I have a 1997 F150 Lariat Supercab that has a side to side wobble in the front end. It only happens when driving between 50 & 60 kilometers per hour when you hit a large bump in the road, and only stops by slowing down to almost a full stop. I was told it was shockies which I replaced, and that seemed to stop it for a month or so, but now it is back. Here in Australia nobody has any experience with these vehicles, any ideas?

 

Check wheel bearings, upper and lower ball joints and the complete steering linkage.

Steve

 

Check the track bar.
Here is a test procedure.

Start the engine.
Watch the front center of the hood.
Slowly move the steering wheel 2 or 3 inches in both directions.
If the body moves the bushings are worn.
This is often referred to as the death wobble.
It happened to me once and I wanted to leap out of the truck.

 

Have the tie rod ends been replaced yet? If not, now is a good time to replace them. I have had this same scenerio when tie rod ends were fixing to let go. Also, if the ball joints have not been replaced, while everything is already apart, do those also. The track bar bushings are the easiest and cheapest but their most important role is to keep the truck level while going around a curve.

 

you know, i had this same problem with my superduty.. couldn't figure it out.. well i put new tires on and that totally fixed the problem.. do you have all terrain tires or mud terrain tires? if so, that may be your problem.

 

lower ball joints will do that when you hit a bump. on annother note, if it happens during deceleration only, then you look at the idler arm anchored under the radiator on main frame.

 

it is two wheel drive or 4? is it lifted or stock?

 

Thanks for your help boys, it ended up being a flogged out pitman arm.