As stated in previous posts, several '97 - '03 Ford F150's are coming up with a vibration around 40 mph only when under a smooth, steady throttle. I found this in both 4X2 and 4X4 trucks. (Two loaner trucks of '98 and '00 years had this also) I have a '01 Super Cab Off Road 4X4 (28,500 miles) and tried several tire rotations to fix it with no help. Then I put on new wheels and tires. Still had the vibration. This truck has not been off road to any degree that would cause a problem such as this. Went to my local Ford Dealer with the info from a previous post about a TSB concerning a vibration dampner that helped one individuals truck. I got a copy and was told it was only for 4X2 trucks. Then we went to battle.....

The Service Manger here looked the truck over and told me I, yes I, needed to put the stock wheels and tires back on the vehicle for his testing. The more I thought, the madder I got over that one. Anyway, to shorten this, others in the service area thought different and convinced me to leave the truck when the manager was off. I did. They first changed to another set of wheels and tires to eliminate any chance of it being them. This is Ford directed I was told. The next thing was that they got permission from Ford to try the TSB on the Anti-vibration kit. It was installed between the rear bumper and the frame. It actually did do some good but did not eliminate the vibration. I insisted there was still a problem. The same tech went into the truck again and found one rear axle to be a bit out of specs. He ordered a new set with Fords permission. They went through two sets of axles before getting the correct set. Ford actually stopped shipping axles until they could get a packaging problem fixed. The boxes were labeled wrong and they always got the incorrect set of axles. With that problem fixed, they finally got in a good set of axles. As a side note, each time my axles were removed and replaced, the vibration would change the speed at which it was felt at. This really pointed at the axles. Today, they got the correct axles installed and .... no vibration at all that I could find from 0 to 65 mph. The truck still has the TSB kit installed but I really think it is not necessary. Ford says to leave it on though.

I feel that the TSB only counteracted the results of a bad axle from the factory instead of fixing the problem.

I must thank Kevin, (Service Tech.), Herb, (Service Writer), and Gary (Parts Counter Tech) for their help on this problem. They work at McGloklin Ford in Safford, Az.

Sorry that I could not get the names of those asking for this specific info. Hope you all locate it here.

 

Good to hear that your dealer was willing to stick with it to correct the problem, unlike mine that keeps telling me that my idle vibration is normal. Ford is supposed to get back with me this week and I'll go from there.
Jimmy

 

Was just wondering......how much, if anything, did this cost you? I have an '02 F150 FX4 with this problem. Have rotated and balanced the tires to no avail. Its no longer under warranty and this sounds expensive. My vibration starts around 20mph upon smooth acceleration and never really goes away. Once I reach speed and coast it becomes less noticeable, but still there. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

Mine is still under the original factory warranty so I have no idea as to the cost. Sorry..... You might talk to them concerning the TSB and see if it has been updated to cover yours.

This is from an earlier post of mine about the TSB - TSB # 02-21-11 Titled Ride - Harsh Ride-Cab/Body osicillation/Bounce - Highway speeds - 4X2 Models Only 97-02 Article 98-8-12 is being republished to update the model year coverage. The TSB publication date is Oct 21, 2002. My dealer has not looked at my truck yet but says this is for 4X2, (mine is 4X4) and that it pertains to "highway" speeds (my complaint is at 40 - 45 mph).

If you search under vibrations you will find the first of this thread.

 

dad26,

Here's another peculiar...
I started having a vibration in my truck at the 20mph and it faded to it's loudest and most notiuceable at 45 and then out at 65mph. The truck stated this with around 52,000 miles on the odo. Sounded like a star trek warp drive.... a "whomp whomp" noise and feeling.
I had the tires rebalanced when I rotated them without any change to the vibration. I checked the driveshaft for a loose/ worn joint and thrown weights. Nothing missing or messed up there.
I knew people have had auto tranny related vibrations with these trucks, with the vibration coming in around 45 mph. After checking all else, I was thinking it was the torque convertor and I was getting ready for a tranny flush, fill, and filter to rule that out.
To make this long story short, the tires had 60k miles (warranteed to 45K) and were looking/feeling worn out. The truck often did a "burn out" on wet pavement without me tromping on the gas. With 3/32" left to the wear indicator, I think they needed to be replaced. I did that and the vibration is gone.

The tires were the Goodyear Wrangler LT245/75R16's (remember this is a 7700) that had come with the truck when new. I replaced them with a discount brand and went up to a load rating E from D. The ride is now smooth as a baby's bottom. Perhaps the Goodyears have problem with balancing?

Just an idea if the axle is not your problem.

