Hey Guys,

So you've all read the endless threads and posts regarding my vibration issue in the steering wheel. Now we're not talking a shimmy, but rather a noticeable shake that causes you to put two hands on the wheel to avoid losing control of the truck.

We put the stock rims and tires back on and it went from being horrible to being manageable with just a shimmy at times. We assumed this was because one of the stock tires was slightly out of balance.

However, we spoke with a guy who does lift kits on new bodystyle trucks and he had a revelation of an idea for us.

The FRONT DRIVESHAFT!

He said 9 times out of 10 he's found the problem to be the front driveshaft on 4x4s to be out of balance. He said even hitting a hard bump could do this. Well if you know me then you know about the $13,000 worth of damage I had repaired in January of last year after hitting black ice and sliding into a ditch full of boulders. Well that was definitely enough of a hit to cause a driveshaft to go out of balance.

I called the bodyshop and the driveshaft was never checked to be in balance.

So this weekend we're going to take the front driveshaft off and see if the problem goes away. If it does, then we have the solution to our problem, rebalance the front driveshaft.

Just thought I'd share this information with anyone aflicted by a similiar situation.

Any chance you think I could have the body shop or progressive pay for the 10 times I've paid for road force balancing on these tires and rims?

Duke

 

I have a problem with his theory. The front driveshaft is not turning while in 2wd mode. Unless your problem is only in 4wd, then the driveshaft is not a problem. Unlike prior years, 97-03, even the front axles are not turning as the IWE's are not locked in in 2wd mode.

 

Really? Well that took some wind out of my sails because the problem is in 2wd mode. Could the drive shaft have gone out of balance then?

Duke

 

Only if we are talking the main driveshaft. If it was the main driveshaft out of balance, you would feel it more in the seat than in the steering wheel. Are you sure it is the front? Another thing, is some tire wheel combos are a b!tch to balance. Have they been rebalanced or rotated?

 

Have you had them dynamically balanced?

 

We've replaced several of the tires and done road force balancing on all of them with hub-centric adapters since the rims are not hub centric.

Neither the main drive shaft or the front drive shaft was balanced after the accident in January.

I guess we'll check the front drive shaft anyhow this weekend by disconnecting the front drive shaft and driving around on the highway to see if it went away.

If that doesn't fix it then I'll take it somewhere to see if the main driveshaft went out of balance in the wreck.

Thump,

Do you mean, have I had the drive shafts dynamically balanced after the wreck?

Duke

 

No, the tires and wheels, its much better than static balancing.

Have you checked your steering rack? Make sure its tight.

 

The tires and rims were dynamically balanced with stick on weights. I'll also have them take a look at the steering rack to make sure it's tight.

Keep the hints coming fellas. I really appreciate it!

Duke

 

But, were the weights place on the outside and inside of the backside of the wheel?

 

The weights are placed on the very outer lip of chrome on the inside portion of the wheel and then the other side are put right up against the spokes for the other side of the wheels.

For obvious reasons we didn't want to put the stick on weights on the outmost portion of the wheels that you see. (The part facing away from the truck)

Duke

 

Its hard to explain, I know.

I think we're both on the same page.

 

lol, I was thinking the same thing, it's very convaluted.

I just got off the phone with the dealership since they did the suspension work from the accident in January. They said there are some of the 04 -05 4x4 F150s that have front axels that spin while in 2wd since Ford started to change the 4x4 setup, however, they are a very limited number.

He said they'd look at it for free and see if it was the front driveshaft, rear (main) drive shaft, rack n' pinion or whatever else it could be if I put the stock rims and tires back on.

If it was from the accident they'll go after progressive to get the money to pay for it, then if it doesn't look like it's damage from the accident then they'll have ford take care of it under warranty.

Duke

 

I think they are talking about the 04 Heritage, not the new model F150. The Heritage looks and works just like the 97-03 trucks. The 04 new model came with Warn IWE's (integrated wheel ends) that are locked by default and unlock with vacuum. If they were locked you would know it as the front would bind when in a tight turn on dry pavement.

 

I'm thinking you're right and they're wrong because it doesn't make sense that Ford would throw two different plaforms out there in such short numbers so quickly in the middle of identical production years.

Duke

 

Hey duke see if your steering thing is broken like Josiah had happen. I know I drove a different 06fx4 before mine that the steering wheel would shake very bad back and forth and it turned out to have a broken steering thing. I cant think of the name of the piece, like steering arm things.