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Happens at 40+ over bumps over on a really bad road even slower than that… replaced drag link, right tie rod… fixing steering column//gear selector looseness next. steering wheel crooked/ pulls fo the right. steering wheel feels overly stiff now…if an alignment doesn’t fix it after doing all of that and can help determine the iss
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Last edited by dodgeorramit; May 18, 2026 at 07:06 PM.
Better check the steering gear yourself, and the rag joint, and the lower shaft
The top part where is says "check front end"
That needs to be done with a fine tooth comb
Your ball joints and tie rod ends need to be checked closely along with the steering gear
Tell me the tires are not full of fix-a-flat and nobody adjusted the push rod in the brake booster
Front tires look like what? Made by whom?
There is a lot to a death wobble as far as diagnosis
At least it's not a 4x4 with axle U joints to check too
I just had an alignment and full suspension refresh on my '88 E350. I had to speak to a few different local shops to finally find one who is reasonably informed about the Ford Twin I-Beam front end. Even then their knowledge seemed just adequate and at least they were willing to work on my van. I did have to do a bit more digging around online, in this forum, so that I could be more informed about the Twin I-Beam. From what I gather a correctly functioning steering box will have a good return to center action and should never be stiff. If it doesn't want to return to center and is stiff, that's a problem with the box. Maybe someone tightened the tensioner too much? Try that low hanging fruit fix first before you replace the box. Another thing I read is when aligning, a slight Tow-In is a good idea to help the van track straight at high speeds. I believe Ford specifies to what degree of Tow-In is recommended on the Twin I-Beams. Finally, if your van is old and/or has a lot of miles, those shocks and springs need to be replaced ASAP. That's even more important on the Twin I-Beam. Worn springs will throw your Twin I-Beam camber off too. Worn rear springs will have your van sitting with *** low, which will also throw your Twin I-Beam front end camber into a positive and that will affect your front end stability at high speed. One last thing of note is these Twin I-Beams seems to need a steering damper, but Ford only fitted them on the Duallies. Fortunately, aftermarket solutions are easily found. My van, which has none of the symptoms you described, rides great, tracks straight, but it does have some bump-steer, which requires my full attention when driving on uneven surfaces at high speeds. It's fine on a relatively smooth road. But as soon as I hit some big, harsh dips on the road caused by heavy big rigs on the Interstate, I'd better have both hands on that steering wheel!
Better check the steering gear yourself, and the rag joint, and the lower shaft
The top part where is says "check front end"
That needs to be done with a fine tooth comb
Your ball joints and tie rod ends need to be checked closely along with the steering gear
Tell me the tires are not full of fix-a-flat and nobody adjusted the push rod in the brake booster
Front tires look like what? Made by whom?
There is a lot to a death wobble as far as diagnosis
At least it's not a 4x4 with axle U joints to check too
Barkley Magnus 4x4 265/70R16. front right tire(most tread loss as tire pressure will permanently be lower than the other 3)has a slow leak from rubbing against the grill/bumper when making turns
from hitting a ice patch and lost my brakes that ended into hitting a snow bank(at less than 5 mph)
shop that I’m currently getting it fixed at replaced the ball joints/drag link/tie rods that were shot. going to do shocks eventually don’t think that will make a difference. not sure about the push rod/brake booster i’m a newbie
I just had an alignment and full suspension refresh on my '88 E350. I had to speak to a few different local shops to finally find one who is reasonably informed about the Ford Twin I-Beam front end. Even then their knowledge seemed just adequate and at least they were willing to work on my van. I did have to do a bit more digging around online, in this forum, so that I could be more informed about the Twin I-Beam. From what I gather a correctly functioning steering box will have a good return to center action and should never be stiff. If it doesn't want to return to center and is stiff, that's a problem with the box. Maybe someone tightened the tensioner too much? Try that low hanging fruit fix first before you replace the box. Another thing I read is when aligning, a slight Tow-In is a good idea to help the van track straight at high speeds. I believe Ford specifies to what degree of Tow-In is recommended on the Twin I-Beams. Finally, if your van is old and/or has a lot of miles, those shocks and springs need to be replaced ASAP. That's even more important on the Twin I-Beam. Worn springs will throw your Twin I-Beam camber off too. Worn rear springs will have your van sitting with *** low, which will also throw your Twin I-Beam front end camber into a positive and that will affect your front end stability at high speed. One last thing of note is these Twin I-Beams seems to need a steering damper, but Ford only fitted them on the Duallies. Fortunately, aftermarket solutions are easily found. My van, which has none of the symptoms you described, rides great, tracks straight, but it does have some bump-steer, which requires my full attention when driving on uneven surfaces at high speeds. It's fine on a relatively smooth road. But as soon as I hit some big, harsh dips on the road caused by heavy big rigs on the Interstate, I'd better have both hands on that steering wheel!
2013. E150 Base. 260k miles. used for deliveries now. not much on the carfax regarding any steering box/column fixes. common issue on fords is the shifter being loose so i’m about to find out what else is wrong after they inspect it. returns to center fine but if you were to drive side to side like lowriders do when “showing off” that’s when it’s stiff. Local shop said shocks and springs were fine but I wanna do em anyways, it’s not sagging from my eyes but it could be I dunno. is the I-Beam the three metal plates stacked on top of each other? anyways thanks for your input. I’m not doing 45 on the parkway with the drivers on the road nowadays so hopefully it gets fixed
2013. E150 Base. 260k miles. used for deliveries now. not much on the carfax regarding any steering box/column fixes. common issue on fords is the shifter being loose so i’m about to find out what else is wrong after they inspect it. returns to center fine but if you were to drive side to side like lowriders do when “showing off” that’s when it’s stiff. Local shop said shocks and springs were fine but I wanna do em anyways, it’s not sagging from my eyes but it could be I dunno. is the I-Beam the three metal plates stacked on top of each other? anyways thanks for your input. I’m not doing 45 on the parkway with the drivers on the road nowadays so hopefully it gets fixed
Local shop said shocks and springs fine at 260k miles? Hmmmm....
Local shop said shocks and springs fine at 260k miles? Hmmmm....
shocks look like that on each corner. would have to get a better pic for the springs. that rust just started(im in the north-east) and it was around 240-245k miles when they checked them(3 months ago) so it could have gotten worse in that time
Last edited by dodgeorramit; Yesterday at 12:05 PM.
I'm only going by mileage and assuming the van is on its original suspension. Those things don't last that long. 100k miles on a set of shocks is way overdue. Springs....maybe 150k miles if the van wasn't always loaded down regularly.
I'm only going by mileage and assuming the van is on its original suspension. Those things don't last that long. 100k miles on a set of shocks is way overdue. Springs....maybe 150k miles if the van wasn't always loaded down regularly.
ahh okay this is my first car so still learning just don’t have the money otherwise i’d get everything replaced together. first time i got death wobble was mismatched tires and was hoping the drag link and tie rod would do it as both bushings were really bad
