Where to start...and trust me this is a short version…04 F-150 Lariat SuperCab 2WD that road like a Caddy until I put wheels and tires on it bigger than the bicycle tires that came on it! Installed Azuka 20" X 8.5” wheels with Michelin 275/55/20's on it and got a vib in the rear above 70 and the dreaded steering wheel shimmy at 65 and above. Discount Tire (my second home) put 3 new tires and 20 man-hours on it over a couple of weeks and to get nowhere. I upgraded my rims thinking I could toss some money at the problem and bought some Boss rims by A/R. Ride was better but chrome was chipping and plastic rivets where falling out...Tossed some more money at it and upgraded to Boyd Cottington Timeless 6, 20” X 9.5” wheels...looks great but still shaking! Discount has put over 2 sets of tires on it, even a set of Goodyear’s for a test drive and countless man hours balancing and road forcing to only have what I think is the weakest suspension to EVER be put on a vehicle. I want my 03 FX4 back...or my 02 Lightning, or my 99 Lariat, or my 98 F-150 4X4...get my point? I am a Ford man...<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

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Combine the tire issue with Ford replacing my entire bed because of a manufacture defect, a drivers door rattle and a harmonic vibration at 50-60 MPH...what was I thinking buying a first year truck! <o></o>

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This is possibly my last Ford...the only thing keeping me from going to a GM product is pride and all the years of $#$& I have talked to GM owners...but I may have to swallow all of that a start looking!<o></o>

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Has anyone else out there had the aftermarket wheel issues I am having? <o></o>

 

Hi KL67 ,
There are many posts on vibration ,and i feel for ( you )for them, and also myself ,but you are spending to much money on the tire thing its comming from the two part Drive shaft , ford is working on a one piece drive shaft for replacement but They just have to figure the cost for the recall !! I would say they are scared of the ( number's) $$$ but will come thru some time soon ! They have no choice , so hang in there bud and save that tire money ! Good Luck .

Vinnie M. 04 FX4

 

And Ford DIDN'T see this drive shaft problem in all those 100,000 miles during testing
Something sure as hell got screwed up
These trucks vibrate RIGHT OUT of the dealers lots NOT something that shows up a year or 2 later ( though in some cases people do have problems after the miles add up ) so it is hard to believe it wasn't seen

Ford didn't want to delay opening day even though they knew they had a problem but figured the public wouldn't notice ??????????

Something doesn't compute
HOW could this problem not be seen

 

kl67, do you know if those rims are lug centric, or hub centric? It makes a difference. I believe Ford had to recall a bunch of 18" rims when they first started hitting the road, because they were not machined on center correctly.

 

Truck rode fine BEFORE we put different tires and wheels on it, right? Am I reading that correctly? If I am, then the problem is with the non-Ford wheels and tires, not the truck. If everything was fine with the ride, then it got bad AFTER you made a change, then it was the change that caused the problem. Or am I missing something here. What happens when you put the original "bicycle tires and wheels" back on it? Have you tried that yet?

 

So when it's time for new tires, will my non-vibrating truck start to vibrate?

Getting ready for my first service visit, should I rotate the tires, or leave them alone?

 

If your truck doesnt vibrate now, it should not vibrate if you rotate the tires. It is because he went to different rims and tires, that he developed a problem. With a rotation, the tires have not changed, so the characteristics should not change either based on a new location.

 

Hope your right.

Thanks Wheel

 

<SPAN style="COLOR: black">My truck did ride fine...at least I didn’t really notice anything in the first 400 miles prior to the aftermarket wheels. The point is anything larger that a stock 265/60/18 will cause a vibration. My 275/55/20's are only 1 inch taller in total height and 1.5 inches wider...should that cause a vibration on a 5,000 lb truck? My personal opinion is most of the complaints you see online are from 4x4 owners! I test drove 3 different 4x4's from lariats to FX4's super cabs and super crews and everyone of them had a "nibble" in the steering wheel, that was one reason I went with the 4x2...for the ride. I guess the real reason for the nibble was the bigger tires on the 4x4's <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[img] /><o></o></SPAN></P><P style=[/img] <o></o>

My truck has had 8 different $250 Michelins and even a set of $200/tire Goodyear’s on it...and 3 sets of rims...the last of which to answer someones question are hub centric, all balanced and road forced in 2 different stores, the last of which has a brand new 9700 in a brand new Discount Tire...with very senior tech doing the work!<o></o>

