its a shortbed and im sure it aint the rims/tires cause its done it with the first set of 36s got rid of those and ran 31s and it did it with those once and i had 35 bf goodrich a/ts on it and it did it once also with those and those are three different sets of rims and tires

 

Replacing worn out or under performing equipment is not masking a problem, it solves or prevents a problem in the first place. Like you, my truck went down the road just fine until one day at about 35 mph I hit a small bump which caused the whole truck to go spastic. I replaced the steering stabilizer with a Rancho unit and that solved that issue. I also discovered that my shock absorbers were worn out and replaced those with Rancho's as well, my personal brand choice. I also had the tire balance rechecked and discovered they were out of balance as well, tires were almost new. The factory single stabilizer setup was designed for stock size wheels and tires and for normal usage. With you running 36" swampers and going offroading you have far exceeded the capability of the single setup and have caused it to just give out due to the increased load of the larger tires. Just as important are good shock absorbers that are designed for this kind of setup and take any lift the truck has into consideration. As for the clunking that you are experiencing when taking off in forward or reverse I agree with the others that it is probably u-joints, a separate issue from the front end, imho. My experience with u-joints has been that when worn out and sloppy loose that they make a constant thumping noise when driving. I cant see that causing the violent shaking that you describe. Don't put the cart before the horse, you need a dual stabilizer setup without question. If you try to fix the wobble without doing this you will wind up chasing your tail. Again, good luck.

 

Replacing worn out or under performing equipment is not masking a problem, it solves or prevents a problem in the first place. Like you, my truck went down the road just fine until one day at about 35 mph I hit a small bump which caused the whole truck to go spastic. I replaced the steering stabilizer with a Rancho unit and that solved that issue. I also discovered that my shock absorbers were worn out and replaced those with Rancho's as well, my personal brand choice. I also had the tire balance rechecked and discovered they were out of balance as well, tires were almost new. The factory single stabilizer setup was designed for stock size wheels and tires and for normal usage. With you running 36" swampers and going offroading you have far exceeded the capability of the single setup and have caused it to just give out due to the increased load of the larger tires. Just as important are good shock absorbers that are designed for this kind of setup and take any lift the truck has into consideration. As for the clunking that you are experiencing when taking off in forward or reverse I agree with the others that it is probably u-joints, a separate issue from the front end, imho. My experience with u-joints has been that when worn out and sloppy loose that they make a constant thumping noise when driving. I cant see that causing the violent shaking that you describe. Don't put the cart before the horse, you need a dual stabilizer setup without question. If you try to fix the wobble without doing this you will wind up chasing your tail. Again, good luck.

 

you keep saying yours had a steering stabilizer on it and mine never did and it was doing fine thats why im saying i wanna get it fixed before i put one on there but i got a idea what it is and ill let you know

 

Ok, now i am stumped. The reason i kept talking about front stabilizers was because the mechanic at the ford dealership that works on my truck told me that 4x4's come with them from the factory, which made sense to me. I assumed that was the case with your truck. Is it possible that they did not do this until later models than your's? I was also assuming that you have the ttb front axle, maybe you have the sas setup, but i don't think it would make a difference either way as far as this goe's. My stepson had a 1978 f150 4x4 rust bucket with an sas front axle and it had a single stabilizer on it, so i just figured it was standard on 4x4's. Interested to find out what problem is. Have you checked u-joints yet?

 

I would check the U joints in the rear drive shaft I had a problem similar when i was on the gas no shaking but as soon as I let off the truck would get a bad vibration. and the stearing stabilizer would be a good investment the OEM equipment just cant handle the bigger tires

 

How much of a lift do you have in the truck b/c when i bought my 4" rough country lift it came with the stering stabilizer. But not all 4x4"s come with one from the factory. My truck is a 95 f150 short bed ext cab and no stabilizer was on the truck before the lift.

 

Ditto. My '95 F150 4x4 didn't come with a steering stabilizer from the factory either...though it has one now.

 

mine has a ttb setup and it doesnt have the stabilizer and i havent had a chance to check the u joints yet and imma check the tie rod ends and the pivoting bushings to