Hey Guys,

I have been trying to figure out why I am getting such a jarring ride on my Screw Lariat. I have posted before regarding Tire Pressure and have been taking mine down and down and down to try to achieve the ride that I had when the truck was new (dealer had TP to 30psi!) Right now I am at 36 and 33 and the vehicle still feels like the wheels are losing contact with the pavement when going over small bumps. I live in Massachusetts and the roads are pretty beat up in the winter, and I am setting the Tire pressure when the outside air temp is about 25-30 and when the tires are cold. The door jam says 40 PSI and I have the 18" Goodyears. I am jsut wondering if maybe there is something wrong with the shocks or something else due to the cold weather?. My wife has told me she fell likes the truck is skipping off the road when going around slightly bumpy off ramps or corners at Low speeds. Thje vibration from going over these bumps is felt troughout the entire truck to the steering wheel.

Any ideas suggestions greatly appreciated.

Steve

 

It doesn't sound normal.

This is off the wall, but worth checking:

I remember a guy here a long time ago that experienced similar symptoms.

After much heartache and frustration he figured out the problem - a rear shock mount hadn't been tightened from the factory.

Its easy to check and rule out.

 

Have your suspension checked out. I live in MD and went to Mass. over the holidays, the roads are crappy up there, I don't think I was ever on a smooth road, but I never felt anything like you described. Just a lot of rough ridding.

 

my 04 screw was near limo quality ride when new. after 15000 miles on the excellently maintained smooth as glass nj roads, the suspension has loosened up a bit. It still has a very good ride though. the michelin cross terrains that i put on helped alot.

 

how many miles on the truck?


Is it possible the shocks are as cheap and low quality as the tires? Possibly the shocks lose their ride smoothness after 15,000?

Don't know... just throwing that out in case someone has additional feedback.

 

That's a bummer. I'd bring it into the dealer and have them get
it up on the lift. Something could've loosened up on ya. The whole idea with the rack steering was to let you feel more of the road rather than the old school loosy goosy steering that had no
road feel whatsoever. ( that's one of the reasons i bought this truck, along with the 4wheel anti lock disc brakes, andtwo doors two seats - lol ) I keep my air pressure at 38 though the thingy says 40. Rides great still.
( knocking on wood right now ) Let us know if it gets diagnosed.

 

I would also bet those shocks are done. Time to upgrade to better shocks.


Chris

 

Thanks for all the suggestions I will have the dealer take a look underneath. I forgot to mention the truck only has 4600 miles on it, and it is a 4x4. I wonder if there was some sort of problem all along and the 30psi the dealer set when I bought it covered it up. I say that just because the ride seemed to get worse when I set the Tire pressure for winter temps.

Thanks again for the responses

Steve

 

My 17" Michelons are rated for 35 psi, and ride real smooth.

Your tires will definitely ride smoother at 30 psi, but it's probably best to stay with the mfgr rating.

You did say you only noticed the hard ride after setting "winter" tire pressure, and I noticed you live in Massachusetts. My past experiences in Ohio and Montana were that tires rode pretty hard in extreme cold weather (zero and below), no matter what pressure you used. It sounds like that is what you are experiencing.

 

Smooth as silk here. I especially love riding over big curbs and such, so much smoother than any other truck I have owned. Curbs feel more like small speed bumps.

 

I agree about the cold temperatures...I wonder if the shocks take a while to warm up too... I think it will hit +5 degrees today. After driving the truck for over an hour the ride didn't really imptove much though. I looked in my side mirror at the rear wheels and they "hop" when going over road with small imperfections. I guees I will drop the tp and see what happens when it gets a little warmer.

Thanks Again for all the help!

Steve