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Iraqvet05's avatar
Iraqvet05
Explorer
Jan 20, 2019

newer F250 violent shake

I was driving on the interstate this afternoon going 70-75 and shifted over to the far inside lane due to some construction. The lane shift put traffic on what should be the far shoulder and a long section of the shift put traffic on the rumble bars.

My 2017 F250 was unloaded except for some heavy snow in the bed. I stayed in the lane to pass and proceeded down 50 yards of rumble bars then noticed the front end of my truck begin to shake violently...almost as if I had a flat front tire. I slowed down, threw on my hazard lights and crossed 4 lanes of traffic before the shaking finally subsided. I managed to pull up the tire pressure on the DIC and everything looked good. I pulled over, visually checked the tires and everything looked normal. The rest of the trip back home at 65-70 was fine. Has anyone experienced anything like this?

I suspect this was just bad wheel hop. I do not like the way this truck's factory shocks handle washboard roads and some potholes and I suspect the shock valving had some part in this but I can't be sure...thoughts?
Tow Vehicles
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Jan 20, 2019
    Death wobble....it’s not just on Dodges! (Despite what the bluelaid drinkers sometimes proclaim)
    OP, you “could” have an issue with the front end of your truck, but as new as it is, it’s also just likely that it started oscillating and couldn’t come back out of it.
    I’ve driven almost new trucks that got DW and old beeters that were loose as a hoe in heat and no DW.
    But that’s what happened. If everything looks and feels ok, check caster on the front axle. It could be too low which makes solid axle vehicles more prone to DW when the caster is closer to 0 than it should be.
  • Bionic_Man's avatar
    Bionic_Man
    Explorer
    Jan 20, 2019
    Agreed on "death wobble". Are you running bigger tires or a lift? That can make a truck more prone to it.
  • T18skyguy's avatar
    T18skyguy
    Explorer
    Jan 20, 2019
    The stock factory shocks are junk. Put on a set of Bilsteins and that would help I think. Being as it's a 2017 I would think that the bushings and joints should be good, but you never know. Look for any kind of play or wear in anything. Is your truck lifted or modd'ed in any way? That can be a problem. As stated in the video, do check your steering rod and all cause they can crack etc. I remember back in the 80's Chrysler was trying to figure out the death wobble in Jeeps. They had to bring in some outside engineers and even then they didn't totally nail it down.
  • Iraqvet05's avatar
    Iraqvet05
    Explorer
    Jan 20, 2019
    No lift and factory 18" tires, running 55 PSI in the front and 65 in the rear. I have 34k miles on it and this is the first time I have experienced this. I bought it used with 29k miles...it was a rental before so I don't know the history of the truck other than it had a tire rotate and alignment right before I bought it. I'll take a look at the front end tomorrow and see if there is anything obvious and do some prying to see if I can find any play in the track bar.
  • twodownzero's avatar
    twodownzero
    Explorer
    Jan 20, 2019
    It sounds like you're running too much air pressure in the rear for running empty. I concur on the alignment check. I would also check for bad ball joints or a loose tie rod end in addition to the track bar. If all else fails and you can't find any loose parts, a good steering stabilizer can dampen the motion that causes death wobble, but if you have loose parts, it's far superior to fix that rather than try to hide it with a shock.

    I am quite surprised to hear of death wobble on a truck with factory sized tires. Something must be badly worn (which is a good thing, because that means it'll be fixed once that is replaced).
  • FishOnOne's avatar
    FishOnOne
    Nomad
    Jan 20, 2019
    Also a set of tires that are at the end of life on the tread can cause this. I had this happen once with my BF Goodrich tires. I replaced them with a new set and haven't had it happen in ~80k miles.

    Also thanks for your service!
  • Retired_JSO's avatar
    Retired_JSO
    Explorer
    Jan 20, 2019
    This so called Death Wobble has been experienced on brand new trucks with in the first 5000 miles according to the Ford forums.

    Cartalk
  • Fisherman's avatar
    Fisherman
    Explorer
    Jan 21, 2019
    Ball Joints, even those that are within spec can cause extreme violent shaking. Had personal experience with both the death wobble and filling my shorts with you know what.

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