I really don't want this thread to die. J-tayl76, are there any updates with the driveshaft replacement? Greynolds, on another post, you were going to check into what exactly the shop did to fix your truck. I know you said they changed out the rear-end, but knowing exactly what would be done could really help. As for me, my truck is in right now getting a steering damper installed. They couldnt even describe the thing to me. Im immagining a shock absorber ala lifted 4X4. This seems to be an attempt to mask the problem, not solve it. I sure hope that they dont give me the "its normal" crap. Ill let you all know.

 

Dealer just called me. The "kit" they used was some sort of Baffle for the driveshaft. It not suprisingly failed to fix the truck. They are out right now trying another driveshaft from a vehicle that does not have the vibration... ...I mentioned this site and the work on greynolds truck with the rear-end.. ...dunno if it will help, but maybe they will take a look....

 

Well, my truck is in for service again.. They tried switching the tires and wheels from another, non-vibrating, truck . NO GO..!!!They are now replacing the whole "Rear". I'm keeping my fingers crossed..!!??!!

 

ferbm, fxe, others,
Please describe the "feeling of this vibration". Is it a feeling that you can sense thru the steering wheel (eg. shakes your hand like a out of balance tire) or is it a vibration you can sense thru your body like a shake that a passenger would notice and say "hey whats that wrong with your truck".
The reason I ask is that I think I have a similiar problem, BUT may just be paraniod and just be exagerating the problem in my mind.

 

I'm having a similar problem...I'm going into the dealer tomorrow for the 3rd time on this problem.

When I originally got my truck I experienced a shimmy on the steering wheel. When I took it in my dealer rebalanced all of the wheels and rotated them. That did the trick and I had a smooth ride.

Then at about 3000 miles I noticed really bad wear on the outsides of the two front tires...turns out the alignment was all out of wack - OK, not biggie. They realigned the front end and rotated the tires.

Now my shimmy is back. I'm assuming it's a balance, tire or bad wheel that's causing the problem. I usually notice it at higher speeds...around 70.

I wonder if I too have a problem similar to the discussion here.

 

BLG,
Not that Im a professional or anything, but I think that this is a driveline issue. I dont think it's as simple as a tire being out of ballance. In those cases you usually get a shake in the wheel that increases in vibration frequency and intensity as you speed up (Generally), and the wheel shake is quite noticable. This is a very subtle "nibble" at the wheel that also allows you to hear and feel a vibration through the truck. The wheel really helps you know its there, but a concious passenger would feel it too. Its funny bc when you get the vibration, if you "play" with the gas a bit, you can get it to go away. That really says to me driveline... ..gears meshing... ...harmonics of a loaded structure vs unloaded.. ..very strange.

I spoke with the evening service writer last night and he said that he thinks they had a breakthrough with the truck. When he came in last night there were a couple techs and managers "looking" at the truck with another one from the lot that they were scabbing parts from... ...man I love this world! Im not sure what they have swapped out, but if its in there right and it works.. ..Im game. I just hope they dont pass my old parts on to someone else. Ill let you all know what was changed and IF it worked.

 

I have a XLT Screw 5.4 with 3.55 gears no limited slip. I ordered the truck and received it in 10/03 after a 7 week wait. The drivetrain vibration can be felt in the door floor, center console, dash, seat and wheel, just say the entire truck. It is very damp shake or rumble at 45 but becomes greatest at 65 with or without overdrive. I can fell the vibration most on top of the center console or through my heel on the gas pedal. I’ve never ridden in the bed so I don’t know it the vibration is more in the rear or the in cab. After 65 the rumble/vibration tails off. At 70+ the sheering wheel shimmy becomes greater.
Last November my dealer balanced the tires. That made the sheering wheel shake more and the drivetrain vibration continued. Two weeks later he realigned the truck rebalanced, reindex the tires and ‘Road Force Tested’ the truck. The steering wheel continued to shake at higher speeds and no change in the drivetrain vibration. The dealer could feel the drivetrain vibration but did not know what to do next. So he requested that a ‘Ford Service Engineer’ would have to look at the truck before he could do any more work. I waited 3 months and 4000+ miles for the Engineer to tell me that the vibration was “nothing abnormal...did not feel any unusual vibrations or sounds”.
I just wonder what this prolonged vibration will do to life of my engine, transmission and drivetrain.

 

thanks for the replies guys. I appreciate the thoughtful posts with explainations. This is exactly the reason this forum is so popular and helpful .

 

They replaced the driveshaft with another truck and swapped out the rims and tires. One tech says its as good as it's gonna get, and much better. The other tech says he dosent feel a thing... ...Im nervous about this development. They have not checked the tolerances on the rear-end...

 

I feel a slight vibration in the accelerator but not anywhere else. It is slight and mostly apparent when maintaining a constant speed between 54 and 59 mph. Also, it does not do it all the time. Does this sound like the same drive line issue? I had the clutch pack replaced, but it did not affect the vibration.

 

I went in to pay for my Lariat today, and on the driver's window there was a small (2" square) sticker that said the truck had 42 miles on it because it was selected for a random road test by Ford. I sure hope that if there was a driveline vibration they would have noticed it and corrected it before it was delivered to the dealer. I guess I'll find out when I pick the truck up tomorrow. It's getting the bed liner sprayed and also being undercoated.

 

ferbm... Did replacing your drive shaft help...?? I just got news today that Ford won't let my service dept. replace the "Rear" until they replace the drive shaft first. I am now driving a loaner while they wait for parts to arrive..This whole situation is starting to wear me out but I realize that I must be patient and let them try to fix it....!! I too wish they would open up the rear differential and check the ring and pinion tolerances, lashes,ect... But I can only suggest at this point..
My vibration is the 40-60 mph variety...It feels very much like the rear of the truck and varies in intensity..The other morning I had to slow the truck up, thinking the whole rear end was going to fall out of the truck....Other times it is fairly subtle but always there...It is proving itself very hard to figure out , that is for sure. I hope they get to the bottom of this one...!!!
Stay tuned..??!!!

 

FXE and others,
I pick the truck up tonight. I plan to put a few miles on to assess the "fix". Ill post again tomorrow A.M. I will certainly try to have them go through the tolerances in the rear-end if the vibration is still there.

 

ferbm, to anwser your question about what the dealership did to correct my problem was that they completely overhauled my rear differental, all new cups and cones (bearings), complete 3:55 gear set. etc. etc. (oil seals) This took care of my problem. I've got a friend that works at the dealership I got my truck from and he gets to drive home anything he wants and he's been driving the 2004 f-150 fx4 and he told me that this truck has the vibration when you take off and going around turns around town and that he fills a slight vib. around 45-55. He told me that Ford was not really concerned about this problem right now and that people were going to have to live with it. I totaly disagree with this, they told me that it was the nature of the truck when I took mine in for service for this problem, and I told them that this would not be acceptible, now fix it or give me a refund. I've always been a Ford man, but if this is the way Ford is going to be, that GMC I was looking at might have been worth the extra 8 grand. My wife said she'll never buy a Ford, even though she loves driving my 99' chrome yellow Mustang GT. Good luck guys, this is a nice truck when everything is working right.

 

I had vibration after a heavy snow fall. I didn't think it could happen from the snow. I brought into the dealership. Of course they said they could not find a problem. I got it back and they said there is a slight vibration due to our bad road conditions.

Nice to know there's others that are having the same issues.

After it was in the shop and the snow melted away, the vibration almost totally gone. Waiting for no snow and good roads to see if I still have a complaint.