Hey guys, new Ford owner from south Louisiana here. I just purchased a 17 F250 6.7 lariat. The previous owner was a woman driver who wanted a truck so her husband got her this one. It has 31k miles on it and has never towed/pulled anything. She used the truck as a daily commute and traded it in for a camery for better mpg.

Anywho, to my question, I had a fellow Ford owner ask me today have I experienced the death wobble yet? I told him that I hadn’t and he said that “ to fix it you needed to add aftermarket shocks etc” when I got home I looked at the shocks and I dont believe they are the stock shocks. They are Ranchos. The previous owner also installed a 3” readylift level kit.

My question is this, are my shocks stock or aftermarket? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I know sometimes companies will put aftermarket items on their trucks from the factory.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

That looks like the factory Rancho that comes with your year models FX4 package. Shocks aren’t typically the cause of death wobble. The steering stabilizer (which is also a shock but horizontally mounted above your front axle) could be the cause of wobble.

 

I haven’t experienced the wobble yet so is that a good thing?

 

I have dual stabilizers and never had the wobble. I think there are other components that go into preventing it though. It looks like the previous owner is using spacers for those stock wheels. If they are sticking out past the fenders there are spacers on there. You may want to read up on spacers if this is the case here.

 

Death wobble has been almost but eliminated on new generation straight axle trucks. (Those that have experienced it may disagree with me but it’s not like it used to be years ago). I wouldn’t worry about it. Keep up with routine maintenance and make sure the front end is routinely checked by qualified technicians who know how to identify wear. It looks like you have slightly more aggressive tires, so that puts a little extra wear on front end.

 

I didn’t realize it had spacers but I appreciate you telling me about it. As of now I’m towing a 32’ bumper pull (9000 lbs fully loaded) and I would imagine I would be ok right?

 

Others on here are better educated on spacers and towing with spacers. One issue is what type are they? If they are cheap I'd take them off towing 9000 lbs. If they are high quality Bora spacers you might be OK. My preference towing that much would be to remove them. Ask a qualified mechanic before you remove them but first make sure they are Bora (brand) spacers.

 

One problem with the leveling kit is that the headlights need to be adjusted down. If you're towing, then the headlights are even worse and could be pointing in the trees. If you're had people flash you at night then that's a good clue that the headlights need adjustment.

 

Because the tires are so large, does the truck need the spacers to give the tires room to turn in the finderwell? or are the spacers just on the truck to stick the rims out to look “cool”

 

My truck fit 37x12.50r20s with out any wheel spacers, when I had just a leveling kit. What part of South Louisiana are you from?

 

I’m in Washington parish. I will look and see what size my tires are and see if they are the same. I noticed the tires did rub when I made a U turn with the wheel all the way turned.

 

If the rub at full lock I doubt you have wheel spacers. They are probably just rubbing on the radius arms.

 

Is there a way I can tell if I have spacers without taking the wheels off? Lol I’m so new to this, all of my previous tundras were stock.

 

You should be able to see through the wheel or from behind the wheel. Post a few pics.

 

I couldn’t tell from the pictures but maybe you can. The front tires stick out more than the back.