newer F250 violent shake

[Iraqvet05]

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?

[ksss]

BigToe wrote:
I've had straight front axles in every pickup truck I've ever owned, from model years 1963 thru my current 2000, and never once experienced death wobble. From these decades of experience, it is hard to believe that straight front axles are to blame for death wobble.

The difference between my straight front axle trucks, versus the SFA trucks that are on YouTube with Death Wobble, is that all of mine had/have front leaf springs, and all the ones I read about and see videos of have front coil springs.

That isn't to say that front coil springs cause Death Wobble. My GMC has front coil springs, and has never experienced Death Wobble either, and that is a truck that has been pressed into some very hard and fast service. But the GM coils came with independent front suspension, with A arms, and the front axle isn't solid.

Since Death Wobble is most often reported on solid front axles with coil spring suspension, not SFA with leaf springs, and not coil springs with independently articulating front axles... it appears as if the combination of coil springs with straight front axles requires more diligence in design to get it right, and requires tighter tolerances in the parts to survive real life road rumbles from turning into Death Wobble.

I had it on a 84 Chevy 3500 SRW (leaf springs of course). I put dual steering stablizers on it and it went away. Never had it personally on anything with IFS.

[Iraqvet05]

FishOnOne wrote:

I run 65psi on all tires year round. I received a letter from Ford for my 05 Super Duty a few years ago about underinflated tires can cause this suspension oscillation.

I've ran the same tire pressure for about 7 months. The TSB for the 2017-2019 models addresses frozen and/or defective steering stabilizers and camber angles. They didn't mention anything about my tire pressure when I picked it up yesterday. Maybe Ford was grasping for a solution when they suggested tire pressure was the issue...maybe they are grasping for a solution with the current TSB but only time will tell.

[BigToe]

I've had straight front axles in every pickup truck I've ever owned, from model years 1963 thru my current 2000, and never once experienced death wobble. From these decades of experience, it is hard to believe that straight front axles are to blame for death wobble.

The difference between my straight front axle trucks, versus the SFA trucks that are on YouTube with Death Wobble, is that all of mine had/have front leaf springs, and all the ones I read about and see videos of have front coil springs.

That isn't to say that front coil springs cause Death Wobble. My GMC has front coil springs, and has never experienced Death Wobble either, and that is a truck that has been pressed into some very hard and fast service. But the GM coils came with independent front suspension, with A arms, and the front axle isn't solid.

Since Death Wobble is most often reported on solid front axles with coil spring suspension, not SFA with leaf springs, and not coil springs with independently articulating front axles... it appears as if the combination of coil springs with straight front axles requires more diligence in design to get it right, and requires tighter tolerances in the parts to survive real life road rumbles from turning into Death Wobble.

[FishOnOne]

Iraqvet05 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Iraqvet05 wrote:
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.

Why so much rear tire pressure if running unloaded?

65 is too much? I have half a bed of heavy snow in the back for traction...didn't seem like the back was an issue.

It just occurred to me the truck spent half the day inside a heated shop...bet they had some cleaning to do. 🙂

I run 65psi on all tires year round. I received a letter from Ford for my 05 Super Duty a few years ago about underinflated tires can cause this suspension oscillation.

[Iraqvet05]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Iraqvet05 wrote:
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.

Why so much rear tire pressure if running unloaded?

65 is too much? I have half a bed of heavy snow in the back for traction...didn't seem like the back was an issue.

It just occurred to me the truck spent half the day inside a heated shop...bet they had some cleaning to do. 🙂

[Cummins12V98]

Iraqvet05 wrote:
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.

Why so much rear tire pressure if running unloaded?

[kw_00]

Yes some gas truck have block heaters for the northern climates. Funny though my 09 GMC HD 6.0 has a block heater.... and I live in Florida ??. It’s usually an option, and I guess the original owner wanted it so hence it’s on the truck. Sometimes as well it’s part of a package.

[Iraqvet05]

I took the truck into the dealer today. They replaced the stabilizer and have the rest of the parts for the TSB but their alignment rack is out of commission for some building expansion they are having done. I have to bring the truck back to them to replace some caster sleeves and do an alignment. They also replaced some wiring harness that is part of the block heater recall...I didn't even know they put block heaters in gas trucks.

[lenr]

I went to Bilstein shocks and a Rancho stabilizer at about 65,000 miles to (hopefully) prevent death wobble. Hitting one of Indiana's rough bridge transitions at about 90,000 we went into wobble until I could get slowed down to 35 mph. An independent alignment shop found one loose joint on the end of the shaft that runs from the steering gear to the right hub (forget the name). We replaced that and the stabilizer with Ford parts. Mechanic stated that the Ford stabilizer was WAY stiffer than the Rancho that came off. The steering was noticeably stiffer after the work, and we've had no problem since. I was suspicious of the track bar from Ford forum reading but mechanic said it was fine.

Personally, I will stick with Ford parts including the stabilizer. Ford has had this design since 2005, so they have some history. The Ford forums make it sound like it has been reported to safety folks many times with no recalls. Stabilizers can get week with age, and just need to be replaced. They do not compensate for worn, loose, parts.

[Iraqvet05]

My local Ford dealer is going to look at the truck on Thursday. There are a small number of people reporting this issue on the Ford Enthusiast Forum. I assume it’s more common if there is now a TSB for it. I filled out a concern form with the HTSA and looked at some aftermarket steering stabilizers. There are not many aftermarket stabilizer kits that fit stock height trucks but I found a kit from Pro Comp that should work. If Ford doesn’t apply the TSB, I’ll spring for $160 for the Pro Comp kit and install it myself.

[Vvvv1010]

Add a "dual steering stabilizer bar". Go to a Jeep/ 4x4 shop such as 4Wheel Parts and have one installed. With bar you'll feel tighter steering and more control.

Sounds like the "death wobble" as others have stated. Death wobble usually kicks on at highway speeds going from an uneven asphalt surface to a concrete surface.

[Bigfoot_affair]

Anything vehicle with a sfa can and will probably experience DEATH WOBBLE.

Love watching these youtube videos, crazy!

Death wobble @ 65k

Even brand new with under 1k miles...

[Grit_dog]

Wonder what the incremental adjuster assemblies are in that tsb? Caster adjusters? I’m unfamiliar how caster is adjusted on ford axles, but front end alignment at 30k Miles seems a little suspect. Unless the front wheels whacked something really hard or some other unlikely conditions that truck shouldn’t need a front end alignment for a long time.
I’d be interested why it was aligned and that may be a clue as to why it got death wobble.
Good luck with it and if I could suggest, if the dealer under warranty can’t figure it out and you’re not handling it yourself, find a good truck/ 4x4 shop with reccomendations.
Most tire and alignment shops aren’t going to be the place to fix it.
Definitely do more research on it before spending any big bucks.

[CA_Traveler]

With the switch to electric power steering (non hydraulic) from hydraulic a number of different models and mfg cars can have wobble when towed. It's a result of less damping with EPS vs hydraulic.

One solution is a modification that keeps EPS running when towed. My 14 Grand Cherokee has EPS and hydraulic and doesn't have the wobble problem.