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I've had a multitude of death wobble problems and Ford customer service is a JOKE!
I've decided if I keep the truck to pay $1000 out of pocket to fix the suspension the right way at a non-Ford mechanic. I have a full bumper to bumper warranty but Ford won't cover anybody but their dealerships. Well in 3 months the parts Ford put on have broken twice.
However, my daily drive with my 2012 F250 is about 25 minutes at about 45 -55 mph and the same drive back. It's 13 miles one way. I tow about once a month max and it's about 5000 - 7000 lbs. The truck has 37K miles on it at 3.5 yrs old. I'm really toying with trading it for a tundra today. I love this truck but people have told me if I don't work it enough it will start having trouble. I have not had any engine trouble to date (besides the crack cylinder thing which they fixed) and it goes into regen about every one to two days. Do you think this kind of driving will affect the truck down the road or would have issues have already popped up by now?
Do you have a "leveling kit"?? Larger tires?
And what does the caster measure? I have found that many trucks can benefit from a +1 caster correction.
+1 is the minimum I would go with and level kit or left/larger tires.
It is stock with no leveling kit and the factory size tires. I've read about the caster but it seems like a lot of work to adjust it. The suspension place said the Ford parts stink. Ford replaced the track bar, tie rod, bushings on both sides in May and again in July and now in october it's broke again. If I keep it I was going to replace all of those parts with Moog parts and put in a dual stabilizer something or other. The suspension place said that should fix it. Fingers crossed. Moreso, I worry about all this stuff I hear about if you don't work it hard enough you'll run into trouble.
I experienced the death wobble too, I had to take my truck to ford two times to get it fixed. Finally after arguing they fixed it. Replaced the steering stabilizer. It was out of adjustment and didn't meet the specs to get replaced. They replaced it free of charge (under warranty). Now my truck is having a rough idle and intermittent loss of power. Really not too happy might be looking for a new truck.
It is stock with no leveling kit and the factory size tires. I've read about the caster but it seems like a lot of work to adjust it. The suspension place said the Ford parts stink. Ford replaced the track bar, tie rod, bushings on both sides in May and again in July and now in october it's broke again. If I keep it I was going to replace all of those parts with Moog parts and put in a dual stabilizer something or other. The suspension place said that should fix it. Fingers crossed. Moreso, I worry about all this stuff I hear about if you don't work it hard enough you'll run into trouble.
Although none of my trucks have ever had this problem I would not hesitate to correct the caster. And probably add more than the factory spec.
Picture a shopping cart being pushed backwards, just doesn't work. I have used up to +3 of caster in lifted trucks with great success.
If my new truck did this I would start at +1. I would bet it is non-existent at +1.5 or so.
A new stabilizer may mask the problem for a while but in the end those wheels want to wobble. And being a solid axle truck you only need to be out on one side and the steering components will transfer the wobble to the other.
The origin or genesis of Death Wobble lies in the Track Bar, from there it spreads like a cancer to any component that hangs under the front frame.
At the FIRST sign of DW your number 1 objective is to fix the Track Bar, the longer you delay the more DW spreads until every component become a contributing factor from ball joints in.
I ran the Ford Dana 60, HiPinion axle F/R in my Jeep and DW began to plague me. I went to shop after shop, after shop, finally got tired of no fix'ums and the Jeep community offered zero solutions. DW on Jeeps is not an option its standard equipment.
If you want to see DW, put it in a 95 in wheelbase with 135 lbs of tire/rim on each side spinning and drive over a expansion strip. It will pick the Jeep up and put it in a different lane. Guys have gotten broken arms from the violence of the steering wheel. It will RIP the TB mounts off
I finally fixes for good, I redesigned the Track Bar and the lower and upper mounts, problem solved! Total cost about $250
This is the upper mount I cut off, look at the piece of paper I slid into the crack from DW
Ford has replaced the track bar twice in 3 months. That's why I'm done with the dealership. The suspension place said to replace the track bar, bushings, tie rod etc with Moog parts. They even said Ford parts stink. Customer service at Ford refuses to help me unless I take it to a dealership. So that's why if I keep it I'll pay $1000 out of pocket to replace all the parts and put the dual stabilizer on it. My concern is what other problems will I face on this truck?
The origin or genesis of Death Wobble lies in the Track Bar, from there it spreads like a cancer to any component that hangs under the front frame.
At the FIRST sign of DW your number 1 objective is to fix the Track Bar, the longer you delay the more DW spreads until every component become a contributing factor from ball joints in.
I ran the Ford Dana 60, HiPinion axle F/R in my Jeep and DW began to plague me. I went to shop after shop, after shop, finally got tired of no fix'ums and the Jeep community offered zero solutions. DW on Jeeps is not an option its standard equipment.
If you want to see DW, put it in a 95 in wheelbase with 135 lbs of tire/rim on each side spinning and drive over a expansion strip. It will pick the Jeep up and put it in a different lane. Guys have gotten broken arms from the violence of the steering wheel. It will RIP the TB mounts off
I finally fixes for good, I redesigned the Track Bar and the lower and upper mounts, problem solved! Total cost about $250
This is the upper mount I cut off, look at the piece of paper I slid into the crack from DW
The farther away from parallel the drag link and track car go, the more bump steer you get. What you describe is classic bump steer.
I have corrected a multitude of lifted trucks with a wobble. Nearly all were attributed to caster.
My FJ40 used to act like your jeep when I hit a bump on the highway. It turned out the front BD springs had gotten so soft from rock crawling that they were compressing at speed. And you are right, it can be violent and scary.
10-17-2015, 11:28 AM
