Good afternoon Gents,
I recently was driving around 495 around Washington DC at 70 MPH and hit a bridge abatement which immediately sent my truck into an uncontrolled shaking from hell. It was so violent I couldnt control the steering wheel and crossed two lanes of traffic going straight ahead immediately jamming on the brakes. I slowed to about 25MPH and finally my truck stopped shaking. Had I been driving in a lot of traffic I would have killed someone. Anyway, I immediately took it to the Ford garage where I bought it, which just happens to also be a Commercial Ford truck dealership with an entire shop dedicated to just diesels. I told them what happened and the service manager told me to relax and not worry, they have dealt with it before and they would take care of me. They immediately called enterprise and put me in a rental and off I went. The service manager called me 2 days later and told me my truck was ready to be picked up. I asked him what my bill would be and he told me that my extended warranty covered everything, all I would owe is a $100 deductible. I said ok and proceeded to the dealership to pick up my truck. I looked at the work order and the list of components they replaced was very long, which included the trac bar, steering stabilizer, control arms, and a few other components I cant remember right now. The only thing I think they didnt replace was the axle itself. Anyways, I have been driving it for the last 2 weeks, and it feels great, no issues. The dealership is Battlefield Ford, and they did a really nice job taking care of the issue, not blaming any under the sun which seems to happen a lot to guys out there. They immediately took responsibility for it and fixed it. My warranty is 125K or 6 years, so they are on the hook for a while if any other issues do come up. For you guys out there that are still having problems with the DW, its because your dealership is not owning up to the issue. This is a manufacturers problem, not something you created. Hold your dealership and Ford accountable. There is no perfect truck, that is why there is a warranty. USE IT...

 

Why anyone would want the same substandard part (factory steering stabilizer) installed a second time just because it's under warranty is beyond me. To each their own I guess.

 

The "reason" I wanted ford parts is because when you spend 68K on a truck and an additional 2500$ on an extended warranty, you should use it. Why should you pay for an aftermarket part that not only costs you money out of your pocket, but would be an obvious excuse for Ford to void your warranty and deny you coverage in the future. Doesnt make sense to me...

 

And how many times will you be willing to play this game? My time is worth something and it will take precedent over principal in a case of small money. A Bilstein 5100 stabilizer is $75, you can install it in about ten minutes, and never worry again. Just like the guys with the "Rancho Branded Shocks" on the FX4 pkg. Some keep going back to the dealer every 10k miles for free crap replacement on principle. 3 out of my 4 were blown in under 1k miles, I installed Bilsten 5100s, and done. Yes, I've spent a lot of money on my truck and I shouldn't have to do this, but every vehicle has something like this. I'd rather have it right than free...

 

I understand what you are saying. My truck has the FX4 package, and the first thing I did was replace the shocks as soon as I got it. I put Rancho 9000XLs on it and love them. For the steering stabilizer though, I am not going to risk the truck being denied a warranty claim for an aftermarket part. Just a difference of approach.

 

Sergeant, there's more to it also, which is a sad thing. 8 out of 10 dealer service departments will not even come close to handling this situation like yours did. Even fewer if a vehicle no longer has warranty coverage. Unfortunately, I'm convinced that at least 50% of posts and rants here at FTE are the result of mis handled warranty claims and mis understood service managers. There are far too many dealer service departments that make going to the dmv feel like spring break.

 

So I am wondering if Ford has addressed this issue in the later years. Most of what I have seen is mid200's through 2012.

Did they address it in 2013 - 2014 - 2015 with higher spec components / stabilizers?

Or

Are the 2013 - 2014 - 2015 trucks seeing this as well in their stock configurations?

P.S. In my opinion, if you lift the truck to any degree or modify it in any way - all bets are off the table.. Bigger tires / different wheel offsets etc are included in that..

 

Problem is for warranty, you have to justify each and every piece that is being replaced, and describe in detail the testing done to arrive at that conclusion. All warranty parts are sent back in to Ford for them to inspect them. If they are found ok, they are charged back to the dealer. Chances are, that dealer is going to eat the cost of that repair.

 

Randy, this isn't just a Ford issue....any vehicle with a solid front axle can have this problem, and the coil springs make it even more likely vs leaf springs. And you are correct, going with bigger tires, less back spacing on the wheels, lifts, etc. can magnify the problem. Dodge and Jeep also have problems with DW. There are also wobbles that are not true DW, but balance issues. On my JEEP, I recently went thru a wobble that was speed related. At 34 MPH, if I held that speed for more than just a few seconds, it would start shaking real bad. I could accelerate thru that speed and avoid it, and was fine! As a side note, the JEEP has Goodyear MT/ R, 37-12.50x 17's with internal beadlocks....very heavy! But any way, I took the rig in, and had the tires Roadforce balanced and that cured my problem. Also, a week after I did this, I smashed my steering stabilizer on a rock and had to remove it......the Jeep still drives without any wobbles without the SS! In most cases the Steering Stabilizer is just a cover up of the real problem! I now just feel more bumps and stuff from the road. I will be relacing the SS as soon as I get to town tho.
The above post, where the tracbar, control arms,etc. were replaced was also a good place for true DW cure.
PS. I had a 1956 IH 3/4 ton pickup ( 2wd ) that had severe DW issues, but at that time, I did not understand all the stuff I needed to in order to deal with it correctly!

