Hey all. I'm new here. Been looking at this site for a while, finaly decided to register.

I need some help with my truck guys. I bought a 96 F250 7.3 diesel last summer, after a few months it developed a bad shimmy/shake when doing 45-55 mph and only when I was turning to the left. I took it to a shop, they replaced the tie rod, helped for a while, but then this evening I was driving home, took a curve to the left, hit a bump in the road and It started shaking real bad. kept it up all the way thru the curve.

The truck is a 4X4 and it has 35" tires.

I love the truck, it's just a joy to drive but I need to figure out this problem, I'd rather fix it myself, I don't trust the shops. So if anyone has experienced this and has any ideas, let me know. Thanks.

 

First check ball joints and tie rod ends by jacking up the front end and grab the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock and see if there is any movement. then at 3 and 9 and see if there is any movement. Next check the center pivot brackets and bushings.

Does the shimmy shake come thru the steering wheel or the just the cab?

 

Oh yeah Welcome to FTE!

 

with 35's you should really have stabilizers on it,
check tj's stuff first but even if they are loose get the stabilizer shocks.

also check the rivots on the crossmember where it mounts to the frame rails near the steering box, the drivers side usually breaks first

 

When my truck did something similar, my drop bracket was cracked. Eventually it shattered on the highway and I almost went into head on traffic. Like trying to put a bridle on a whooly mammoth.
- Ish

 

thanks all for the suggestions so far, to adress tj's question, the entire truck shimmyshakes violently, not just the steering wheel. The shop said the ball joints looked ok, but I'm not sure if I trust them. also, where can I find more info about steering stabalizers?

 

Had similar problem,eventually found a busted belt in one of the front tires.It would just shake after hitting a pot hole or rough spot on road.

 

well, on the way to work today I tried my damndest to get the truck to do it again, just to see what would happen. Got up to the right speed on a curvy road, but it wouldn't do it, rode smooth as silk. strange... I'll still try checking out some of the stuff you guys said though.