Winnebago F53 Chassis Bolts to rear sway came out

[rondeb]

I know that this has been an issue as it appears all over the internet. We have a 2012 10,000 miles on it Winnebago Sightseer 33c. We started hearing a noise and pulled into a truck stop. Found the bracket holding the sway bar on had lost it's bolt. Bracket was bent and the bushing was destroyed.

Thankfully for us, a young trucker came over to see what our problem was. He climbed under, found a bolt in his gear, straightened the bracket and put everything back on so we could travel to our next stop.

I ordered a new set of brackets and bushings and we had a mobile repair service install them.

Just a note for everyone that you might want to check those bolts. The repair guy said that this sometimes happens to a series of chassis when the torque is set wrong and is not changed for an entire run of chassis. They eventually catch it and change the torque back to what it should have been, but those that were not tightened properly all have a problem.

This should be a recall

[ct78barnes]

The TBS is 12-6-1 I would call Ford Customer service with your paper work and see if the will pay you back for your cost. We did this with a battery last year and they paid it under the 3/36.

[ct78barnes]

I just got off the phone with Ford and they ran my vin and I have a F53 22,500 rail and he is calling my local Ford Dealer to see if they can do the repair. He told me that there is a kit with in proved bushings and new bar. My 3/36 ends May 19th so he said if it was his he would get it done. I asked him if I went past May 19th and he said he would get it done before the 3/36 was over. This is a great site and you just saved me a lot of money getting this up grade done for free. Thanks Again and I will try to keep you up dated on the repairs.

[rondeb]

I didn't figure that Ford would cover the cost. WE have ordered the parts and have paid for them to be installed. Just letting people know that you might want to check your bolts.

[traveylin]

I am glad to see this as a recognized issue. I had the torsion bar come loose twice and even took it to Ford truck dealer to no avail. After hours under the chassis, I found out that one of the hold down brackets on the passenger side required a bolt 3/8 inch shorter because it was bottoming out on part of the axle making a snug fit impossible. The cost was a two dollar bolt substitution. The frustration with getting a fix from Ford was enormous.

pops

[rgatijnet1]

There are things called "recalls" that usually involve safety issues. There are also things called TSB's, which stand for Technical Service Bulletins, which is what most factory KNOWN vehicle problems are called. You can do a search online for almost any vehicle and find out what TSB's are known to exist on your vehicle MODEL. This does not mean that your specific vehicle will have that problem, but that there is a known issue that affects SOME of the similar models produced during that time period. Sometimes the dealer will automatically check to see if you have any TSB's when you come in for service but most of the time, the dealer will NOT do anything because he does not know if your vehicle is one that has a specific problem. Basically if you do a search and you find that there are a lot of TSB's for your vehicle, which is NOT unusual at all, then you check to see if any of the TSB's seem to mention a problem that you are experiencing. Once you have this information you MAY be able to get the dealer to take care of the issue if your vehicle is still under factory warranty. If it is out of warranty, it is next to impossible to get a dealer to take care of a TSB without you footing the bill.

[Effy]

While you are it you might as well reverse the z brackets and tighten up the rear sway. Front too. Chf makes a big difference

[deereone]

This was a problem on the 2011 Ford F53 chassis.

[lostdog]

It is a recall, I believe. The Ford Service center I've dealt with called it a "silent" recall. Also I was told the problem was from a series of bolts that were the wrong length. Anyway it is covered under warranty.