maybe i'm gettin old, but i sure wouldn't complain about some vibration in my pants. I'll take it wherever I can get it! J/K, I have no vibration, rough ride, nibble, or anything. I love this truck. I can say this though, I have an 04 Screw XLT 4x4. I originally wanted an FX4, wo thats what I was test driving for the first few months at a couple of different dealers. Tell ya what, I didn't get the FX4 because I thought the suspension was so tight that is rode like a covered wagon. I've driven for thirty years, and owned nothin but trucks, and what I drove and felt was NORMAL for a tighter than a drum suspension like the FX4 has. It get real "bouncy" on washboardy surfaces and other continuous bumps. I drove the XLT and the ride was perfect. Still trucklike, but the problem was the stiff suspension in the FX4. So, I just had them add the skid plates underneath and aside from the decals and 18 inch wheels (I can get bigger tires if I want) it is the same truck with a spongier suspension and much better ride. Have you FX4 guys driven the XLT or Lariat yet? It could just be too much "off road ride" for you all?

 

BBall99, I had my dealer check my tires today on the Hunter 9700. You are correct. It showed massive problems with my tire balancing. After remounting and rebalancing 2 tires and rebalancing the other 2, my SCrew rides like a limo. This is the same truck that would bounce so hard over a manhole cover that I was afraid it would change lanes.

After all was done, my numbers were; LF 6, RF 11, LR 19, RR 24.
Should I just go away happy, or should these umbers be better?
Thanks for the info and the help.
MCG

 

I paid a local tire store to check mine. All 4 tires were 5 or under. They said I had a great set of tires (BF Goodrich). My only problem with them is they cause the truck to shimmy when the cold (below 50). However, in Houston we won't have to worry about that until maybe November.

 

BINGO! That has been my thinking since day one. When I was looking at these trucks I test drove the XLT and then the FX4, they are night and day different. The FX4 has a much much stiffer ride then the XLT and I think that is where most of the complaints are comming from.
I bought my FX4 in Feb and have no problems with the truck. If you want to see what I'm talking about, load up the bed of your truck with a couple of friends and go for a ride, you will notice that the "bouncy feel" goes away when there is weight on the suspension.
Now I'm not saying that there are no problems with some of your trucks, but I do think that it is a traight with the FX4 that one may have to get used too. I wonder if adjustable coilovers would do the trick??????

 

The FX4 has the same coil springs and leaf springs as the XLT and Lariat, must be the shocks.

 

Did the 2003 F150 owners have this much conversation about vibes and bounces? Or is it something that happened after Ford moved the rear shocks outboard of the springs?

BTW, now that my tires seem to be balanced properly, I've got no complaints. I'm liking my truck much more than I thought I would.

 

I am the proud owner of a 03 4 x 4 4.6 Scab manual 3.55LS. See signature.

The ride in my truck is "truck like" but no vibration what-so-ever. Really, all in all a nice ride on smooth roads and rough roads. Only exception is a sort of busy feeling and thumps on concrete with the strips every so often. I would say overall fairly quiet and civilized for a truck. It is my understanding that Ford added additional insulation in the 03 model. Not sure if that is just marketing talk or not.

I have not been in a new 04 so I don't have anything to compare to except my past vehicles and the 03 is so much more competent than anything else I owned before that I am sure the 04s (assuming no vibration issues) would blow me away.

Chip

 

I have an 04 Lariat SCab 4x2 that has no vibrations below 40 mph or above 50 mph. However, the majority of my daily commute is spent driving between 40 - 50 and the vibration can be irritating. I've owned 7 full size pickups over the last 20 years. This is the first one I've owned that the vibration is not caused by out of balance tires. They added shims to the drive shaft that changed the speed at which the vibration is worst (was 46 - 48 and now it's 42 - 44). Wish I could get hold of a new drive shaft just to see if it solves the problem but the dealer and Ford refuse to do any more warranty work on it. I'll probably trade for another manufacturer this fall when the 2005s come out.

 

Now that makes me see RED!

Why should you incur a loss due to depriciation for buying a product that is "unfit for consumption".

If I hear many more of these, I may champion a class-action lawsuit against Ford.

Who's on board?

 

I too am waiting for an 05 but it will be another Chev Z71 as this $45000 Ford vibrator has taken it's toll on my patience!
Class action?? Where do I sign? We have no lemon law in Canada and Ford should be ashamed putting out a product like some of these 150's! I filed every dispute I could find and that's about all I can do other than badmouth Ford for not fixing it. Not saying they are all bad but mine sure and everytime it go's in the dealership shop it comes out worse!

 

Since the vibration isn't a safety problem and the truck is driveable the odds are I won't get any where with the lemon law process. Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet, pay down the balance and buy a competing product this fall. I hate to take the loss but I don't like driving the thing either. The first day I had it a little voice in my head kept telling me to take it back but I thought a vibration problem wouldn't be such a hassle. Next time I listen to the little voice. I won't be buying another Ford product and I won't be buying from the same dealer (they have other franchises).

I get when I read people think we're being over sensitive about the vibration. I drove my 2001 Silverado on the same roads for 90,000 miles and never had a vibration problem. Yes the Ford is more solid and the interior way is much better but the Chevy didn't VIBRATE.

Sorry about the rant...I'll feel much better now. No need to call the guys in the white coats.

 

2004 F 150 crewcab Lariet 2x w/ 373 LS. Truck has 1076 miles now and the dealer has put 406 of those miles on "testing it" . Viberation at 20 to 28 MPH and ,the all to mentioned ,"rear end whine" both defects acknowledge by dealer and recorded. 13 days out of 29 days of ownership in dealer shop. Actions performed; re-balance tires,replace tires and wheels with a set from another vehicle,replace driveline,replace ring-pinion and clutch plates and carrier bearings,check runout tolerances on pinion flange,axle shafts,u-joints and carrier bearing.Installed 4 degree shim kit and viberation spread out over larger MPH range,installed 2 degree shim kit and dealer states "it drives much better now" .What ever that means? Still pursuing the whine problem and "we might install another ring and pinion" . I enjoy the truck but I ain't gonna put up with this. Contacted a Lemon Law attorney. In California it takes 4 plus returns for the same problem or 30 days in the shop for the same problem.I am approaching the "triggers" to pursue a suit.I'll keep ya posted,I'm asking for another like truck. Good luck to all.

 

I have had ride problems that I have never seen discussed. I got my short bed Fx4 on 12-31- 03. I didn't notice a problem on the test drive. After that though the ride was so bad on smooth asphalt that I decided to test drive another one to see if that was normal. It was like you could feel evey stone on the road. As luck would have I found one at a different dealer that was an exact match to the one I had. It was just as rough. A couple months after I bought it a peculiar thing happened. I took it out one day and I can only describe the ride as perfectly smooth. I felt like I had been riding in a luxury car! Now as the days have gotten warmer it rides like that every day. It seems like it must be a problem with the General tires. I have been acutely aware of ride quality ever since I've had it and I don't think it has any of the more standard problems I've heard about. Tire pressure is running at 35 PSI. In warm weather I've checked the ride out from 0-80mph with no problems. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

Not me, but I've read on this and other forums of problems with some manufacturer's tires that 'flat-spot' from sitting over-night or any extended period of time.

 

Any new findings with the F-150 vibration?

Is road force balancing the answer to the vibration problems?