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Lets all face it...Ford did not do their homework here. If you have a truck that is not vibrating your lucky...don't ever change the wheels or tire size!<o></o>

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Also, I really hate to do this because everyone will check their truck, but next time your taking off from a dead stop, do a quick acceleration and feel for the vibration you get out of the rear end. I took the service manager for one of our many rides and he said and I quote "that is the angle of the pinion changing" really, No kidding so that should indicate just how sensitive the new truck of the years suspension is!
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I went looking at GMC's today...will drive one tomorrow...stopped by Dodge but couldn't even get out of the truck before I told myself no way! I wish I had the vin # for my 03 FX4…White with gray accents…awesome truck…anyone? I will buy it back!
<o></o>
<o></o>Anyone own a 05 F250? What has everyone heard? I just can't believe this!

KL<o></o>

 

this is just another '04 4x4 F-150 that has had many problems. Vibration = 3 new rear ends, 4 new tires, driveshaft, vibration dampner, road force balance. 7 times in the shop and no fix. other problems include the A/C, it clunks near the center front dash, again no fix. grease on the window every time it was rolled down. tail light leaked water, rear panels rattled "bad", loud brakes. new piston, head, and intake because the piston hit the head. 4.6. my lawyer has lemoned the truck

After playing on the net and finding that all new trucks have their fair share of problems I'm going to get an old truck like a 78 - '79 f-150. I'd rather due something else w/ my $448 truck note.

 

Kind of scary. This exact same thing happening to me. Started out trying two difference sets of Boss rims. Finally found out Boss wheels are not hub centric, but lug centric instead. Also tried centering rings to no avail. It was a big lesson for the mgr at Discount.

Once Discount Tire learned this we tried some Hub centric DK wheels which worked well. (No shimmy). I actually wound up using a tire that is a little smaller (265/50-20) than I wanted but I have gotten used to it. Actually because Ford decided to hang that front wheel hub way the hell out there a skinner tire looks better becasue your stuck with a 35mm offset unless you ready to spend a fortune on a high end rim. Once I get the front lowered a couple inches this truck will look better. Really it only needs about and inch drop on front but I havne't seen a 1" spring yet.

Because the fronts hang out further than the rear, I am considering doing a 20"/22" stagger with some 305/40-22's out back to balance it out. Thinking it might look sweet and no one else is doing because of the rotation issue.


Now this.....
I was really on the fence recently ready to buy a 2005 Chevy Avalanche and trade this Ford. I went down and test drove one last week. Guess what. Steering wheel shimmy even with OE wheels/tires. Dealer tried to tell me it was from flat spots on tires. Humbug....I didn't crawl out from under a rock. Anyway I got cold feet and decided to hang on to this Ford for now.


Supercab 5.5

 

Supercab 5.5,
Wow...funny you should say that about the Chevy Av. I test drove one yesterday, well actually 2 of them one 4x4 and the other a 2WD. Both where demos and both bounced in the butt going down the road @ 70. Have you seen the sticker on those things? 46K for a plastic truck!

Also test drove a 2WD HD2500...one word...TANK! no thanks!
Also a Tahoe Z71...another 46K vehicle...ride was terrible, bounce, bounce!
And finally a Serria Z71...wind noise from the windows and guess what...bounce!

None of the GM products impressed me or drove like my truck
I will keep working with my ford...can't see myself spending money on a GM that bounces or spend "time" in a Dodge!

Thanks for the "wheel experience", I am going to print it out and carry it with me to Discount today for reference. The Boyds I have now are supposed to be hub centric...during the many hours of trouble shooting I have done I found them not to roll right when the truck is in the air on jacks but they do on the machine! Why hasn't anyone come out with a 6x135 adapter for the wheel balancer yet? I bet the hub and bolt pattern are uneven! After waiting 6 weeks for my Boyd's the VP of Discount had to call them and light a fire under their butt. I will bet what happened is my rims were made either "on a friday at 4 pm" or I got all the rims that were returned to Boyd for "ride problems" Call me crazy!

KL67

 

Interesting Motortrend article on aftermarket big wheels...
http://motortrend.com/features/consumer/112_0405_wheel/

And be careful buying that GM
http://www.pistonslap.com/photos.htm

 

KL67, What offset did you get on your wheels?
Are you planning on loweing it at all?

Starting to gather info on that.

Can you email pics? hawgnut@houston.rr.com

Thanks,
Supercab 5.5