Im not sure if 'my' vibration that I am experiencing is normal or not. Seems when I go over a speedbump the whole truck literally shudders. I have never seen this before, but I have never owned an F-150 until now.

Is this what everyone else is experiencing? I just dont want to show up at the dealership like an idiot if it is normal. Thanks guys

 

You got it.

 

Sounds to me like you're describing a truck...and they way it normally works. Go to the dealer, pick out any descent car, run it over some bumps. Pick out a truck and do the same thing. Trucks weren't meant to be luxury liners. Granted, they've made a lot of improvements to the ride, but it's still a truck that has to meet certain cargo hauling and off road requirements that cars don't need. I rent cars and SUVs for work often enough to be able to really tell the difference in cars and trucks and the way they ride. Whether it's a Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevy Trailblazer, Mitsubshi Montero or whatever...they all give me a nice shudder when I hit a large bump (gotta love that big solid axle in the rear). Kinda like that rear-end hop like it's wanting to walk across the road. The worst one I drove was a Dodge Durango (2003 model I think). Took it to Detroit for work. MAN!...hit a nice bump and you practically turn sideways...lol It had the rear-end walk BAD. It sounds like to me you're dsescribing something that is normal when you hit a big bump in a truck...not a vibration that appears for no good reason on a smooth road. My truck is smooth as silk on new blacktop, but as soon as you hit a nice bump, you can tell it's a truck. Good luck and enjoy it

 

I agree. This type of shudder I could learn to live with. After all, Ford has been telling everyone how much stiffer this frame is from the other brands of trucks. Just go to their site and watch the video where the guy is pressing down on the corner of the frame and measuring the deflection against the other manufacturer's frames.

What I can't accept are the other vibration issues. How is it that Ford can't properly balance tires at the factory??? I got an estimate from a local tire store (one of the few in the area with a Turner GSP-9700) on what it would cost to force balance all 4 tires, and the quote was about $105 US. In all fairness, my 40-60 mph vibration problem turned out to be flat spots on the tires. My vibration has all but disappeared, but many people in this forum seem to have the vibration problem much worse than I do.

The steering "nibble" (what exactly is a 'nibble?) sounds like the most serious (and possibly dangerous) complaint some owners are having, and it sounds like Ford is jumping right on replacing the steering gear assembly, so good for Ford!

I love this truck, and as I said in an earlier thread, sometimes the only way I can remember I'm driving a truck is when I get out and look back at it.

 

This vibration is not normal for any vehicle as well as any truck. I am experiencing the same shudder and "rebounce". I brought it to the dealer and had the shop foreman drive it and he noticed the problem also. He contacted Ford and they have recieved many complaints about the problem. So many in fact that they developed a "Dampening kit" to be placed on the frame to correct the problem. It is a steel box with a 25 pound weight in it that floats and is supposed to correct the rebouce problem. I had it placed on my vehicle and it had almost no effect. The Ford engineers now say that the shudder is a inherent charachteristic of the vehicle. In other words they designed it to amplify every bump and inperfection in the road. I am not sure how they could say that when they know there is a problem, attemt to fix it, cant, and then say thats the way its supposed to be. I have owned trucks for 25 years, and drive fire engines for a living and without a doubt, my new Ford F 150 XLT HAS THE WORST RIDE OVER IMPERFECT SURFACES THAN ANY VEHICLE I HAVE EVER DRIVEN.

 

If you read the other threads, you will see there is a known vibration problem which is partially resolved with a vibration dampening kit installed at the dealer and provided by Ford. It worked for me and took out about 80% of the continued shudder over small bumps as well as the shudder and vibration at highway speeds. I'm not totally satisfied, but it's a significant improvement for this known issue. If you look at my gallery you will see a picture of this device installed on my truck.

 

You may be feeling something different than I am. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary for a large truck. Not having driven yours to compare, I can't say if what I feel is what you are feeling. I would guess not since I have no complaints at all about mine. It's a much better ride than those SUVs I mentioned above. Short of installing a baja type suspension for soaking up jumps and 2 foot deep holes in the ground, I don't think there's any way you can improve my ride. I'm not driving a Caddy...I'm driving a truck.

 

My '91 Ranger rides a lot rougher over bad roads than my F150, and I just put new tires on the ranger (P235-75-R15).

What I don't understand is why isn't everyone feeling this vibration? If it's a design flaw, you'd think everyone would have it.

When all those F150's went out to the driver magazines for review, do you think Ford road tested the H$ll out of it before turning it over? I'm sure they did; otherwise, those magazines would have jumped all over the flaw.

So, if it isn't happening on every vehicle, it must be fixable. I've heard a lot of people say that the 25 pound weight they added to the frame made zero difference. I've also heard other people say it completely or nearly completely fixed their rebounding.

It sure seems like there's more than one problem here...

 

Dealer says my vibration is normal and doubts Ford will do anything. This is my 7th full size pickup and the first to have this sort of vibration. I'm not working this week so I'm going to test drive all the competitors (except the fugly Silverado with the Avalanche fenders - ugh, worst thing Chevy ever did).

 

Quote:

Happy Happy Joy Joy!! Nibble/Shudder Finally FIXED!!!!
After many trips back and forth to the dealer for the steering wheel nibble and the shuddering in the axel from a standing start, it’s fixed. I finally have a totally smooth ride now.

The first attempts they did the normal balancing of the tiers and told me that they all have a nibble and the LS 3.73 all shudder.

2nd and 3rd trips, the Dealer tried replacing the clutch packs and the rack and pinion steering and the truck was no different.


After the dealer basically telling me you can't bring it back in for service and there is nothing more we can do....... this was the best it was going to get and it was just a characteristic of the vehicle, so live with it.

LONG STORY SHORT......... I finally got the service manager to take the truck back into service with some help from the Ford Customer Service Dept.

On that 4th trip in to the dealer they contacted the Ford tech line about nibble they recommended resetting the pre load in the steering rack THAT FINALLY WORKED! Smooth as Silk!

I insisted to the service manager to try lubricating the slip yoke "as I had read in one of the TSB's” with Teflon grease to cure the shuddering problems and THAT FINALLY WORKED as well.

I hope this helps others get there truck fixed when the dealer tells you this is normal it's not, it can be fixed!

 

I'll contact the service manager today and see what he says. If we can cure the vibration/shimmy problems I'll be a very happy camper.