I would like to know if someone out there has had this happen to them. My 07 F-150 with 134000 mi. gets a serious wobble as if you are ridding on a washboard and it gets hard to control, gets worse as speed increases. This has happened twice in the last 4 months. It starts off at about 35 mph. I pull off the road, stop, back up a bit to get a look all of the tires for bubbles/broken belts etc. When I start up again, it is gone, I can accelerate to 55 and nothing happens. I feel as if this is a premonition as to what is going to come down the road later. Any ideas as to what is the culprit? Thanks in advance to any insite anyone has.

 

I would take it to a good shop and have it checked over. It could be loose front end components, tires out of round and/or out of balance, or dragging brakes.

 

Thats what I am planning to do, I get tires rotated and balanced tomorrow (appointment made Friday) and have an appt with the mechanic I have usedfor 30 years who when he retires, I am going to lost.Thank you for responding so quickly.

 

Wobbles and suspension components don't typically stop acting up. Could you be experiencing something like misfire? Possible early torque converter lock up vibration? Curious if you found the issue

 

My thanks to those who have offered advice on how to get to the root of my problem. I had the tires rotated and balanced and they checked for defects, nada. Then I took it to the guy I have known for for 30 plus years, he had it for 3 days, put over 500 miles on it, even put a scanner on it to look for possible codes and nothing. What he did say was that when it occurs again, pull off, call AAA and have it brought in and just maybe he might be able to find something. On the other side of the coin, if it does it again and no solution can be found I think I will get rid of it, I have wanted to get one of those F-150's with the Aluminum body parts, if I can find one. So thanks again and if the ugly beast raises it's head and it can be sorted out, I will come back and post the cure.

 

After driving it, check the brake rotor temperatures with an infrared thermometer. I suspect brake dragging.

 

I had something similar when I bought a used 2001 back in 2003. The tires wore badly, and were severely cupped. Each tire did it's own thing bouncing around, but every once in a while they would sync with each other and the ride got worse until you turned a corner and they were out of sync again. I replaced all four tires and had the front end aligned, then never had another problem. It's easier to do the more miles are on the tires. Those tires at the time had less than 30k on them. I mention this because you mentioned that after you pull off the the side of the road and start up again it may be gone. At the time I thought I had a front end issue, but it turned out to be an alignment issue that had not been taken care of by the previous owner. It was probably made worse by cheap tires that didn't wear well.

 

Thanks for the info. I had a rotate and balance done by a local shop in business for over 40 years. It had been 4500 mi since the last rotate and all there was wrong was the minimal cupping on the front ones. While it was on the rack they shook the front end and said everything was tight. I am considering an alignment just to err on the side of caution. The journey continues
ed.

 

I had a 1970 Chevrolet C-10 CST with 15x8 wheels, & nice street tires (2WD) back in the '70s that started doing that, sporodically, usually after some bump or irregularity. I was balancing, rebalancing, etc ... was one day I had it on a lift a buddy grabbed the tire to shake the truck to scare me while I was under it changing oil and I heard a click noise, had him do it again, upper ball joints shot. I put new ones in after grinding rivets, etc .... CURED IT!

 

Try checking lower a arm bushings and ball joint a lot of times did you get that static wobble from components in the front lower suspension being worn out

 

Im Curious if anything was ever figured out. I have a 2011 F-150 that will drive smooth as can be. I let it sit for a today at work and got in it the wobble was almost enough to throw me off the road. That being said I back roaded it home.

 

Check your brakes to see if they are dragging. The best way might be to check the temperature of the rotors after driving it around town with an infrared thermometer. If one is much hotter than the rest, that's the issue.