-Kerry

 

It does seem that the 7700's are very sensitive to bad tires.
I wonder if it is because the tires and wheels they use are quite heavy and the rest of the suspension isn't "tuned" to them as well as it could be?

 

I'll second that dave. Even though the Yoko's I have are suposed to be pretty good tires, they make more noise and vibration than the goodyears did and its definitely harmonic as it will come and go. So a tuning issue might be the case. I want to try different tires, but I'm invested too heavily in these (I bought 5 to match and doubt I could recover more than 60% of my investment, so I'll deal for now)

IMO a tire with 3/32's tread can't be counted on. Is it a fault of the tire? No, its just wear. Some things can't be avoided. I've had cars that wear tires square and smooth without EVER BEING ROTATED! And others I can rotate once a week and get odd wear issues. It just happens.

 

I guess I'll see if the discount tires make the vibration sooner than the Goodyears. I was looking at sinking over $700 into tires and install. For just $380 I came away with the cut rates. Man did they use some weights!! Must have been nearly 4oz on three of the four wheels. But the Goodyears had almost the same amount on the last rebalance.

I've always had good results with the off brands.... time will tell.

-Kerry

 

AzPete,

I have a very similar vibration in my 2000 F150 supercab long bed with the 4.2L V6 and manual transmission. The vibration starts at ~35mph and goes away at ~40mph. It isn't too bad if you accelerate quickly through that speed, but if you try to maintain that speed, the vibration is terrible, to the point where in a 35 mph zone, I floor it to 40 and let it coast back to 30... not fun.

On the way through the 35-40 range when slowing, the vibration is present, but not nearly as strong. With your truck, did you notice a big difference in the vibration when under power or coasting?

Also of note, I don't feel the vibration through the wheel (more through the seat) and the vibration frequency is the same whether I'm in 3rd or 4th gear, so I don't think it's engine related even though the vibration amount changes with throttle. I would appreciate any help from anyone!

 

Yep, sounds like the one I had. Power on made it go away. Coasting was not nice. In neutral or and gear on the automatic made no difference either. All felt in the seat, none in the wheel. Hope this helps.

 

I am currently having the same problem. I have a 2003 F150 XL V6 manual w/ 4500 miles and the service department has given me every excuse that smoke and mirror can produce. The first trip I was told that the tire had to much air pressure and they wasnt prep right when I pick up the truck. The second trip the clammed to have made sure that the tire were balanced and the rims were true (kinda hard to believed that they made sure the rims were true, since the weights were never removed). the 3rd trip they said it was the axle so one was ordered, no luck. The four trip was and end result of a Ford field tech clamming to find a rim not true (strange since they say it was true on trip 2), still not luck with a new rim. I was pretty fed up by this point and I called Ford after the service department refused to return my call, and they had them swap all tires and rims with a new truck on the lot (the rims were polished chrome, but they had swirl marks so I wasn't convinced that the rims were new. Ny original one they removed didn't have any swirl marks), that didnt help either. So now I been told by the service department that they have a new Ford field teh that believes the TSB on the vibration dampener with resolve the problem and it on order right now. Don't get me wrong I love the truck but I can stand the service departments at these places, you feel as if they actually believe that all people are gullible but I believe that my 4 years has a higher IQ that the service manger and desk jockeys that tyr to play the middle man.

 

I have a 2002 Fx4 Supercab built in 5/02. Many issues one of which was vibration at 40-45mph. Two different dealers told me it was within specification which was BS. Finally at 17K I had the tires rotated and balanced and it rides smooth. Noticed it returned at 20K and coincidentally found the weight lying in my driveway. I returned and had rebalanced and it rides smooth again. Funny that problem went away once I paid for balance out of my own pocket...

 

This is an old thread, but I just wanted to see if anyone else had tried replacing their axles to solve the problem. My '99 Xcab 4x4 does this very thing at ~42mph and it drives me nuts. So far, new shocks and air pressure haven't changed anything. Next is getting the tires balanced and rotated. Maybe that will fix it.

I am not interested in the damper yet, as that seems to be a bandaid kind of fix.

 

AzPete,
Did they replace your front or rear axles? If rear, do you have and 8.8 Ford or 9.25 Sterling? Did they replace both axle shafts or the entire axle housing too?

 

My 2002 F150 is doing the same thing! at 43-48 mph. its a v-6 5 speed 4x4 short bed single cab. Its also riding on BFG all terrains at 65 psi. and aftermarket aluminum rims. So what exactly is the problem; the axle shafts? front or rear? they seem to be coming from the rear as im only feelin this vibration in my seat like everyone else. Im kinda of confused at this point..I have a warranty on it, so what should i tell those jerks in the service department?

Travis