2004 F150 shake between 50 - 60 Mph

SCREWedUPnUTAH · #1 04-22-2007, 02:02 PM

Can anyone tell me why i have heard this happens on the 04s? Do the 05's and 06's shake also? I heard it is due to the steering rack and pinion on the o04. Please help Its not my new tires or wheels it did it before and ford hasnt been any help.

dennisfranz · #2 04-22-2007, 02:13 PM

I only have 5500 on my 06 screw but after I got the new tires, I found it shook pretty good. I took it for rebalance and it is smooth as.. well, you know...

ross2388 · #3 04-22-2007, 03:09 PM

My girlfriend's '05 shakes between 60mph and 70mph. We cant figure out what causes it. She had the tires rotated and balanced again but it still does it...

dennisfranz · #4 04-22-2007, 07:16 PM

Out of round tire?

Can you tell if it is from the front end or rear? Is it bouncy or does the steering shake l/r .

hivoltagefx4 · #5 04-22-2007, 07:37 PM

Some F-150's have had bad drive shafts that have resulted in the "shakes" Just another thing to keep in mind. If re-balancing the tires does not do the trick, check your drive shaft.

Lumadar · #6 04-22-2007, 07:50 PM

I had some shaking issues and got my tires balanced, no luck. But I still thought it was the tire, so I had them do it again, and voila!

So don't rule out the tires, they don't always get them right the first time balancing.

MeanGene · #7 04-22-2007, 10:56 PM

I don't know what is worse thinking your the only one or knowing your one of many. I have had the same problem ever since I changed to 20" wheels with Pirelli's. It never did it with the BFG 18's. I have tried load force balancing and the like. The last place told me it was the tires, but after reading numerous threads, I think it's just the nature of the beast. You might change something and it might go away. The only thing you know for sure is Ford can't fix it!

Hash278 · #8 04-22-2007, 11:55 PM

I had a shake in my 04 after some offroading so I had the tires balanced and it did help but it was still there. I found out a couple weeks later that my left cv boot had a leak and my cv shaft was replaced and fixed the problem. That might be yours check the inside of your rims for any oil.

RollingRock · #9 04-23-2007, 12:50 AM

I had the dreaded shake in my 04.

you need to do a search on this site for "steering wheel shake" you should find several hundred posts on this. Or search for all posts from "rollingrock"

My 04 had all the word done from the TSB's and it was never as good as my 02....it got REALLY bad when i put 20's on it then I learnd a ton of stuff about Road Force balancing. If you have factory wheels, RFB the tires to under 20lbs. If you use aftermarket wheels the tolerance level has to be around 15lbs.

There is also some info on the rack and pinion..look up those TSB's too.

If you under warranty, I would load up on TSB numbres and take into your dealer and tell them you don't want the truck back until they do all the work.

They won't make it perfect but they will help out a ton.

Good luck

JP

MeanGene · #10 04-23-2007, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RollingRock

I had the dreaded shake in my 04.

you need to do a search on this site for "steering wheel shake" you should find several hundred posts on this. Or search for all posts from "rollingrock"

My 04 had all the word done from the TSB's and it was never as good as my 02....it got REALLY bad when i put 20's on it then I learnd a ton of stuff about Road Force balancing. If you have factory wheels, RFB the tires to under 20lbs. If you use aftermarket wheels the tolerance level has to be around 15lbs.

There is also some info on the rack and pinion..look up those TSB's too.

If you under warranty, I would load up on TSB numbres and take into your dealer and tell them you don't want the truck back until they do all the work.

They won't make it perfect but they will help out a ton.

Good luck

JP

When I read about people that have the same problem, I come away with the same conclusion, the truck is very sensitive in some way that results in steering nibble problems. I have read about people that have reduced the problem by: Wheel Balance, Drive shaft balance, replacing the rack, fixing a sticking parking brake, front end alignment, new shocks. These same F150's may be completely stock or they could have a 4" lift with 35" tires. It might be a 2004, 05 or 06, same problem. They find that their "solution" is only temporary because as soon as they rotate the tires it comes back. The only thing that they have not changed is the frame and that's the only thing Ford would never warrenty, therfore I think it's the frame itself that is causing the problem, what's left?

jbrew · #11 04-23-2007, 03:34 AM

Your trucks are newer but mine did that @ high speeds and it was do to friction modifier and synn breakdown in the rear.

Swapped the fluid and modifier for new - no more prob..

Theres a TSB on that as well..

SCREWedUPnUTAH · #12 04-24-2007, 01:33 PM

Thanks guys. My truck did it a little when i had my factory 18's on it. I put myu 20's with new tires and it is still the same. I thought perhaps it was a bad tire on my factory wheels. Turned out it wasnt. So i did a little research and read about the driveshaft and the steering rack. Just not sure how to narrow it down. It feels like comes from the back of the truck, so i made sure i didnt have a bed bolt broken. It wasnt. I have talked to ford and they wont even acknoledge that they have had multiple complaints about it. Even if they wont cover it, i wsih they would just tell me what it is so i can get it fixed.

RollingRock · #13 04-24-2007, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCREWedUPnUTAH

Thanks guys. My truck did it a little when i had my factory 18's on it. I put myu 20's with new tires and it is still the same. I thought perhaps it was a bad tire on my factory wheels. Turned out it wasnt. So i did a little research and read about the driveshaft and the steering rack. Just not sure how to narrow it down. It feels like comes from the back of the truck, so i made sure i didnt have a bed bolt broken. It wasnt. I have talked to ford and they wont even acknoledge that they have had multiple complaints about it. Even if they wont cover it, i wsih they would just tell me what it is so i can get it fixed.

you need to arm yourself with the TSB's regarding these issues. Whoever is telling you they don't have a problem with these trucks is flat out lying to you.

Go read this thread and you will be well informed. and now back to the vibration...........

Grant54 · #14 04-25-2007, 10:00 AM

I bought my truck from Covington Ford just east of Atlanta. It was a factory buy back due to a reported slight vibration between 40-50. The first owner had taken it in like 5 times for the problem. Ford did everything under the sun to find and solve the problem. I will have to find the report that came with the truck, but before I drove to Covington to purchase the truck, I wanted to be assured there was no shaking at any speed. They assured me that nobody can duplicate it and faxed me the report. Ford did note a vibration and did different things to fix it, and on like the 4th time the truck was brought back they swaped and balanced the drive shaft and fixed the 40-50mph vibration. Then the guy brought it in complaining of a rough idle and obviously demanded a refund or whatever and Ford bought it back. A "Factory Buy Back" then goes back to the factory for a full assembly line inspection and either passes for resale or put down. My truck was good as new with 9k miles and released back to the original dealership to re-sell it, and if you run across a "factory buy back", you get a deal. Oh, and before Covington sent it through factory inspection they re-programed the computer for the "rough idle" that is how a 5.4 mod motor idles when the A/C isn't on.

So...from what you gather from the report is that they obviously have a drive shaft issue. You can balance that yourself with a hose clamp. That's how you balance after-market aluminum driveshafts. Just turn it, the hose clamp, little buy little til it's balanced.

Joe_STX · #15 04-25-2007, 03:19 PM

I have had the same problem on my 05 STX SC. The vibration is definitely coming from the rear. I have even changed tires but nothing helps. It only vibrates around 50 mph I would say between 48-53 mph. It appears worse when the truck is just warming up when I first get on the highway. I wish I knew the fix, but it is something I can live with since it is not extreme.