anyone have problems with the steering wheel shaking at 60-70 mph? i took it to the dealer today and they balanced and rotated the tires but it still shakes, any ideas, i only have 600 miles on my 2004 2 wheel drive f150

 

god be with you my son... do a search on 'nibble' and 'vibe' and read read read....

 

Take it back to the dealer and have them road force balance the tires, if they didnt the first time. If that doesnt get rid of it, tell them to check their TSB's about replacing the steering rack and go from there. Ford is aware of the problem.

 

they did do a road force test, it's still the same, i am confident it is a suspension or steering rack problem, ford does have a TSB on it (vibration at highway speeds) but they told me there's no resolution yet. when you said check tsb's on the steering rack, is there a tsb to replace the steering rack? maybe that's what is wrong? thanks for your help!

 

The only way they will replace the rack is if its an earlier '03 build... After that they used an updated rack. Actually, the nibble problem (POST NEW RACK) is because the "NEW" rack isn't as good at reducing nibble as they thought!

 

Given the fact that the "revised" steering gear did not reduce nibble as much as they thought it would are they going to redesign it again?

 

Okay, a really dumb question has occurred to me...

If this condition continues beyond the warranty period, is it still covered, or does the owner then have to pay for all repairs going forward?

I would hope that it would be covered since it would be on TSB's, etc... Sorry, I've never had a warranty vehicle before...

 

this nibble is frustrating, for the amount of money i am spending on this truck i would expect it to drive smooth down the highway, although it doesn't shake on the highway the steering wheel does, that's how i know it's not a ground force or balance issue, i have to wonder if an aftermarket steering stabilizer would calm the steering wheel down? anyone know? any suggestions are welcome!

 

new steering rack, new left hub, no more steering nibble! they think i have multiple issues with wheels, i have the chrome 17's and they think they aren't true, they put lariat wheels on my truck and i drove it and it drove perfect, now i have a shake in the rear which i think is where the untrue wheels are now after all of the swapping, the dealer is checking with engineering to see about ordering me some new wheels which should totally resolve my problem. hope this helps someone else, the new steering rack made a HUGE difference! like night and day. they also said the chrome wheels are heavier than the lariat wheels which makes any vibrations stand out that much more, just a thought, sure do like those chrome wheels though!

 

That is interesting, I wonder why they do not incorporate the hubs into a TSB.

 

my understanding is that the replacement of the hub and rack are from the hotline. i also torqued my wheels last night to 150 ft lbs and that took about another 30% away from the nibble. it's almost completely gone, i can live with it the way it is, i am just picky and want it perfect. ford had the wheels torqued above 180 ft lbs!