When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Ive had the same problem the OP describes since day one on my 18 350 drw that now has 34,000 wandering miles on it. Im slowly replacing the entire front end of my $65K wander machine. FUN. 3 Ford centers say its perfect. HA! Watch out for that honda civic passing me, blows my 8,500lb truck off the road. Perfect huh?
First original drag link ball joint was bad from day one. New motorcraft drag link from ford parts counter & it was bad out of the box. Sloppy vertical play at the drag link ball joints.
Im still hearing clunks over bumps. Suspecting drivers side ball joints or wheel bearing.
Thanks to all that replied, Freeway was dry. The 10 freeway through the Inland Empire is definitely grooved, and my wife felt it in her car but not the same as me. BTW, have driven this stretch of fwy hundreds of times, many in my 2wd F-150.
I would be very interested to know if the front axle has caster adjustability, and if so where is it done. The tires could be the culprit, but I would sure think they would be stable with such a large contact patch. I have been an alignment tech many years ago, as well as a truck driver so I do have some idea of what should be going on. I think I'll have a few friends maybe drive it to see what they think, and see if the dealer has another F-350 gas Tremor I can test drive it to compare.
But please, anyone with additional input please chime in, I really appreciate all the thoughtful suggestions. I really love the truck, it is resplendent in gorgeous Race Red! Thanks, Dave
Yes, caster is adjustable with caster bushings. If you do a google search you ahould not only find pictures with location. but probably YouTube vids as well.
I remember driving my truck home from dealership 250 miles, this is definetly the biggest truck i have own, 150 miles of it in a nasty snow storm, several big downhill’s , huge pucker factor, truck felt like it was on a banna peel, If its not a mechanical problem you ll get use to the steering, Especially if its you first truck with a straight axle and 4x4.
Lower your tire pressure as someone else suggested. You can do the math on an appropriate psi or to be safe go 65f60r unloaded. I run 48f/42r in my load range F Ridge Grapplers. Most likely the dealer put the max psi in there which is way overkill for that truck unloaded.
Might also be the duratracs. Some people love them but I hated mine. Tried them for 900 miles hoping they would get better. They did improve but not enough so I dumped them.
Your tire pressures will be set to the maximum from the dealer. If you are driving the truck empty most of the time, you will want to lower them. I run 54F, 42R in my gasser with 34" tires.
And with you not having experience driving a big truck with a solid axle, it will be nearly impossible for us to know if your concerns are a mechanical issue, or just how the truck is supposed to drive...
I have a 2020 Tremor. It's the tires. Mine wobbled till about 500 miles then stopped. The manual says it takes 300 miles to break in tires. I've driven many solid axle trucks. (Was a 88m in the Army) This has been a very smooth riding truck after tire break in.
The tremor has 35” tires on 18” wheels. This is going to give you more side wall flex which is great for slower speed off roads stuff. It may take some getting used to. I have be driving 4wd for over 40 years now and I’m pretty used to how off road friendly trucks behave on the road. There’s always a trade off. The tremor is no sports car. But sports cars don’t do very well on forest roads.
When I picked up my first tremor, 7.3 I had the same issue. Checked the tires a soon as I could and sure enough drivers front was in the 50's, pass front was 65, drivers rear 85, and rear pass 70. After correcting the PSI the truck was fine, but felt much different than the 6.7's that I'm use to. Could actually feel how much lighter the front end is on the 7.3.
Check your PSI. I drove my truck home 1,110 miles from VA to FL and it was horrible. Didn't think to check pressure till I got home and all 4 tires were in the 80s and 90s.
Only good thing from that experience is that the suspension definitely broke in and settled within 24hrs or so.
Bad thing, my wife and I had some neck and back soreness for a couple of days...
Mine got better or I got used to it. But mine wandered even on the "test drive" I just figured it was me not being used to the truck. Myself, like a post above mentioned
came from a GM to the SD and it was very different to me. After about 1k miles it seemed to have got much better, now closing in on 5k miles I don't notice the
truck wandering much unless its a really windy day.
This is my first SD but as I understand it they have a new steering system in the 2020's. Everyone says that they steer so much easier, so I am wondering if any
of the "wandering" some people feel sometimes is them getting used to lighter vs heavier steering input than they were used to.
FWIW, despite multiple times of telling myself I need to lower the tire pressures, sadly I still have not yet done it. Its still 60#F and 80#R... I need to change this as
it may help things even more.
I'd say it's a combo of tire pressure and lack of driver experience in a solid front axle truck... Appears the OP's only experience in a truck is a 2wd f150? Very different animal. A super duty with a solid axle up front is going to handle entirely different than the half ton with a-arms. Put some miles on it and as mentioned, check tire pressure. I bet in a couple weeks the drive will be old hat.
It also depend on what you are used to driving. I recall when I drove my truck home from the dealer, i needed to be a bit more attentive on watching the speed and to some extent staying in the center of the lane. I was used to driving a 2004 explorer. I was used to how it handled bumps and crowns in the roads and how much throttle it took to maintain a certain speed. The F250, does feel more isolated from the road and there is less feedback. Also being larger it feels like I needed to be more aware of keeping the truck in the middle of the lane. I still have a challenge from time to time on maintaining a set speed (55-60 when there is a cop following me). It seems like you only have to barely touch the pedal to maintain the speed (any small change and it's you're going 50 to 70). Now I feel like i can thread a needle going hwy speeds..
As stated a few times, it’s the tire pressure being way to high. Specifically the rear. Drop them from 80 down to 60-65 psi and give a try. Try at 55 also. Been a common issue off the lot. You’ll also need to use ForScan iirc to update the tire pressure settings.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
