I traded my 04 4X4 Super Cab for an 05 4X4 XLT Super Crew on December 3rd. I had to return to the dealership the evening of the 5th to correct a screw-up on the paper work. At that time I mentioned to the Sales Manager that I thought the ride seemed not to be as smooth at in my 04. He replied that I should drive it and they would rebalance the tires and look it over at 3,000 miles and I agreed. Last week we drove to Kingsland Ga. (with the truck loaded) to spend Christmas with our children and grandchildren. On the way down with the truck loaded with furniture the turck rode a little better but on the return trip it had a slight vibration at 70 - 80 mpp. I called Magic City Ford in Roanoke on Firday the 30th and requested them to check the tires and rebalance if necessary. When I arrived for the appointment the Service rep. told me that in order to give it a thorough check they would need to keep it and gave me a loaner. He alos stated that some road vibration is common to a 150 and I responed that since I traded a 150 I knew how it should ride. I have General tires and from this forum it is rare to find anyone who really prefers them. I have the following questions.

1. Is it common to keep a truck without even driving it?

2. Is the Service rep. setting me up for " Your truck rides like the rest of the 150's .

3. Have you ever driven a 150 with the dreaded vibration problem and what does it feel like. Mine is pretty smooth until about 70 when you start to pick up a jiggle and to me it feels like tires.

4. I thought that the vibration was cured before the 05's

5. What are the current cures for vibration.

My truck had an August 05 build date at Dearborn

Thanks

Kenny

 

I don't get to my E-mail as quickly as I'd like to; my apologies. Anywho...

It's difficult to describe what the vibration is, since every truck is a rule unto itself. Some of them are tire vibrations (typically felt in the steering wheel; may get better as you get more heat into the tires, allowing the tires to become more "pliable"). Some of them are driveline vibrations (typically felt in the seat of your pants, can be changed by rolling onto and off of the throttle, most times it's very speed dependent, and sometimes it'll go away by shifting into neutral at the speed that the vibration is present).

I've only driven and fixed two '04+ trucks with vibrations, one a Supercab 4x2 Lariat with a 6.5' bed, the other was a 4x4 Mark LT. The former got a new rack and pinion, tires balanced and indexed (and eventually replaced), and a vibration dampner installed on the left rear framerail. The LT was just tire imbalance. My truck vibrates a little when it's cold, but it goes away after a few miles when the tires get some heat into them. I will say that in general (ha), General tires are horrible tires for these applications. A lot of other Ford SUVs and pickups I've seen and fixed for vibration concerns were ultimately traced back to Continental or General tires.

As far as having to keep your truck to evaluate it, usually, yes that's required. That all depends on the shop's workload, but NVH diagnosis is usually a complicated and involved matter that requires someone who knows how to operate the equipment and what to look for to get the best fix possible. Gone are the days of just sticking the tires on the balancer and zeroing them out with weight.

Current fixes...well, I dunno. Fixing these vibration concerns is part science and part witchcraft. Sometimes you just stumble onto a fix. Ford is placing a big emphasis on tire balancing and minimum roadforce variation (low teens preferably) for starters in dealing with vibration concerns on '04+ F150s. From there, it can go to vibration dampners, cab mounts, driveshafts, adjusting pinion angles, replacing motor mounts, replacing ring and pinions, and a few other things that slip my mind at the moment.

 

Quintin

Thanks for your honest answers. My vibration does not seem to be affected by the throttle but since I only have about 1,500 miles the service tech. may feel differently and I will go with thier opinions. The vibration in my truck is slight and affected by the pavement so I tend to lean toward the tires. My 04 had a slight vibration but increasing tire pressure to 38 pounds seemed to almost cure it. I tried that with the 05 but it did not seem to help. I will keep you posted on the outcome.

 

Picked up truck from Dealer on Monday after dealer road force balanced tires. But speed limits on road home are 55 and lots of traffic kept me from running up to 70 mph.. Got to work with it this evening and at 70 mph the tire vibration may have even been worse. I fiddled with tire pressures and at 33 psi could even feel it in the steering wheel. At 40 psi vibration at 70 mph seemed to decrease but I could feel every little bump in the highway.

I think I will give it a couple of days and then call the Service Department. I sure wish Ford would give me some decent tires.

 

Unfortunately, I can't tell your dealer what to do, but given the known issues with Continental/General tires, if I were working on your truck I'd put a set of tires on it and retest. Or at least "borrow" a set off a known good vehicle and see if it helps your truck any. These things are very sensitive to tire imbalance; Ford says something like within 10-15 grams of zero and low teens for roadforce to get the best results.

 

I have an 05' Screw and I have 20" Goodyears on Roush rims. These came on the truck. I noticed a vibration after about 500 miles. They replaced the right rear tire. At about 5,500 miles I noticed another vibration. I took it back and told them it was doing the same thing as before. They replaced the left rear tire and now the problem has gone away. In my case I had two bad tires. If it starts again I will try to have them replace both of the two older tires.

