I'm wondering if anyone else had a similar instance happen with their Ford. I have a 2004 Lariat 4x4 Scab with the 5.4L with around 50,700 miles. My mechanic is stumped because the "Check Engine" light is not coming on and he's not sure of what it could be. He's checking his resources so I once again decided to turn to everyone on here to get some feedback.

About 6 weeks ago, I was driving down the highway and my truck just started to shake. I was doing between 60-70 mph when the steering wheel started to shake in an epileptic fit making it hard to control. I found a place to pull over and stop shortly after it started. I left the truck running and took a look around. Once I got back in, it drove just fine until yesterday when the same thing happened. Driving on a highway between 50-60mph. By the time I got off at the next exit, there felt to be a little loss in power but I wasn't going to tramp on the gas at that point anyhow. The shaking wasn't as bad as the first instance but the steering wheel, windshield wiper, and the rearview mirror were all shaking. I had to slow down since I was going through a residential area and by the time I found a parking lot, the shaking had ceased. I drove the truck today and it seemed fine.

Any ideas anyone has, please drop me a line on here. I'd appreciate and tidbits of knowledge or ideas of what we should check. My concern is that I end up out on the highway in the middle of nowhere and the truck shakes itself to death.

 

You have what Jeep owners call the 'Death Wobble'. It's experienced only by 4X4 vehicles and is usually related to wheels and tires.Check the steering stabilizer (horizontal shock absorber on the steering linkage) if so equipped. All bets are off if you have any aftermarket parts (lift kit, leveling, whatever) in the truck. If it's bone stock, maybe something here will help. Tires: how many miles on them? Have they ever been over-inflated and driven that way? How long since a good wheel balance? Wheels: a bent wheel can start the 'wobble'.
The 'check engine' light is not coming on because nothing is wrong with the engine. Your mechanic is most likely very inexperienced with 4X4 trucks.

 

check your ebrake cables. Same thing happend to me last month and come to find out the ebrakes were not fully disengageing and causing it to stick to the rotors.

 

x 2 on the e-brake. I had read about the problem and it's symptoms on several threads in the past. Then one day last month, I was at highway speed and out of nowhere the truck started shaking violently. I pulled over and set the e-brake, backed up several feet and released the e-brake. Got back on the highway, the shake was gone. The day before, the truck sat on a hill (all day) with the e-brake set. Thanks to this forum, It only took a minute to diagnose and (at least for now) repair the problem.

 

If the ebrake isn't the issue also check the simple things such as the wheel bearings and front end steering components.

 

I also had a wobble in the front end and had the tires rotated in a criss-cross and that helped a bit.