ok my grandads truck, ill tell you everything i know..

2006, 5.4, f250, single cab, long bed, fx4, about 45,000 miles, doesnt drive it hard..hell hes 65! pulls a gooseneck cattle trailer sometimes, never dogs on it.

heres what he told me.. before this everything was perfectly fine...about a week ago he hits a little pot hole and it started wobbling, the whole truck was shaking...he had to slow down to about 20 to get it to stop..then drove on with no problems..its good around town but if he gets up to about 60+ it wobbles and he has to slow down to about 20 er 30 and it will stop

so he takes it to the dealership..tells them everything i told you...they said it is "normal" and they all do it..and to HELP it (not prevent) you need to keep 70 psi in the tires....well hes driven all this time before and its never done it..

so heres what i am thinking...maybe when he hit this pot hole he knocked something loose/broke something


anyone else had/heard of this??

 

Start with the obvious and have the wheel balance checked.. u can look at the wheels and see if any of the weights fell off. Or just take to a different shop. Check shock mounts as well, i doubt it with that little mileage, but u never know. Thats 2 places where i would start.

 

ah yea..well at our shop we have a balance machine so ill start there..

 

This is a common problem. My 05 f250 fx4 has done it since it was new. Of course the dealer says its normal but they haven't almost crashed from the terrible shaking when going around high speed left curves. I guess no one has died yet. Solution to the problem install a steering damper or get rid of the piece of junk. If it has a 6.0 the later would be the best option

 

you are such a douche...are you just going to go into every thread and start bashing? we all know you most likely own a Toyota or some other POS and are trying to make yourself feel better about your crappy purchase. Get a life loser.

 

uh huh..yea.....

anyways..he said there isnt a recall on it or anything..guess ill balance the tires then check out the frontend and make sure everything is tight and intact

 

Death wobble most likely isn't anything related to tire balance, but its not a bad idea to check it anyways. To the poster that said to put on a steering dampner, you really need to get some common sense before you start spewing bad info. A steering dampner will do nothing but mask the problem. The tires will still be shaking, you just won't feel it as much. Keep giving advice like that and someone will get killed. You need to find the root cause of the problem to fix it, not fix the symptom.



The items that need to be inspected CLOSELY are as follows. The upper and lower ball joints on each side, the upper and lower track bar bushings, the front and rear link arm bushings, left and right tie rod ends, the drag link ends, and the upper and lower shock bushings.


Unless he's got an extended warranty on the truck there is no reason to take it back to Ford. He's better off finding a good suspension shop and having them look at it. Most of them are not the drooling morons that Ford calls techs. More than likely they'll be able to diagnose it and fix it short order. I know the shop I used back home here is that way.

 

Also check the alignment, he might have knocked it out as well as the wheel weights. If it just started after hitting the pot hole, it is almost most likely related to the impact.

 

yea im gonna check it out when its not so damn cold! haha

yea i dont think the tires could be that far outta balance..ill give her a looksey

and no no extended warranty

 

I experienced 'death' wobble twice when the truck was under a month old. Was going about 70 mph and hit a pothole both times. Freaked the h$## outta me. Went back to the dealer (in Chicago). They had heard of the issue and did a 'geometry' change to the suspension. Over the years I had heard about tire pressures, dampers, and shocks - though these things might help the issue, in my opinion, it would be a 'mask' like Powerstoke73 says. Anyway, I don't recall what the exact change was, but after 4.5 years no more issues (and living in Illinois and Michigan there are alot of potholes). It was explained to me as being like a 'tuning fork'... if I remember right. The impact created a resonance that transfered up the suspension to the chassis.

 

thank you. he bought this truck new in 2005 and has driven it everyday..even on long trips has never had this happen...he hit a pothole about 60or70 like you said you did and now it happens.

there isnt any respectable dealers around here..the one the next town over are COMPLETE morons..and a couple towns over screwed my dads truck up. (idc i will NEVER go there after what they did) may have to find another dealer

 

Like PS73 says - I bet a good suspension shop could help - :santa:

 

yea i will probably take it to the tire/front end shop i usta work for...they are very respectable

 

The good thing is that it is 'fixable' - happy motoring and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

yea. the dealer said it could only help it, not stop it..which is BS i know..anyway thanks again and merry christmas!