Question for greynolds.....

Your problem sounds very similar to mine. I have a vibration from about 55-62 which nobody can figure out. One thing I've also noticed.... In the morning when the truck is cold and I pull out of the driveway and then again from the stop sign, there is a slight vibration in the rear-end. Almost like a slight hoping shaking feeling. It's very slight, but noticable and not going away. Did you also experience this?

Thanks!

John

 

Hey John, I can't say that I felt this problem that you're discribing, it only happened between 45-60 mph and then went away after 60 mph. Get with you're dealer and see if they can run a check through Ford and see if any other dealers have found this rear diff. problem, like I said before, they found two other trucks on the lot with the same problem. My truck was built in Norfolk Va. I see alot of questions about this vibration problem in this form. But my vibration is gone and I've gott 4000 + miles on the truck now. Keep me posted if you find out anything, have a great day.

 

I still can't believe this vibration problem is going on. I have been so disappointed with this truck because of the extreme vibration I have. My steering wheel nibbles (moves back and forth about 3/8 inch) when I am between 50 and 60 mph and I do seem to feel whole truck vibrating but it hard to tell what is vibrating when the fricking steering wheel feels like this. I had 20" rims and Falken 295/50/20's on since I bought it and so I keep getting told by the dealership, "it's your tires". So I had the dealership balance them, no improvement, match air pressures, no improvement, then I had them load force them and two were out of spec., so I replaced them, load forced again, now all four have great load force numbers (8 and 9) but still NO improvement.

Like thenetguy said, I definately notice it is way worse when I pull out in the morning. Also a little worse when I get in after it has been sitting for half the day or more. The vibration seems to reduce some after been rolling for a while. I keep thinking that since I feel it so much in the steering wheel, that it is not a diff or drivetrain issue. Could my problem be in the diff or drivetrain and the dealership has been wasting my time and MONEY?

I had seen a TSB that reported a bad steering nibble at 60mph due to a bad steering gear that has to be replaced with a newer one, but my gear was checked and not in that older group.

Greynolds, did your diff problem vibrate the steering wheel like i described and was in worse in the morning first drive?

There must be an answer, please keep posting everyone

 

Hey 1topcat, I did't have a vibration in the morning starting out but in the steering wheel was where I noticed it the most when I got up to 45-60 mph. I told them when I took it into the dealership that you can check the tires if you want, but that is not where the problem is, that it is in the drive line and it was. I'm going to call my dealership monday and see if I can find out if ford is going to post what they did to fix my truck and the two other trucks they found on the lot to have the same problem. I will keep everyone informed.

 

Greynolds
I met with my Dealer's Service Manger & a Ford Field Service Engineer yesterday about the 46 to 65 mph drivetrain vibration. The Ford Engineer said that it was normal for a Ford to shake and would not authorize any more work on my 04 XLT vibration problem. If this is normal I don't want a Ford Product. The other problems I had was the steering wheel would shake during breaking and also over 70 mph. The Dealer has balance the tires twice before and could not fix the 70mph problem and the Ford rep said that was normal also.

 

Thanks greynolds,

keep us posted, it sounds like many of us need to speak clearly on what the issues are to our dealerships and their staff so they can get something going on recognizing the problem out there and offer their customers fixes and not misinformation that costs us a lot of time and MONEY. I've spent $105 for Load force balancing and $424 for two new tires so far. All this was a waste of my money if it is the diff as it was in your case.

 

Well guys....it looks like it is actually a rear end problem as they have replaced the fluid in my 3:73 rear end with a new fluid Ford is recomending for limited slips (not what they originally put in). Seems if the problem is still there, they will replace the clutch packings. The more I read about this issue in other threads, the more I'm seeing some consistant problems with the vibrations in other new trucks as well. Seems it can involve the driveline also. After owning the truck for a couple of months I'm not impressed with the suspension hadling of small bumbs. The truck bed wobbles consistantly well after the bumps are encountered. There is nothing I hate worse than a shaking vehicle. I never had this issue with my 2002 F0150 Super Crew and was certain the new model would ride better...not convinced. I'm hoping Ford will continue to investigate this issue and repair any defects to resolve this problem. I hope others find this information useful.

Thanks.

 

I have some steering nibble about a 1/8 inch. 2004 lariat super crew. Not bad enough to torture myself at the dealer though.

 

Guys,

I think I may have found the vibration/shuddering problem....
I'm not an expert, but this is my opinion at this point.
It's not the rear end, drive line, or clutch packings (for the higher speed vibrations). This weekend I was loading stuff in the bed and accidently dropped the tailgate very slightly. To my amazement the bed kept vibrating and shuddering for 2-3 seconds. I did it again, and again and it was the same feeling I feel at the higher speeds. If you take your tail gate and drop it only 1 inch inch, you'll see the bed vibrate excessively. In fact if you do it and put your hand on the edge of the bed, you can feel the vibration travel to the front of the truck and then to the rear, back and forth till it goes away. I tried this on the neighbors older truck to see if it was normal...clearly not. I had the girlfriend do this and then sat in the drivers seat...same feeling I feel at higher speeds. It's like a vibration through the frame which causes the box to shake.
I think at the right speed the vibration is accentuated. I've always thought it strange that the truck would rattle and shudder over light bumps, well after the initial bump was felt. I've watched the bed and tailgate while this happens and thought it was something loose or a bad tire...it's not. I've got the dealership looking into this now and will let you know what I find out. They have coined the phrase "tailgate test" on other trucks as well.
Could be a simple fix and I hope so as everything else I love about the truck except this incessent shuddering vibration at higher speeds...and lower for that matter. I've been a Ford fan for years and look forward to helping the rest of you Ford fans to find a solution as well.