Keep us posted as to what the tire folks say. I'd love copies of them too. My new paperport scanner sure has come in handy lately. Just not for fun reasons though.

 

I had a vib with 200 miles on my 2004 f150, 50 to 60 mph. Took it to the dealer and they ordered new tires. After they replaced the tires under warranty it no longer has the vib.
The more I drive it the more I like it!

 

Chuck R.-
How about if you try this...your dealer & service tech have gone to great lengths to perfectly match each factory tire to each factory wheel and then fit them to specific hubs on your truck, indexing them in a very detailed manner (which as you've already noted, no other tire shop is ever going to do) and now your vibration is gone. How about you just rotate the tires in a haphazard manner and see what happens? Ford can hardly claim your problem is fixed if a simple 15-minute tire rotation throws off a 4-hour tire mount & balance procedure.

 

Has anyone with this vibration problem installed NEW and BETTER tires and had the problem go away? I just was reading on Tire Rack about the POS General tires that are mounted on my rig. Its very funny that most of the reviews are from 2004 and up f-150 owners. Tire Rack also had about a good 500,000 miles worth of data and rated them very low. At $70 per tire what do you really expect? Also I find it very funny that it is the ONLY tire on that whole site in that size. So what do you do so the speedo isn't thrown off when buying new tires?

I just ticked over 1,000 miles and it still has the shakes at times. Also the steering wheel shimmys back and forth at around 70mph at times. This leads me to believe it could be these tires. I will be bringing in the truck soon for them to have an attempt to fix the problem but I have to believe that a good portion has to be related to these crap tires. So I'm looking at some nice quality Michelins Cross Terain SUV tires. Its about 3 points higher in Ride comfort and Noise comfort. Anybody go this route and have good results? Are any of you guys vibrating on different tires?

 

I see it this way. I should not have to buy new tires for a new vehicle to fix a problem. If I want to change the tires because I want bigger tires, etc. that would be different. I think it depends on the source of the problem. There's not just 1 vibe cause as we all know.

 

I understand what your saying but they gave me $70 tires that got crap ratings. All I'm wondering is if anybody that maybe has more miles than us that got new tires found it to be a noticable difference. I also know it isn't just one thing for all the vibe cases, but I have to believe more often that not it would be tires or a driveshaft causing this problem. Also some trucks came with other tires than the Generals like the BFG which got better reviews, so I'm curious if those people are having vibration problems. I can only speak for myself, but since I have both a vibration and the wheel shimmy, it just seems that these wonderful tires could cause that.

 

I have the BFGs and have the steering wheel nibble with mine above 60MPH.

I've also recently gotten some drive line vibration that exists when I go over 70MPH and let off the gas. When I touch the gas again, the driveline vibe is gone.

Going into the 3rd dealer tomorrow. My manager at work says this place fixed his nibble with some shims in the front end, so we'll see what happens. So far I've had the dampner, 2 sets of tires, 1 driveshaft and a complete rear end installed. Ford's last chance before I head to DSB. If I can get them to buy mine back, it's sure going to be hard to go back to a Ford after this $40K vibrator, probably going to look at the Dodge. Unfortunately.

 

Dodge? Oh my

I'd have to go with a Silverado if I went non-Ford. Perferably one without the piston slapping noise.

Happy,

I know. My BFG's are kinda crappy too. I eventually plan on replacing the tires but not just yet.

 

I can tell you that I have vibration issues and my tires are the Goodyear Wrangler LT's, which I think is the most expensive optional tire on the 2004s. So far my dealer has been through 10 tires and 12 wheels trying to fix the problem.

 

10 tires & 12 wheels? OMFG. That's insane. Do they still think it's a tire problem?

 

ITS NOT THE TIRES! Good Grief!!! I have a '04 FX4 Supercab 18" BFG...In for the 3rd time. They have had it for over 20 working days now. NO FIX. Ford hasn't even called me back. I am driving an '04 Supercab 2wd loaners with 17 inch wheels. Guess what? It shakes just like my truck. At 55-65 mph. Get off the tire thing!

 

Well the Friday morning trip was a waste of time. I had obviously explained my problem over the phone when I made the appointment. When I get there, I tell the service guy I want to go on the test drive with the tech. Tech comes out and I start explaining to him what's going on. The guy says, "Oh well we need to wait for Joe to come back from vacation so he can use the vibration analyzer. He'll be back on Friday, bring it back in then." Didn't even drive it. Sigh, good thing I drove all the way over to the dealer for no reason. Guess I'll try again this Friday.

 

taw1126

I thought about random tire rotation, but the MST said that once a tire is matched to its wheel it pretty much stays that way.

I agree with the rest of you guys in that it’s NOT a tire problem. The %^& truck requires tires that are not within industry recognized standards. IF what I heard from my MST is correct, Ford is EATING the cost the tires they are replacing, because they don’t fall outside the manufactures criteria for a good tire. This to me is a delaying tactic to either stall for a permanent fix, or until the warranties on the trucks and/or the extended tire warranties expire.

For example IF Goodyear (substitute your favorite tire manufacturer) recognizes that a Road Force value “X” means a tire is bad, and will replace it, then I really don’t have a problem. After talking with several tire dealers in my town, I’m convinced that this ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN.

Once I hear back from some tire makers I’ll share what they have to say. I’ve also got to go back to my dealer and see what they have to say. Since I got a “tires for life” deal with my truck, this will sooner or later be his problem too. Unless of course he won’t recognize Road Force value “X” either………


Chuck

 

(disregard)

 

I called my dealer last week to ask about a 2004 leftover. Then I asked if he knew of any vibration problems etc. He said no, that they must not have gotten any. What are the odds he knows nothing, and is just blowing smoke up my a$$. Just when I thought I might be able to trust a car dealer...