In what way is all your complaining about Ford and coil springs and straight axles helping this issue ?

 

So why did they go to Coil Springs??? You ever spend much time in a buckboard??? How come Jeep went to all coil spring?

You know 2 companies with hundreds of rigs that you personally know they have never had DW...Are you a DW Inspector? just curious...

So nothing you have ever owned has DW, but you know it's out there...that almost sounds like a Twilight Zone episode or maybe you are the Death Wobble Whisperer?

 

My new off the lot 2011 F250 6.2 drove as solid as you could ask for. Not so much as a shimmy out of the front end. I traded up to a new off the lot 2012 F350 6.7 with camper and snow plow options. That truck wore me and the dealer out trying to figure out the DW problem. The Ford Senior Tech suggested adding a dual stabilizer. I added the stabilizer and replaced the stock shocks with Rancho 9000's. That was 65k miles ago and I have not had a single instance of the dreaded death wobble. Problem Solved! I suggested to FOMO that they include the dual stabilizer as standard equipment but that has fallen on deaf ears. I guess it will take a few deaths to get FOMO to make the necessary changes that their techs suggest to customers.
The interesting thing about the two trucks is the 2011 had a problem with the tranny shifting erratically. The dealer never really got that problem solved. I have never had a single slip on the tranny of the 2012. It shifts perfect.
I wish the OP luck in solving his problem.
Happy Trails!!

 

I don’t know that that’s fair. Even leaf sprung trucks historically put the shackles in the front for almost a century, effectively creating a ‘pusher’ type suspension with out real issue. That being said, 99-04 super duty truck designers did put the shackles on the back of the front springs, effectively creating what is known as a shackle reversal from the Jeep geeks.

rather than the actual design, I think the real challenge is the production tolerances on the truck frames combined with some aggressive cost cutting measures on the shocks and steering stabilizers. Remember that ford sells a million F series trucks every year. That means every dollar cut out of a truck is $1M of profit. That’s hard argument for the bean counters at Ford.

 

Yeah. None of their big trucks have ever had death wobble. Several hundred trucks and several million miles no bad behavior out of any leaf-sprung front end. One of the owners is a friend of mine and he ended up with a 2018 F250 that Ford never could cure of DW. He traded it in for another identical truck that had DW too and the dealer told him it really wasn't meant to drive over 65mph. Insanity.



I have no idea why they went to coil springs. I had death wobble with 3 out of 3 Dodges I owned. They ended up needing track bars and ball joints at about every other oil change (15-20K miles).

I've never rode a wagon but I have watched a few miles of highway and oilfield roads pass under the straight axle of a few Peterbilts and Freightliners. Never had a peep out of those front ends, they all had leaf springs and rode fine.

 

Solid front axles with leaf springs rarely get it, but then thye 4 points of attachment 2 on each leaf spring, that hold that axle set in there rather well. Coil springs, on the other hand, have a single point of attachment to hold 500+ lbs of axle from oscillation laterally and that is not an easy job when Mr Newton and his 3rd law of motion comes a-knocking. You saw my post with the pics of what I built to fix mine! OK, NOW its my time to call FORD out, they can do exactly the same thing I did. IIRC I had about $250 in that set up, now I buit from component pieces, Ford, Jeep and the rest can do same a lot cheaper and solve the problem by just going to a more effective setup why they don't I have no idea???

The automakers went to Coil springs because they are more comfortable and easier, quicker to manufacture and install, simple as that, you get a FAR better ride. Speaking of which, Buckboard! A wooden seat with 2 opposing elliptical spring stacked on top of each other in a wagon pull by horses or mules. I got more than a mile or 2 in those things and talk about rough, bouncy, jarring ride it ain't fun!

That said in the right hands of worthy engineer the leaf springs can work magic. In fact the 2020 C8 Corvette will have coil springs at all 4 corners for the first time in history...

Buckboard

 

Yup. I read the same thing someplace on the internet in the last week or so.
And yup, I also know a. Guy that had had DW with every new Ford truck he bought.

 

I believe they went to coil springs for a little improved ride and biggest gain was iimproved turning radius. I had a 77 f150 4x4 with 4in suspension lift 36in tsl radial swampers. I had that truck for 13 years. The suspension was installed sometime when it was only a couple years old. I bought the truck in 2003. It had dual factory shock setup with run of the trail master shocks. Single steering stabilizer. No sway bars. I drove that truck everywhere in most all conditions. Never had DW in that truck once. So coils aren't really to blame. Its gotta be bad or shotty components somewhere.

 

IT'S YOUR TIRES

Simply put on Hankooks and rut the rears at 80 psi, and the fronts at 65 psi and ALL your problems GO AWAY

 

I've read that halogen headlights are extremely unsafe. I'll bet that they have something to do with causing. DW.

 

Got my truck back from the dealer, they replaced track bar and track bar ball joint, had death wobble within 30 minutes of leaving the dealer. And to make it worse who ever did the alignment sucks because now it pulls right and the steering wheel is off center like 30 degrees. So I took it right back. I think I’m going to have them fix the alignment and then get some BFG KO2 tires installed and see if new tires help.

 

That is crazy. I can't believe the general lack of pride in workmanship these days. That is someones job, they are considered "professionals" but yet they return customers vehicles in possibly worse shape then when it was brought in. The tech who test drove after the repair couldn't see that the alignment was way off? Not even my truck but it pisses me off.

 

Yeah, that’s the worst part, they just don’t care, death wobble is hard to fix and hard to verify if it is fixed. Noticing the alignment is totally jacked up is painfully obvious. I can’t find a good dealer, I have issues like this everywhere I go.

 

Me too, everywhere, its pitiful.

 

This thread has death wobble