Hey, i sure hope someone can help me here.. i m a bit older, a woman, and am clueless what i m looking for, other then help. I have a couple issues going here with my 97 F250. I love my truck but recently it is anything but a smooth ride when i go anywhere. I put larger tires on, i have 285/75/16s, that was fine at first, now i have front end shake that is horrendous, i also have developed what seems like transmission slipping but was told it a speed sensor that sits on the rear differential. You be driving along, suddenly lose power, then it grabs and jerks, back in gear it seems , but the speedometer is all over, shaking, jumping, then straight to zero.
My front end seems to do a bit of roaming in the lane also. gets a little scarey now and then, I been looking at parts and ready to order new front sway bar, A Dorman rear wheel speed sensor, and change my tires. Any idea if i heading in right direction with what I m doing?

 

The front end shake is really hard to say without looking at it, but first have the tires balanced. If you can, you could also jack up one tire at a time and grab at 6 and 12 and shake. If any movement, ball joints or wheel bearings. Grab at 3 and 6 to check tie rod, drag link and steering box, however note some movement will be normal and will just try to turn the wheels -- you're looking for actual play or slop in TRE's (tie rod ends). Best done with a helper.

You also have leaf spring bushings and axle pivot bushings under the front xmember. Unlikely these would cause a shake but can't hurt to put eyes on them.

Don't purchase anything electrical from Dorman. Your VSS (vehicle speed sensor) issue is common but first pull the sensor and just wipe it clean. It's just a magnet. Also this could be a symptom of a failing rear diff, or it could just be the accumulation of years of metal and/or friction material if limited slip, which can be normal. You could change the rear diff fluid and wipe down/hose out the inside of the pig while the cover is off. But first see if just cleaning the sensor resolves the issue for awhile.

 

Also excessive metal in the rear diff fluid could be a failing rear wb (wheel bearing). The wb's are lubed by the gear oil and particulates wash around the entire rear axle housing. But don't panic yet or spend too much $

You can check rear wb's in the same way more or less - grab at 6 and 12 and shake. If this is a full floater (with a big hub protruding from center of wheels) it'll be easier to detect play than a semi-floater

 

double post. Site is twitchy this morning