My 04 Lariat has 3K on it and has the notorious Nibble. I Replaced the wheels with 20" 275 55's and its even a little worse. Checked the balance 2X. Supposedly, it is caused because "the truck is built for a load. When it has none, the suspension may get a little rough." That's great, but it is a bee in my bonnet. There is a damper kit. Should I expect Ford to pay for it? What have you guys done to resolve this. As for the other updates and modifications that Ford knows to do, is there a compreshensive list somewhere?

 

Ford aligned my front end and road force balanced the tries 3 different times in 3 trips to the dealer. They finally reduced the nibble but it's still there and now coming back.

 

Ford has a TSB out for your truck, TSB 03-20-08, this may fix your problem.

STEERING - STEERING WHEEL NIBBLE AT OR ABOVE 100 KM/H (60 MPH) - VEHICLES BUILT PRIOR TO 8/20/2003
VIBRATION - STEERING WHEEL NIBBLE AT OR ABOVE 100 KM/H (60 MPH) - VEHICLESISSUE: BUILT PRIOR TO 8/20/2003

ISSUE:
Some F-150 vehicles built prior to 8/20/2003, may exhibit a Steering Wheel Shimmy/Nibble at 100 km/h (60 MPH) and greater speeds. The condition is felt in the steering wheel as a side-to-side, or rotational, oscillation. When measured (sensor on steering wheel) with an Electronic Vibration Analyzer (EVA), the measured frequency is between 12-16 Hz.

ACTION:
To service, it may be necessary to replace the Steering Gear. Refer to the following Service Procedure.

 

Thank you. I will inform my service guy. You would think he'd know...

 

Dear Tierguy: Did your f150 get fixed? Is the shimmy gone? Does this fix work?

 

My FX4 doesn't have this problem, I work at a Ford dealership, and currently have a vehicle in the shop for this concern. The customer is not scheduled to come in untill 7/6/04. I'll let you know if this is the fix.

 

Thanks. I am of course very interested. When I was running the standard 18" and the 265's it was there but not bad. With the 20" 275 55's it is bad.

 

I think there are three issues and the terms are beginning to get intermixed

Here is my interpretation from 6 months on the board.....


nibble ( a shake or ....well.....a nibble.... in the steering wheel at speed or under braking.)
seems the root cause is the new rack and pinion steering box


vibration ( a vibration at 45 or higher speed due to the drive train)
seems root cause is drive shaft balance

vehicle harshness ( a harshness in the dynamics of the vehicle causing annouyance (or bee in my bonnet ). the truck is excited by small road inputs and does not dampen out quick enough.
the root cause seems to be the natrual frequency of the unloaded truck falling in line with road inputs and lack of system damping.
the fix is a rubber suspended mass damper added to the frame to try to dampen the vibrations.


just my observation from the board and my personal truck

Ramb