Could be the tires or something causing the belts on the tires to break.

 

Did more fiddling around with tire pressure today. With front tires at 40 psi and rear at 37 psi it rides like a dream up to 68 mpg. 68 to 72 has a slight vibration (on 1 to 10 about a 3). Above 73 mph or so it smoothes out again. I am driving on I-64 between Clifton Forge and Covington, Va and that road is just about shot from truck traffic. Even at 70 when the vibration is occuring it is not constant and may be caused by the pavement. To make matters worse Covington is the home of the MeadWestvaco Paper Mill (where I am employed) and they receive abut 60 chip and wood trucks each day and we ship about 80 trucks a day. All of this extra traffic has taken a toll on the surface of the road. For the short term I think I can live with the Generals but would never buy more. It really surprised me that increasing tire pressure actually improved the ride. One would assume that reduced pressure would be better but at 32 or 33 psi it felt like a shimmy in the front. At 38 psi it went away. I am pretty happy with the front wheels and will continue to fiddly with the rear. As my wife reminded me we did the same with the 04 Super Cab and eventially settled on 38 psi both front and rear for an acceptable ride. I really think that right now with my current set up it is equal to or may even be better.

 

During a drive on I-64 Sunday the vibration grew worse and even had steering wheel shake. Called Magic City Ford on Monday and have an appointment to drop it off tomorrow. Vibration is now most of the time at speeds 60 mph and above. My wife will drop the truck off and I told her to make a note on the mileage so I know if they give it a test drive. I hope for the best but in reality I think it will take a couple of more visits before they do something abut the tires. I can reduce the vibration by increasing tire pressure but that is not the answer. That only masks the problem and could increase the risk of an accident.

 

Service Advisor called me at work this afternoon and advised that they had determined the two rear tires were in need of replacement. The replacement tires have arrived and will be installed Thursdy morning. If everything checks out after road testing they will call and we can pick it up.

I also talked to the local tire store which is owned by the local Ford dealer abut moving up to Bridgestone Dueller A/T Revo tires. Since the fronts have only agout 1200 miles and the rears will be new I may be able to work a deal. Does anyone have any opinions on the Bridgestone tires?

 

Stopped by the Local Tire store. If vibration goes away with the new Generals the tire store will give me credit and put 4 Michelin LTX on my truck for $320.00 and take the Generals as trade. They quoted $192 each for the Michelins and I know I may be able to get them for a little less but this seems like the best deal in town. That price also includes mounting and balancing. I would have preferred the Bridgestones but they are not available at this time and the deal is now only.

From the reviews on tirerack.com the Michelins seem have some excellent reviews. My truck should be ready for pickup tomorrow with new Generals on the rear so I have my fingers crossed that the vibration is gone. If so I will be off to the tire store. If not then back to the dealership.

 

I had the same problem on my old truck. My buddy (who manages Western Canada's largest tire distribution center) told me I probably have ***** in my tires. I thought he was joking as I'd never heard of this before. He pulled the tires off the rims and showed me. There were a bunch of solid rubber ***** inside the tire. Can't remeber what causes it but I think he said something about moisture inside the tire and the constant spinning of the tire over time can create these rubber *****. Took them out and it was good as new.
As for the Michelin's you're interested in, see if you can find Woosung's. They come out of the Michelin factory and are exactly the same as Michelins with the Woosung name on the side and are whole lot cheaper. If money isn't an issue then I'd go with Yokohama Geolanders. They are one of the most expensive tires out there. The place my buddy runs sells millions of dollars in tires each month (they have over $6million in stock at any given time) and they swear by the Yokohama's. They had test scores of the three most popular Yokohama Geolander models (all season, all terrain, mud terrain) against other popular brands and they all came out with very high ratings. They didn't come out on top in all categories but they performed the best overall. I've run both the all terrains and am currently running the mud terrains and wouldn't go with anything else.

 

That is one heck of a price, depending on which Michelins.
The Pilot LTXs on my '01 SCrew were like 215.00 each shipped from Tire Rack. These are the 285/60R18s.
Real nice tires, ditched the stock Generals at 18K miles, when I got the L Wheels.

 

Thats with trading in the new Gererals that Ford is putting on the truck today. Michelin LTX M/S including mounting and balancing. I hope they stick with the offer

 

OK, that makes more sense then. I will say I love the Pilot LTXs on my '01 SCrew. Wear like iron, and handle great in dry or wet. They are worth the ~ 860.00 from Tire Rack, and my friend mounted and balanced them for me for 50.00. So I have about 910.00 into the set.

 

Yes, I agree about the Michelins. My tire store which is also affiliated with the local Ford Dealership wi8ll take ghe Generals in on trade and sell me the 4 Michelin LTX tires for $340 including mount and balance. I really don't see how I could go wrong.