They called and said the Ford Eng. did not want to put on the rear-end that they had in stock. He instead ordered a new "re-designed" rear end that is supposed to be here Monday.

They do get bonus points from moving me out of a Focus and into an Expedition.


KN127:
Funny you should mention that about the tire.

I had told my Mom about my trouble, and she told my brother. He then informed me of what happened to him last year.

My brother bought an 03 close-out last year. When he drove it home it started to vibrate. He took it back and they started to talk about doing the same things they are doing to my truck. Drave shaft... rear end. He asked them if they would humor him and put new tires on it. After some hesitation, they did. And guess what ... no more vibration.

The big question is, how do I get them to try that in my service department when they were very insistant that it isn't the tires?

 

The vibe problem that I did have when I first got my truck 10-24-03 was caused by a bad tire. They had to replace one that they couldn’t balance properly and it cured the situation. That was pretty much the first thing my dealership looked at.

 

Sorry I can't help you on that one. When I took my truck in, they ASSURED me that the vibration was NOT the tires, which they checked.
They check the tires and look for a standard of 30 on the machine. The machine manual says a standard of 15 is MAXIMUM acceptabilty. Turns out, the machine was correct. All my tires are now 10 and less and BINGO, no vibration. I even offered Discount Tires a fee if they would let me watch-they did not accept a fee, but let me watch, which turned out to be a good thing.
As for getting Ford to admit it, they are buddies with the tires they 'put' on the truck to begin with. Past History with ford/tires speaks for itself.
I simply bought the bullet and decided to add the cost for new tires to the cost for my truck and stop arguing and simply enjoy the truck.
Turns out Michelin took the tires back from Discount tires and offered a rebate (I bought new Michelins),. So my expense was not SO bad.
But the dealer, to this date, has not admitted it was the tires.
And still has the new steering wheel gismo on order for me to hae installed. When and if it comes in, I will, of course decline to have it installed.
One thing, the very fact that some people have pretty nearly had their entire NEW truck rebuilt and the vibration always returns is a good clue that IT IS NOT THE TRUCK. It is the tires.
Kathy

 

Nope, my tires were replaced and my wheels. It actually got worse after that. The FSE says it's not the tires. Maybe in some cases it is but not mine. I'm done with Ford.

 

Well the re-designed rear end did not make it in today. So they will hopefully get it tomorrow.

Crossing fingers..........

 

Dana,

Do you know what TSB your dealer is working on right now? I know of the 04-3-3 one, but my dealer is making me wait on these new ones before doing anything. Curious if your dealer already has the new ones and If I'm being jerked around by my dealer (no suprise if so). I ripped them good on the Ford survey

 

Dana, one thing to remember is that all the vibrations you read about on these forums are not the same. Saying 'my truck has the vibration' is like saying 'I'm not feeling well'. I could have one of many strains of flu, mononucleosis, pneumonia, malaria, anthrax, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, lack of sleep, I could just be an unhappy miserable person, you get the point.

That's why some people say 'the vibe is fixed by a driveshaft' or 'it's always the tires', etc. There are so many things that can cause many many different vibrations. Reading some of the posts here could give you the impression that antibiotics will cure your athlete's foot, or that quinine won't help your malaria because it didn't help someone else's sore knee.

It's always wise to keep an informed eye on your doctors, whether they be for your body or for your truck. However, if you go into the doctor with hay fever and tell them that you read on the internet that chemotherapy helped someone else's dry cough, most will have a tendancy to get at least slightly irritated/annoyed. There are some good techs/doctors that welcome your opinions, but they are few and far between. If you can find one, hang onto 'em. It's just the nature of people. Good luck to you.

 

DrkShadow,

I would have a Ford FSE do the vibration testing and follow the TSB. If you went to the DSB I'm not sure if they would accept a someone elses test results. They hooked a machine up to my truck and did some harmonic vibration testing. I never saw the test results but they did show something that wasn't right.

Just for reference. I had several things done to my truck. All of which are part of the TSB.

- Tires road force balanced
- Dampner installed
- Ring & pinion adjusted
- Rear end replaced
- Drive shaft replaced
- Drive shaft re-indexed (several times)
- Rims and Tires from another truck on lot was tried on my truck
- Vibration harmonic testing

After all of this was done my truck still had a harmonic vibration that was felt in the pedals, seat, floor, and could be heard rattling the dash. The range of the vibration was between 45 MPH to 60 MPH.

Ron

 

My issue is, the dealer WILL NOT start 4-3-3 on my truck. I talked with them about this today and when the new TSB will be released.

He says it does not apply to my issue. I know it's BS. The "new" TSB he says mentioned vibe felt at 45 and above so he wants to wait on that one. What else can I do?

I rather not go to dealer #3. I think I'm stuck waiting on this Dec 16th new TSB's that sounds like the same poopy to me. 1 or 2 tries and the paperwork goes in. I've been so aggreviated I've had to increase my antacids input. Every time I drive it or make a payment, I get pissed off. I'm sure you went through the same thing.

 

The new rear end did not fix it.

The ford rep is coming down tomorrow to drive the truck. The service rep said they have started the paper work to get me out of the truck.

I don't know what that means. I am waiting on a call back. I am hoping that just means they give me a new truck. I really don't want to go through a buyback. I am betting I would loose money on that somehow.

Again...just want to cry.

 

The Ford Rep is offering a MSRP swap.

I have been pricing the 05's and looks like I will be out of pocket by $1000 to just get the same features.

Don't know if I am happy or not about this. I think they should just give me a new truck.

What do ya'll think?

 

I'm thinking you appear to be handling this very professionally.

I also think if you negotiated $XXXX off your current truck, it would only be fair for them to offer you the same on the replacement truck.

Just my .02

 

Must have a good dealer there. I've not heard many if any dealers that have done this for a customer. Good Luck Dana.

Taking mine in next week for the new TSB's.

 

It would be worth the $1000 just to go from an 04 to an 05.

Not to mention all the hassle that goes along with getting the truck that you have vibeless.

 

I also think is a good deal upgrade to 2005 for only US$1000

ANd I think you get a 2004 financial terms maybe better than 2005 terms