The "Death Wobble"
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 669
Likes: 179
It happened the other day while my wife was with me. She kind of freaked. I actually let go of the steering wheel and carried on at 70 mph to see what would happen. The front end was shaking something terrible. I wasn't sure which was more likely to kill me .... her or the truck. I tried speeding up and that didn't help either. Eventually I had to almost come to a stop before things settled down. I've had two previous F350s but until now I'd only heard of the dreaded death wobble.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,664
Likes: 219
From: Northwest
Death Wobble = Harmonics
The term "Perfect Storm" (Above) is a great layman's description.... When all of those little vibrations align things happen.... Road condition, tires, speed, drive shaft.... The list is long. That is why it can seldom be recreated. Removing all the slack from the front end is a good start. Finding a Heavy Truck Service center (not automotive) is difficult, but they do exist.
You could always trade it off.... Now you know why there are so many used trucks with 50k miles that have had 4 different owners...
Hobo
The term "Perfect Storm" (Above) is a great layman's description.... When all of those little vibrations align things happen.... Road condition, tires, speed, drive shaft.... The list is long. That is why it can seldom be recreated. Removing all the slack from the front end is a good start. Finding a Heavy Truck Service center (not automotive) is difficult, but they do exist.
You could always trade it off.... Now you know why there are so many used trucks with 50k miles that have had 4 different owners...
Hobo
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 10,154
Likes: 7,984
From: Texas
It happened the other day while my wife was with me. She kind of freaked. I actually let go of the steering wheel and carried on at 70 mph to see what would happen. The front end was shaking something terrible. I wasn't sure which was more likely to kill me .... her or the truck. I tried speeding up and that didn't help either. Eventually I had to almost come to a stop before things settled down. I've had two previous F350s but until now I'd only heard of the dreaded death wobble.
Best of luck getting it fixed.
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 669
Likes: 179
Thanks, I ended up discovering that Ford has extended warranty to deal with this issue. They will be changing my steering dampener.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 769
Likes: 156
The main culprit is the track bar ball joint. Replacing your steering dampener is not a waster either.
FTE Legend
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 31,875
Likes: 9,171
From: Western NY
My old 96 F250 (with 86 KP Dana 60 SAS) had a problem with death wobble way back when. Turned out it was an out of balance front tire. Any component in the front end could potentially cause a DW problem when it comes to a vehicle with a front solid axle.
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xjcamaro89
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