I am having a more than normal vibration in the steering wheel and seat at highway speeds. Ford Dealship has had the truck for two days now and they say it needs a Road Force Balance. I have done quite a bit of searching on the internet to find out how the Road Force Balance works. It sounds like it might fix the problem, the only thing that sucks is it cost 100.00 and isn't covered under warranty (only for the first year/12000 miles).

1. Ford's Warranty isn't the best. but I love my truck.
2. Has anyone else had this type of balance done? Did it work?
3. I have the BFGoodwrich tires, anyone have bad/good luck with these tires.

 

envrmtly,

If the problem is a warranty issue it should be covered, does it state somewhere that this particular operation is not covered in your regular warranty? You have a vibration that is not normal, that is in fact a warranty issue, you don't care what the dealer has to do to fix it, just have them fix it. At the very least, I would get it in writing that A:it is not covered b: that is the problem and C: that the dealer will cover the cost of the operation if it does not remedy the problem. Good luck

Ed

 

What the heck is a Road Force Balance?

 

JR,

I can point you in a direction, I haven't read too much on it but have heard of the Hunter machine.

Ed


http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/balancer/4127t.htm

 

This is straight from my warranty info.. so I guess I am not covered under warranty...
Time Limits on Coverage
² After the first 12 months in service or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs
first, wheel alignment and tire balancing are not covered unless
required by a warranty repair.


It is't the cost of having it done that concerns me, what happens when I have to get new tires, or could the tires possibly be the problem...

Oh well... Got to love the SuperCrew!

 

Good Stuff S'CrewLoose... thanks.....

 

Might be the best $100 you have spent... the money only becomes an issue if after the work is done, the problem is still there.. Remember anything is possible in "DEALERSHIP LAND".. Is there a independent front end shop, with the Hunter 9700 machine around your area?.. perhaps a quick ride over to one of them, just for an information session, would help set you in the right direction... if its not under warranty,, then increase your information circle and perhaps you will find the answer you require.. i gotta tell you that $100 for a session on a Hunter 9700, for all 4 wheels, is not that hard to understand..

 

Jr,

That was one of the promised fixes for my 99 Shovie Shakerado. It, like all other tries failed. nothing could fix it.......GM bought it back just before Lemon...some poor bastard i'm sure is driving around in this POS. I have the VIN..I should track it down.....lol

Ed

 

Picked the truck up last night. According to the dealership, three tires/wheels were out of specs so they remounted and balanced those three. I do think it has helped quite a bit, but also think it is not like it should be.

Anyone big Michillen tires fans? I have a buddy who swears by Michillens and seems to think the tires (BFGoodwrich's) are the problem.

Guess I will just drive it for a while. You know how after you have a problem with a vehicle, even after it is fixed you still expect that problem to be there, so maybe I am just making a big deal out of it.


Just means I'll have to take a few more road trips

 

Regarding the Michelin/BFG question.

Every vehicle I've owned over the past 15 years of so, (truck, suv, car, minivan) got Michelins before the original tires work out. I can't begin to tell you how much better the ride, handling, wear, etc is with the Michelins than any other tire. I've had Goodyears, Generals, Dunlops, Pirelli to name a few and none of them compare to the ride/noise/wear quality I've experienced with the Michelins. My brother replaced the Firestones on his 2000 Expy with Michelins and it rides like a completely different vehicle. Kind of pisses me off that car manufactures skimp to save a few $ on tires when it makes a HUGE difference in the ride. My $0.02 on the subject.

Having said that, I've got the BFG's on my SCrew. OVer 12,000 miles to date. ROtated and balanced every 5,000 miles. I have been really impressed with the ride/noise/wear quality I've experienced with them. Will have to see how they continue wear before I "write them off". First set of tires I haven't wanted to rip off my vehicle. Will probably replace with Michelins when they wear out. If I remember, Consumer Reports rated these BFG's as one of the best m/s truck tires.

Hope this helps.

 

How many miles did you have on the tires before they were remounted and balanced? If it's more than say 7k miles, they may already have worn area's on them that will continue to contribute to the vibration. The Hunter shows the area's of the tire/wheel that are out of round. They will measure the amount then rotate the tire on the rim to minimize the problem. They try to keep the pressure differential around the circumference of the tire to less than 20lbs (they exert 800 lbs of pressure on the tire while spinning). It's a crock they wouldn't cover the cost unless you have a lot of miles on. And $100 is outrageous. The Hunter site will let you search for shops in your area that have the 9700. From what I've seen, most Ford garages have the 9700. Just had it done to my HD and it was only $39 at an independent shop. You should rotate every 5k miles when you do an oil change but you don't have to rebalance. A road force balance should be good for 15k to 20k miles easy. I currently have a bad tire on the back of my HD, reads 26 lbs and there is no way to match balance it out, got to get Ford to replace it. That's next weeks battle.

 

FWIW, BFG is the 'small tire division' of Michelin. Michelin bought BFG some time ago.
As for the vibration, I've had it since the truck was new...force balanced all tires, replaced 2 tires, re-did the balance and it is exactly as before. The dealer checked driveshaft runout etc...
The only thing helped was inflating the tires to 40psi, even though
they only rated to 35psi.
This is my first Ford, I've owned all of the other brands out there
and frankly I'll be trading this truck in as soon as it's financially
feasable for me.
I'll love the truck but HATE vibrations...

2001 Super Crew, 4x2, Lariat, 5.4

 

Sprcrew - I agree.. Love the Truck, but hate vibrations.
I will try putting a little more psi in the tires, just don't want to over-inflate.

Irutt - 100 IS way to much... I will have to find someone besides the dealer.

I just don't want to buy new tires and have the same problem. I may have to go drive a new SuperCrew just to make sure I really am having as big of a problem as I think I am.

 

Hi all

I too have a vibration issue. I have a 2001 Screw with 3800 miles on it now- been vibrating since day one. The Dealer says its normal cant do anything about it- blah blah blah. I think its BS that I paid 25K+ for a rolling paint mixer. I called the Ford Customer Relations number and was told this is a known issue to check with the dealer every few months, maybe the engineers will figure out a fix.

Maybe if everyone with a vibration calls the number, maybe even the same day, they will get the picture and come up with something.

Then again. maybe by brain has vibrated a few wires loose and Im dreaming...


Any thoughts???

 

Vibration is still there and worse than ever in the floor. Have taken the truck to a different dealer. They are at least tyring to fix the problem. Have replaced the U-Joints and are checking everything out... they don't think it is a tire issue at all. They are calling it a resonnating vibration.

Vibration's Suck!