shop which was highly recommended close to home and had the rear tires replaced. We also had the rotors replaced at this point, and also had to redo brake pads.
This peeved me because if I knew it was recommended replacing the pads when you do rotors, I wouldn't have waited and ended up buying two sets of pads.
Still getting vibration.
Brought van back to dealership, and they said its the rear tires. Have the guy who put them on rebalance them.
I didn't think it was from the back, but DH brought the van back to the small garage and the guy couldn't see anything wrong with rear tires, but balanced them again anyway to make sure.
Still getting vibration. And now getting frustrated. Vibration seems to be in the front, and is through the van, not a vibration just in the steering wheel but it seems like the whole front end shakes. And only when were doing about 55-60 miles on the highway. Lower speeds it seems to smooth out. Also, when someone is sitting midship they can feel the vibration.
Any ideas?
Bad tires?
Ball joints?
U-joint or something? (my brother mentioned something but I can't remember it)
THANKS!

[Hip_Shot_Hanna]

you say its at 55/ 60 miles do you mean miles per hour ?
if you mean miles per hour can you drive thru it ? does it go away at higher speed , ?
IF you let go of the steering wheel does the steering wheel shake ?
a bit more information will make it easier to give a diagnosis .

[FiddleKat]

It does seems to smooth out once you start going over 60 miles per hour.
I haven't really tried to let go of the steering wheel, especially going those speeds. It does pull a bit but I had a ball joint replaced two years ago but never had it aligned again. So i know it does need an alignment. But I am not sure if that has anything to do with the vibration.

[Hip_Shot_Hanna]

sounds like front wheel ballance is out, or a rotor that is warped , it could be a tyre with a bubble on it ,
try jacking up each side and spin the wheel , look for a tyre that runs out of true , or has a high spot ,if you have its the tyre , at the same time feel if there is a tight spot ,if so then there is a rotor warped , check the back of the wheel rim for a lump of dirt / grunge stuck to the wheel ,that will throw the ballance , then the only thing is to have the wheels balanced on the vehicle ,
thats the best i can come up with over the net .

[Hip_Shot_Hanna]

if the steering geomitary was out after fitting a ball joint there would be abnormal wear on athe tyres , (either the inside or outside edge worn more that the rest of the tread ).

[moopups]

Check your drive shaft for a thrown weight, small metal pieces are installed to insure balance, they can be thrown off. Secondly, jack up the vehicle and place the rear axle on jack stands, chock the front wheels, start the engine and run it up to highway speeds. Any rear vibration will be obvious. If there is no vibration there, then jack up the front, again jack stands, place a solid object next to the front wheels, such as a glass soda bottle, place a pencil near the tires on top of the soda bottle, this will act as a dial indicator as to the possibility of a warped tire or rim. Any visible indication of the tire or rim approaching or going away from the pencil will indicate the problem as the wheel is spinning.

Check you motor and trans mounts for a broken unit. Even a radiator fan can be a problem if it becomes out of balance. If the vibration repeats itself at regular intervals, noticed by accelerating rapidly as the vehicle strains to gain speed, it will be felt at the same RPMs in each gear as it shifts upward. Vibration noticed during acceleration in each gear would be engine or trans related.

[zant]

I would check out ball joints and tie rod ends.As above poster said check driveshaft too.Good luck

[FiddleKat]

It only seems to be when doing 55 to 60 miles per hour. Most times after 60 it will actually smooth out a bit.

The front tires were replaced Nov. 2005. We were thinking that it might be the tires and the reason the dealership pawned it off to the rears is that they didn't want to be responsible for replacing tires that were just done.

I didn't consider the rims at all.

Thanks for all your input!!!

[ponyboy123]

As all have stated before, check rims for wobble or out of true, check for large deposits of mud or debris stuck on the inside of the rims, a bad univesal joint can cause some bad vibrations, front end parts including but not limited to ball joints and tie rod ends, broken belts in the tires. Basicaly anything that moves that is fastened to the drive train.

[MELOC]

wheel bearing?

i had a bad one once that would "rattle" around a little between 40-55.

[moopups]

The most simple and possibly correct cure to the problem may be that a tire has lost a balance weight, it does happen. Jack up a front wheel - spin it - does it return quickly to the same spot? Look at the primeter of the rim, is there a different colored spot ? On the rim or tire? It can be as simple as that.

[celticfalcon]

could be a broken belt in one of the tires