I don't. Better wear gets me what? A little more life? Pass. I fixed my front end for under $3000. Could you install those gizmos for me for under $3000 AND integrate them? I don't think do. I can fix the front end cheaper than you can integrate electronic stuff. Remember, you are talking longer life NOT infinite life.

 

[QUOTE=moynihan1129;20696566]Yesterday driving home from deer camp (about 120 miles), I had death wobble every time I hit a slight bump over 65mph. I have had it a few times here and there, but never from such small bumps and never so violent. It was so violent that a coffee cup flew out of my cup holder and one time I it was on a turn where I was passing a semi....almost went straight through the turn and into the side of him. Anyway, called ford this morning and they said they had an opening and to bring it on in. I did bring it in and they said, "Ford has identified the issue, but doesn't have any parts available. We can put an aftermarket steering stabilizer in it for around $280. Ford has not created the parts yet and there is no ETA. We can give you a quote on trade in if that interests you." Ford has serviced it for death wobble about 2 years ago and the result was changing both ball joints and steering column.

1) Has anyone else had it this severe and got it resolved?
2) I told the tech I was concerned that he has identified the issue as the steering stabilizer without looking at it since it could be ball joints, sway bar, etc.
3) Even if they identify the issue as the steering damper, I don't think I should pay if ford acknowledges the problem, but doesn't have a solution. The tech effectively said, "You can deal with it until the parts come in (unknown date), pay for aftermarket or trade it in."

Just looking to see other's recent experience.


Tell your dealer to talk to their rep. Ford has authorized “after market” parts for warranty when the oem is on back order. So ford will buy that 280.00 stabilizer. I don’t think the oem is on backorder though but I could be wrong. I just installed one under warranty this week.

 

Get a GM product with IFS. Everything has its trade offs.

Its a 30 minute job to put the factory controller in. I thought all the STX came with brake controllers and the inverter plug…

 

Paying more doesn’t always buy you a better truck.

 

I don't agree. What I mean is that if given the choice, people will always want to pay less even if the product is better.

 

My XL/STX has the factory controller, but it has the tiny screen in the dash, and the crappiest, brain dead software you can imagine. And the factory controller is a crippled POS compared to an inexpensive aftermarket controller. The only advantage the factory controller has is it's nicely hooked into the braking system instead of using, say a pendulum system.

 

DW has been reported in other trucks as well, e.g. Jeeps. True DW is generally in solid front axle vehicles with front coil springs. Any suspension where worn parts allow the front axle to move side to side relative to the frame mounted steering components is susceptible to DW.

It amazes me how long this problem has been around and how few people seem to actually understand what causes it. It ain't rocket science.

 

And that is the issue. Fixing it would be unpalatable to the manufacturers.

 

I had my 2019 F250, 6.7 at the dealer within the last month for a death wobble incident, at 24,000+ miles. They ordered a steering damper and upon replacing it also found that the steering damper bracket which attaches to the frame was worn out. The bracket is threaded for one end of the damper and the threads were completely toast. It looked like the damper had been wobbling around in the bracket for some time. I also just replaced the stock shocks with Bilstein 4600's. The front shock tower bushings were wallowed out, meaning the shocks were also moving around a bit.

I really don't know what to expect long-term on the truck as it seems it may be prone to front end issues. Time and miles will tell the story.

 

Or you can just upgrade the front end components and end the story.

 

I'm not sure I totally agree with that. DW is a condition that may occur in certain suspensions systems when certain parts are worn. There are many other undesirable conditions (tire wear, vibration, poor steering characteristics, etc) that can occur when front end parts get worn out. Would a manufacturer create parts that never wore out, if that were possible? I would guess yes. One example might be spark plugs. Back when I first started messing with cars and trucks, spark plugs life time was measured in 10K's of miles, now they're 100K's of miles.