i have an 05 f150 screw 4x4 with 80k miles. the truck has been a great vehicle as i have only had a few minor issues with it.

well, a few months ago my wife was driving the truck and the steering wheel started wobbling from left to right in a quick pulsating motion. she drove the truck a few more miles and it went away. the problem never happened again until months later.....this weekend.

we were on a family vacation and i was driving. it started the steering wobble and i could feel the pulsating feeling when i pressed on the brake pedal. it actually did it twice this weekend and each time i smell a metal type of burning smell somewhere under the hood. i cant seem to pinpoint where the smell is coming from.

i have read some other posts on the forum about what folks are calling the "death wobble". the difference from what im reading is that the problem i seem to be having is intermittent, not constant. i drove the truck about 20 miles yesterday to reproduce the problem for a friend and it simply wouldnt do it....

any advice ? if i take it into the dealership how do i describe the problem since i cant reproduce it ? could it be a wheel bearing that is starting to go bad ?

 

It is probably the front brakes causing the problem. Maybe rubbing, causing the rotors to heat and the wheels to shimmy. If you had an 04, I would say this is almost certain as they had a tendency to do this until Ford redid the calipers and rotors, even at lower miles.