I know this has been covered several times, but I would like to take a poll and put it together in this one thread. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I would like to be a little informed before I take it in to dealership. My questions are as follows.

1. Configuration of vehicle

2. Any drivetrain or suspension modifications

3. What causes the vibration to occur

4. Have you found a permanent fix

I will start off with answers

1. 2006 Supercab 5.5ft box. 133inch wheelbase. 3.55limited slip diff. XLT
2 wheel drive 255/65/R17 Continental OEM tires.

2. Stock suspension and drivetrain

3. Vibration through steering wheel around 65 to 70 mph. Intermittant and seems to depend on road surface. Major vibration felt through floorpan and seat at around 85 to 93mph. This one is more common and will come and go with speed changes.

4. I have not found a permanent fix. I have rebalanced tires as well as dismounted and moved tires 180 degrees on wheels and rebalanced again. Also I have rotated tires. None of this has helped or changed symptoms at all.

 

2005 SC/SWB/4X4/LS 3.73 XLT originally on Continental tires w/ stock suspension and drivetrain.

Entire drivetrain from the transfer case back replaced with '06 components and a set of Michelins thrown on to boot. It was in the shop hooked up to a vibration monitor for the better part of a month.

Truck is still very prone to vibration from tire flat spotting and harmonic vibrations from the road surface. Also picks up the slightest imbalance in a tire and magnifies it.

IMO the new super stiff frame on this model just magnifies things that have probably been there all along but went unnoticed.

 

I went through this with my first 04 F150. It had the stock Continentals and they were basically un-balanceable. I had them switched over to the stock size Michelins and no more vibration...imagine that. My current 05 Lariat came with the BFG's and they had a very slight vibration also. I switched over to the BFG AT 285-65-18's and no more vibration! I really believe that these stock P rated tires are junk and not stong enough for the weight of the trucks. Just my .02

 

Try having a shop force match the tires.If they have the proper equipmentthis will watch the high spot on the tire to the high spot on the rim.This will diminishmost wheel/tire vibrations...

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm not so sure it is tires. Even after rotating tires the vibration has not changed. I am going to try a road force balance though and see what happens. Maybe I should get a different brand of tire. I only have 8,000miles. Possible warranty coverage?

 

Are you talking about a vibration or a steering wheel nimble? Two completely different problems as many of us 2004 F-150s owners were subjected to.

 

Unfortunately I am lucky enough to have both. An intermittant steering wheel vibration between 65-70 mph. It seems to depend on road surface. I also have a vibration felt through the floor as well as the seat. Most likely a rear end vibration. This occurs between 85-93mph. This one is fairly consistant. Changing speeds either higher or lower will make that go away.

 

There are SO many things that could be the problem(s). I feel for you, I had to go thru this with my 2004 F-150, they ended up having to give me my 2006.

I'd check the emergency brake, something about the brakes (the slide is gunked up and you need to clean it, maybe someone who knows more about this one can chime in), steering rack might be loose, tires and wheels are too far out of spec to balance correctly, driveshaft might be out of balance. Since you've got your warranty, tell them to swap tires/wheels with another truck on the lot and see what happens. If that doesn't work, I'd check for yourself about the emergency brake and the brake slides or whatever that is. Its hard to diagnose this type of problems over the internet, but I'll try to help you the best that I can. .

 

I have a 2005 SCAB 4x4 5.4L 3.73LS AUTO. I have the Continentals (255/70/17) and I had the nibble. I had 2 tires and 1 wheel replaced under warranty. I would keep after them to get this fixed, don't let it go. I now have ~21.5K on my truck and these tires no longer flat spot. Even after for sitting for ~2 weeks.

I thought they put the high spot on the wheel to the low spot on the tire so they would cancel each other out (somewhat) and use less weight per wheel/tire.

 

i have a 2005 SCAB 4x4 5.4L 3.73LS AUTO. I have the Continentals (255/70/17).. had the vibration too.. they "indexed" the tires and the vibration is gone. now if i can only find the 'squeek' im hearing from the front dash. im assuming its the airaid i put on.. but havent found a fix for it yet.

 

2005 F150 KR/SuprCRew/Bf Goodrich 18"
Had Tires Road forced Balanced, Vibration went away for a Month. Now it is Back/Really Bad at 45-50, Worse first thing in the Morning, Going back to Dealer in 2 Weeks. Suggested New Tires and Rims. Possible Bad Drive Shaft.
Post more Later. KR Paul

 

06 XLT Scab, 8' bed, HD payload pkg, tow pkg General 245/70R-17
New - no shimmy
At 6500mi tire rotation - steering wheel shimmy
Ford dealer (standard) balanced - less shimmy
Tire dealer (standard) balanced - at little less
Ford dealer - rotate back to original position, same
2nd tire dealer - road force balance - OK
Ford dealer - rotate tires at 11,000 mi, shimmy
Ford Dealer - 11,500 mi, 5 new tires (Generals) road force balanced ( new machine), faint shimmy
Today back to Ford dealer - ?
Steve

 

I have a 2006 SCREW 4x4
It has a bad vibration between 50 and 65.
Ford replaced drive shaft 3 times,Rear pinon 2 times,changed body,trans and engine mounts. They also put on several other sets of tires. In the end Ford bought it back and I have a 2007 on order to replace it. I am hoping this one is better.

 

No vibrations/shakes. Mods in my sig. I let you now after I put my new wheels and tires on today and get it realigned (which I haven't done since the AS install two weeks ago.)

 

2004/Screw 4x4 3.73 25K

Steering wheel nibble at 60-70 but not all of the time - slightly better after balance. I too think that these tires are to blame, cant wait until I can buy some new ones. I assume that there isnt any kind of TSB for this? I havent looked.

Please let us know if anyone else is buying new tire and if this fixes it