Alright, so this is an interesting case...

I have a 2009 Ford F150 XLT Super Crew (2WD). It has about 95K miles on it. I recently had some new tires put on it, and it seems like after I had the tires put on, my truck developed a wobble/vibration. It seems to happen at any rate of speed between 20 mph and up. It wobble/vibration seems to be at it's worst at around 55mph. The weird thing is, the wobble will be very noticeable for about 5 seconds, and then taper off, then come back for another 5 seconds, then taper off again, etc.

I immediately thought it had to be a balance issue. So I had my tires balanced... the truck still wobbled. Next, I took it to a different place to get the tires balanced... the truck still wobbled. So it isn't a balance issue.

I was told by TiresPlus that I may have a driveshaft with a bad u-joint, a bad carrier bearing, or an unbalanced driveshaft. Naturally, I want a second opinion... so I take it to the Ford dealership. They tell me that my slip yoke needs replacing and that it will likely fix the problem... so I go ahead with the fix.

Turns out the slip yoke fix didn't fix anything at all. So I take it back to Ford. They wondered if it was a warped wheel, but they said they didn't see any evidence of a warped wheel/rim. Eventually, Ford said they can't figure out what might be causing the wobble/vibration unless the tires are out of round. So, I go and buy a new set of tires. The new tires also didn't fix the issue.

My motor mounts are in good condition too, so it's not that either.

I'm at a total loss of what the issue is. Has ANYONE experienced anything like this??? I don't know where to go from here considering the Ford dealership doesn't even know what's wrong.

HELP

 

Would a worn shock/strut cause a hop? What about worn bushings with excess play causing a wobble in motion?

 

Take a look at the back side of the tires and make sure they were inflated enough to seat against the rim. I had some tires installed at Sam's club one time where they didn't seat a tire against the rim on the inside. Just a chance of this being the problem. I'd also spin each wheel and take a look at it to see if it is round and not wobbling. It could appear to be flat spotted a little where it has been sitting with the weight of the truck on it. This shouldn't be a problem.

 

When you say the new tires were "balanced," What type of balancing did they do? The reason I ask is that Ford discovered - with the 2004 F-150 and it's much stiffer structure - that any imbalance in a tire would transmit back up through the stiffer structure and really annoy the driver. The fix was "Road Force" balancing.

Going back a number of years, the first "balancing" was done with static / bubble balancers. Basically, these would take your wheel & tire and make sure - by adding weights - that the tire was level when placed on a level balancing machine. Better than nothing, but not perfect - because you don't feel an un-balanced tire when you're sitting still.

Enter "Dynamic / Spin Balancing." With this technology, the finished wheel & tire are mounted on a spindle and spun up to speed. A computer determines the dynamic imbalance and where to place weights to counter act it. Better, but still not perfect - because some imbalance conditions are actually caused by internal defects in the tire or wheel.

Enter "Road Force" balancing. Think of taking a spin balancer, but adding a drum that the tire rides against. A computer then determines - using the force the tire exerts on the calibrated drum - where weights are needed to counter dynamic imbalance and how badly manufacturing defects are affecting the ability to balance. You will occasionally find that it's indeed possible to have a given tire / wheel combination perfectly static or dynamic balanced, but have a very high road force number. On some - usually older - cars, this might not be a problem. Take a newer vehicle with a much stiffer structure though, and the difference between a high and low road force number can make for a huge difference.

If you did have the new tires balanced on a recently calibrated road force machine - and the road force numbers were below 3 - tire balance can be ruled out. If they had an out of calibration machine or the road force numbers were above 3, the tires could still be the problem.

 

years ago, i bought a set of tires, had them mounted and balanced and installed. Got on the freeway and i thought i was going to lose my fillings. went back ot the tire shop. After much discussion, and swapping wheels around the truck, it turns out two of the tires the tires were out of round. They balanced but were not round. Go back to the tire shop and start working with the manager and swap the wheels around and find the issue. After a bit of research i found that this is not an uncommon issue and usually runs in a batch or production run of tires. In the end we went thru 8 tires to find a full set that satisfied me. These happened to be pirelli's, but i have heard of it in almost all brands.

Just something to check for.

Good luck, BJ

 

Did you go with the same brand and size on the 2nd set of tires?
Also, on my old '06 engaging the ebrake and accidentally backing up while it was engaged made the truck shake to the point where the wiper blades would hop off of the windshield. This was with the brake disengaged and only happened when in reverse with the brake engaged then disengaged. Seems strange I know, but others have had the horrendous shake as well.

 

I got new tires once and they did not tighten the lug nuts all the way caused a wobble, took back right away and had them fix it. Scary they did that in there type of business.

Any help with pointing me in the right direction would be great. thanks chris https://www.f150online.com/forums/se...archid=8221126