Ford F-350 death wobble

[chucklesg]

After hitting a bad pot hole, whenever I came to rough pavement, I had a terrible wobble at 55+, that would not stop until I braked down to 30 or so.
Alignment and wheel balance checked out ok, but mechanic said these trucks are known for the problem. At only 24k miles, I wonder if Ford will fix under warranty. Will know more on Monday visiting the Ford dealer.

[Whopper]

I had death wobble on my 2016 F250 just before hitting 38k miles while pulling my 38' 5th wheel. I took it to dealer in El Paso TX as it was the closest dealer to us at time as we are from Houston. They fixed the death wobble but said it was not covered under the 60 mile drive train warranty. I had a ford full extended warranty that did cover it less my deductible. I have 4k more miles on truck and no issues yet, but pretty sure it will return one of these days.

[kdauto]

2018 or 2019 by any chance? We had this exact discussion on a low miles F350 in a mechanics forum I frequent. Seems the track bar tends to develop slack at the bushing ends and ANY freeplay tends to create this wobble on this design front end. Apparently one solution is adding a lot of positive caster when aligning them, even going out of spec a bit.

Good luck. I'd be PISSED if they didn't cover something like that even on base warranty.

[jimcumminsw]

Do Fords use a steering stabilizer on their straight axle trucks?

There are several issue for steering wobble inputs. Some of these inputs can come from worn suspension components such as ball joints, tie rods and/or over size tires. Another item could be a steering stabilizer.

I have owned 4 vehicles with a straight axle design such as Jeeps and Dodge/Ram trucks! All 4 of them have used a steering stabilizer to help with road dampening inputs due to the road and or off road surfaces. When these start to wear out or are worn out you can get the symptom of steering wobble!

I have always replaced my stabilizers on my vehicles to eliminate the steering wobble feed back with excellent results!

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by jimcumminsw

Do Fords use a steering stabilizer on their straight axle trucks?

There are several issue for steering wobble inputs. Some of these inputs can come from worn suspension components such as ball joints, tie rods and/or over size tires. Another item could be a steering stabilizer.

I have owned 4 vehicles with a straight axle design such as Jeeps and Dodge/Ram trucks! All 4 of them have used a steering stabilizer to help with road dampening inputs due to the road and or off road surfaces. When these start to wear out or are worn out you can get the symptom of steering wobble!

I have always replaced my stabilizers on my vehicles to eliminate the steering wobble feed back with excellent results!

A stabilizer is just a bandaid for whatever the actual problem is. Ford does use a stabilizer but that wont fix a death wobble issue. It may cover it up temporarily but it wont fix the actual issue.

[chucklesg]

Part wear should not be a problem as the truck as only 24,000 miles. At the dealer now, and waiting for a diagnosis, repair, and hopefully covered by the warranty. But I miss my trouble free GMC 3500!

[Whopper]

There are aftermarket solutions to fix the problem. But I have extended warranty to 150k miles that does cover the repair. So I will not be putting any money in aftermarket parts until the warranty expires.

[Peto]

I have an '06 F 250 with 190K mile on it. The only complaint I have ever had about the truck is the wimpy front end. It's never developed the death wobble but it's always felt sub par.....

[IC2]

I fixed both the '06 F350 FX4 and the '11 F250 w/Fords heaviest 250 suspension with new shocks, Bilstein in the '06 and KYB in the '11. The Bilstein's were pretty rough riding and why the different brand. I also installed a new steering stabilizer in the '06 as well as new sway bar links and bushings in both. The death wobble - gone from both.

OEM Ford shocks, even the FX4 faux Rancho branded are pretty crappy with 25-30K miles if lucky. When I took the originals off the '06, I stood them in a corner. 3 of 4 collapsed on just the weight of the top cover- any gas or valving was gone. The '11 weren't quite as bad. The 06 had 90 K when traded, the '11 has 125K and no sign of wobble has returned after 80 K with the KYBs.

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by Peto

I have an '06 F 250 with 190K mile on it. The only complaint I have ever had about the truck is the wimpy front end. It's never developed the death wobble but it's always felt sub par.....

Dana 60 is sub par? The next step up is going to be rockwells out of a 6x6. They use that dana 60 in the medium duty trucks with only a couple changes.

[Scoobert]

Originally Posted by Jshopes81

A stabilizer is just a bandaid for whatever the actual problem is. Ford does use a stabilizer but that wont fix a death wobble issue. It may cover it up temporarily but it wont fix the actual issue.

Sounds like somebody who has owned a jeep or bronco


If only btbrv had a video on this we would be set

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by Scoobert

Sounds like somebody who has owned a jeep or bronco


If only btbrv had a video on this we would be set

I had a 75 f250 for a long time. Over 20 years it had factory tires and steering, then 36s with manual steering and no stabilizer, then stock with manual steering after the tendonitis from steering 36s and no power steering, then 36s with power steering. Still no stabilizer and that truck never had any kind of wobble. Stabilizers have a use for sure, but fixing death wobble isnt it. Theres an actual problem that needs addressed.

[chucklesg]

Just talked to the dealer...waiting for parts...I was told there is a "technical bulletin" on the problem and they are replacing steering stabilizer, track bar, and ball joints...under warranty.

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by chucklesg

Just talked to the dealer...waiting for parts...I was told there is a "technical bulletin" on the problem and they are replacing steering stabilizer, track bar, and ball joints...under warranty.

Good to hear, thats alot of parts.