 

Yes, I'm betting they will eat it too. And Vince, I'm not trying to criticize anyone and I don't think you took offense, but it's not my intent. Quality techs don't get listened too either.....

 

To address this, your warranty can not be voided due to an aftermarket stabilizer unless the dealer can prove your stabilizer caused a failure. (Which would be extremely unlikely.) Magnuson Moss addresses that.

 

Totally understand what you are saying, but Ford should have to eat this repair, not the dealership. This is a flaw from the manufacturer. If this is a common problem for this type of axle, then they can either stop selling these trucks or they should go to an independent front axle. I am tired of people making excuses for poor designs/craftsmanship. For the price of one of these new trucks, mine in 2012 was 68K, it should all but blow you. You should not have to worry about parts failing you and a death wobble. I personally dont care who eats the repair cost. But the consumer SHOULD NOT have to pay a dime for a design flaw... End of statement.

 

You may know that Jeeps begin harmonics around 35 mph.

Yes you are running a heavy tire/wheel, I ran Walker Evans BL's with MTR's till the BFG KM2's came out and found them to be a better tire for Off road and far easier to balance (took less weight).

I ran for a SS a Rancho 5401. It is the HD version of the the Rancho 5407 for the Ford SD OEM =

If you have DW the number #1 culprit is the track bar as the cause, everything else is an adjunct.

While out in Pomona, Ca attending the Off Road Expo I was driving I 10 which is in dire need of repair. The road is rougher than a Nyquil hangover and no ones friend, Death Wobble, is trying to hitch a ride with me at about 70 mph. Of course it picked a great time to do it as I was lifting a cup of near boiling coffee to my lips.

Suddenly I find myself trying to steer, dodge boiling coffee and traffic at the same time. I’ve got 7 or 8 cars around me that are watching the Jeep Rubicon do the Death Wobble 2-step, coffee is everywhere but mostly on the inside of the windshield, my lower lip and between my legs which is causing me to lift out of my seat.

Finally I get the Jeep settled down enough to pull over in the wish I wasn’t here lane. I get out to do an inspection and of course normal cars are whizzing by only inches from my burnt body. At least the wind is making my crotch and lower lip feel a little better.

Turning the Jeep around at the next exit and heading back to the motel to change clothes, and try to figure out what to do about my lower lip. I also need to think about what I can tell my wife that she will believe about why I have a scalded crotch.

The genesis of my problem is in the frame side of my track bar mount. Fix TB fix DW in most cases...

 

I understand that it is not just a Ford SuperDuty issue as I've had other vehicles (Jeeps most notably) that all had some degree of it as they grew older.. Odd that none of my F150 4x4's ever had the issue..
Anyway - the band aide as it's being called is to address worn track bar bushings, bigger/better steering stabilizers, bigger/better shocks..
My point is - if this is the approved band-aide, I have to wonder if Ford is putting better shocks and stabilizers and maybe different track bar bushing materials in the 2013+ trucks, or have we just not gotten enough miles on these newer trucks to have worn out the same old stuff they have been installing since 2010 when the first 2011 trucks were delivered?

 

Never really knew that this was a widespread issue until I joined FTE here. I bought some used 20x9" wheels with used goodyear duratracs from a guy local, slapped them on what was a stock 17" wheel truck, and away I went (around 25000 miles on the truck at this point). From the moment I had the wheels on, the wobble started. Of course I attributed it to the used tires and possibly out of balance wheels. It couldn't be anything else, right? That's the only thing I had changed. And why would they be out of balance if this kid just took them off of his truck?

Anyway, go about getting them balanced and tires checked for unusual wear...long story, never going back to a Sears auto center again....and all seems to be well (up to 33000 miles now). But now reading this stuff, not so sure it was ONLY wheel/tire balance that was shaking my teeth loose at highway speeds.

The tires are about 33" and the wheels are a very small backspacing change from stock. I know both of these things can amplify the vibration, but that would only mean it was there before, just not noticeable. I would like to take it to a dealer to see what they say, but if I replace stock tires and can't get it to repeat, they aren't going to do anything anyway, regardless of me knowing it is there or not.

Opinions? Should I worry if the vibrations/wobbles aren't hardly noticeable anymore?