2006 f250...death wobble???
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 361
Likes: 0
From: New Jersey
Guys, my truck use to shake alot in the steering wheel for a few seconds after hitting a rough section of road or a bridge type joint on the highway. I do not know for sure if what I was feeling was considered death wobble or not, but I finally did end up fixing it. First off let me tell you what kind of truck I have and all. 2006 F350 4WD V10 430 gears regular cab with the FX4 package, which gives you Rancho shocks. I tried raising the air pressure in the tires. No help. I tried lowering the air pressure in the tires. No help. I replaced the steering shock with a Rancho one. No help. I replaced the steering shock with an OEM one. No help. I replaced all 4 shocks with Monroe Reflex shocks. No help. I replaced all 4 shocks with standard Ford F350 shocks, as if it didnt have the FX4 package. Not sure if it helped or not, but it looks better with black shocks than it did with the white Ranchos or the silver Monroes lol. Anyway, the last thing I did has fixed it as far as Im concerned. It now rides fine on the highway and you can hit bumps at any speed and no steering wheel jerk whatsoever. Can anyone guess what I did??
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,309
Likes: 0
From: West Michigan
Guys, my truck use to shake alot in the steering wheel for a few seconds after hitting a rough section of road or a bridge type joint on the highway. I do not know for sure if what I was feeling was considered death wobble or not, but I finally did end up fixing it. First off let me tell you what kind of truck I have and all. 2006 F350 4WD V10 430 gears regular cab with the FX4 package, which gives you Rancho shocks. I tried raising the air pressure in the tires. No help. I tried lowering the air pressure in the tires. No help. I replaced the steering shock with a Rancho one. No help. I replaced the steering shock with an OEM one. No help. I replaced all 4 shocks with Monroe Reflex shocks. No help. I replaced all 4 shocks with standard Ford F350 shocks, as if it didnt have the FX4 package. Not sure if it helped or not, but it looks better with black shocks than it did with the white Ranchos or the silver Monroes lol. Anyway, the last thing I did has fixed it as far as Im concerned. It now rides fine on the highway and you can hit bumps at any speed and no steering wheel jerk whatsoever. Can anyone guess what I did??
Anyway..'death wobble' is a whole lot more than 'shake in a steering wheel'. The WHOLE truck basically shutters and it's rather frightening!
BTW: The Rancho shocks that the FX4 comes with are not true Rancho shocks...just 'branded' that way. Also, you say " I replaced the steering shock with a Rancho one. No help. I replaced the steering shock with an OEM one." - that's confusing...did you go from OEM to Rancho than back to OEM?
I have to say that Rancho makes good stuff and the FX4 'branded' shocks is an embarrassment to the Rancho brand...
Last edited by Pagnew; Jan 8, 2010 at 10:23 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 361
Likes: 0
From: New Jersey
Yes. Went from OEM to Rancho back to a brand new OEM. Ok, what I did to fix my problem was to change the steering shock AND bracket to the 2008 design. The 05-07 design shock has 2 washers, 2 rubbers and a nut to hold everything tight lol. What a joke. I dont care how tight you make that nut, when you have someone cut the wheel back and forth while you look under there, you can see the bracket and the rubbers giving and flexing. How is that suppose to hold anything tight when you hit a bump in the road? The 2008 design shock and bracket has a nut and bolt on the end where it meets the bracket, just like the 99-04 design had. The 05-07 design is the same setup as a front shock with the washers, rubbers and a nut. Go to your dealer and get yourself an 08 style steering shock, bracket and all the hardware to do the job. I could not believe how much it helped my problem. Night and day difference. Thats why you dont hear people with 08s and newer complaining of this problem, just 07s and older.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,309
Likes: 0
From: West Michigan
Yes. Went from OEM to Rancho back to a brand new OEM. Ok, what I did to fix my problem was to change the steering shock AND bracket to the 2008 design. The 05-07 design shock has 2 washers, 2 rubbers and a nut to hold everything tight lol. What a joke. I dont care how tight you make that nut, when you have someone cut the wheel back and forth while you look under there, you can see the bracket and the rubbers giving and flexing. How is that suppose to hold anything tight when you hit a bump in the road? The 2008 design shock and bracket has a nut and bolt on the end where it meets the bracket, just like the 99-04 design had. The 05-07 design is the same setup as a front shock with the washers, rubbers and a nut. Go to your dealer and get yourself an 08 style steering shock, bracket and all the hardware to do the job. I could not believe how much it helped my problem. Night and day difference. Thats why you dont hear people with 08s and newer complaining of this problem, just 07s and older.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 361
Likes: 0
From: New Jersey
My pleasure. This truck has driven me nuts from day 1, trying to figure out whats wrong. I knew something was wrong, I just didnt know what. And everyone you talk to or ask for help, they just say "its a truck, thats how they ride". Yes I know its a truck, but it shouldnt jerk the steering wheel out of your hand, just because you hit a pothole or rough section on a highway doing 65 or so. Thats rediculous. I have this one highway I take to work everyday, 9 miles each way, and there is this one section of the road where it gets real rough and its all messed up and patched looking. Before the fix, I use to have to slow down and hold on for dear life when hitting that section. Now after the fix, I can do 80mph over that section and even let go of the steering wheel! Thats when I knew I finally did something to help/fix my problem! 
I cant take full credit though. I read somewhere on the internet a long time ago on a Ford truck forum, maybe even this one, where a guy said he updated his steering shock and bracket to the newer design one. I never knew what he meant, so I called my local Ford dealer and asked the parts guy is there such a thing as an updated steering shock and bracket for 05-07 trucks? He said yes there is, and that there was a TSB on it. He said he has sold a few kits. He said let me check into it some more and I will call you back, and the rest is history lol. They shoulda never changed from the 99-04 style for 05, cause they only ended up going back to it for 08 lol. For anyone thats having a problem, or is in need of replacing the steering shock anyway cause its worn out, I highly recommend doing what I did. All the parts were less than $100, and the final result is a night and day difference. ~Mike 
I cant take full credit though. I read somewhere on the internet a long time ago on a Ford truck forum, maybe even this one, where a guy said he updated his steering shock and bracket to the newer design one. I never knew what he meant, so I called my local Ford dealer and asked the parts guy is there such a thing as an updated steering shock and bracket for 05-07 trucks? He said yes there is, and that there was a TSB on it. He said he has sold a few kits. He said let me check into it some more and I will call you back, and the rest is history lol. They shoulda never changed from the 99-04 style for 05, cause they only ended up going back to it for 08 lol. For anyone thats having a problem, or is in need of replacing the steering shock anyway cause its worn out, I highly recommend doing what I did. All the parts were less than $100, and the final result is a night and day difference. ~Mike