my 2004 f 150 has only 60 k on it and I have chased these micro-shimies since the truck was new ! first there was a giant recall on the 2004 design of the rotors and calipers I have since changed all that again.....this is now the third set of brakes.....New last winter I put on 4 KUMO tires......and have had them rebalanced twice ( bad sign of quality in my opinion ) now 1 strut leaks I am shopping i think LEAWOOD brand on rockauto parts is that a good quality ??????how about changing 1 strut ??? Is that silly at 60 k or should I man up and do both ??? HAS anyone nailed these front end dilemas down ???? darn thing shakes at interstate speeds all the time thxs mike in omaha

 

I would recommend changing both struts out if you have to change one but that is my opinion not fact or tech knowledge. As far as the rest of the shakes go the only other thing I ever had a problem with that you didn't mention checking was with a bad rim that was slightly bent. Don't forget that your truck is now 12 years old so the lower mileage may help on some things but other issues will arise just because of the age.

 

I would replace struts or shocks in pairs if they have age or mileage on them. By only doing 1 you'll have different dampening rates on that end of the truck which will affect handling negatively. I can't say anything good or bad with the LEAWOOD brand, but Monroe and Gabriel make quality shocks and struts for the money. If you want better performance you could go with Bilstiens or another brand of performance shock or strut. Personally, I have always used Monroe or Gabriel with good results. As to the micro shimmies, it could be a balance problem. It could also be a bearing going bad, a bent wheel or a badly warped rotor. Shocks usually won't cause a vibration problem. Also check for worn ball joints.

 

GREAT ADVICE....I will start w an alignment as I have had the tires balanced and changed roters a zillion times......then try 2 struts monroes are on E-bay about 100 each

 

Mike, these trucks use shocks on the front. They are coil over shocks, but still shocks. A strut would replace the upper control arm and ball joint and connect directly to the steering knuckle thus eliminating the need for an upper control arm and ball joint. Manufacturers use struts to save weight and if space is limited. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

Must be new math: 2012-2004=8 in my math class

 

Don't confuse the issue with facts.

 

These trucks are known to eat lower ball joints for dinner... I had went out and bought new struts / rear shocks thinking that was the cause of the rough ride / shake... Well sure enough I replaced my lower ball joints because the Stealership wanted to charge me $350 to do the job... $60 and 4 hours later I had them replaced myself.. Man - what a difference!

So check your lower ball joints and go from there...

 

I love this thread....I am pretty sure I have struts..........Turns out my KUMOUS tires with less then 10 k on them and have already been balanced then rebalanced needed 3 oz each before the weights were taken off !!!!! now they are balanced........it looks like a glob of battleship anchors they need so much weight.... the new issue is WHY these tires are crap ?????what is going on ????I am going to trade them at the tire shop for goodyears !!

 

If you plan on replacing the struts dont waste your money on alignment now. You will need to realign after strut replacement anyway.

 

Sounds like the tires may be the problem. Years ago I occassionally would run into some tires that had balance problems. Got disgusted enough that I had them dismounted so I could replace them. I discovered a bunch of little ***** of rubber and dust inside the tires that were giving me fits on balance. We cleaned all the little ***** out and washed the inside of the tire, remounted and rebalanced to see if that was the problem. Sure enough the balance was good again. It was a long time before I had any more balance problems with that set of tires again. Then I replaced them with a different brand.

 

getting a 50 % credit on KUMOS towards BFG s very fair looking forward to puttin this behind me THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR INPUT !!

 

Good Luck, Mike. I'm dealing with a balance problem on my wife's car with BFG Premier Touring tires. We'll see in the morning what Discount Tire intends to do.