Ford F-53 Rear Stabilizer bar not connected

[fujii103]

WOW!!!
Having purchased a new 2011 Tiffin Open Road 35 ft Allegro, and finding poor handling for 3 1/2 years. I finally found the problem.
Checking underneath the unit one day in Nov. 2014 I discovered
the clamp securing the stabilizer bar on the drivers side missing. Closer examination found there were no nuts welded on the back of the bracket
attached to the rear end. The passenger side (which I used to compare
with) had nuts welded and the two bolts were very loose. They tightened up no problem. A trip to the dealer in Ft Myers Fl ordered the bolts as well as the required clamp. A trip to Ace Hardware got me the nuts and washers.
Unfortunately when I called Ford because these were not moving parts they were not covered. Can you imagine........they were never installed. About an hour to do the job and I breathed a sigh of relief.
The next trip out back to Canada I could not believe the ride,
even in wind and heavy truck traffic.....the ride was so smooth and no more sudden cross wind, white knuckle corrections.
I think Ford should pay a little more attention to their quality control. I cannot believe they could have shipped out this chassis to Tiffin
with stabilizer bar not connected on one side.....
...Dave... now a happy camper

[Grey Ghost I]

Congratulations!! However, I am surprised you did not do something before now.

[TeJay]

I'll mirror what Grey Ghost I said. You are new to the forum and that's great. Just because we get something new we should not just accept what it is because it is new. The F-53 chassis can be improved as far as ride and quality.
We (I) spent probably a year searching these forums before we purchased our 2014 WBGO. And once we got it we (I) have been on the forums every day many times a day. There is a wealth of information here. For example there's something called the CHF (Cheap handling fix) it is only for the F-5 3 chassis and deals with the sway and a simple cheap way of improving the sway control. It's a great, but long thread, and I'd recommend it for a good read. Had you done it 3 years ago you would have found your broken non-functioning bracket 3 years ago. But that's OK you did find it and got it fixed.

If you want even better sway control do the CHF (McKinley fix) discovered/started by John McKinley. You'll see that when you read some or all of that post.

TeJay

[PbdBlue]

They may have been installed at the factory and come loose sometime thereafter. I had the same issue on my '99 F53 only I know the bracket was there when I first got the coach. Sometime thereafter it loosened up and fell off. I bought new brackets and urethane bushings.

[LeeSusan]

Hello fujiii103, don't worry about members giving you a hard time. Some people need to do that to make themselves feel smart. You had something you didn't like, you figured it out, you solved it...that is what is important.

[Grey Ghost I]

Originally Posted by LeeSusan

Hello fujiii103, don't worry about members giving you a hard time. Some people need to do that to make themselves feel smart. You had something you didn't like, you figured it out, you solved it...that is what is important.

I did not see anyone giving him a hard time. Maybe you read something that is not there. I certainly did not mean anything but good.

[C-Leigh Racing]

Originally Posted by PbdBlue

They may have been installed at the factory and come loose sometime thereafter. I had the same issue on my '99 F53 only I know the bracket was there when I first got the coach. Sometime thereafter it loosened up and fell off. I bought new brackets and urethane bushings.

Oh my God, seriously, it fell off.
Those rear sway bar mounting brackets on a 99, are big heavy solid pieces of metal about 5" tall & around an 1" thick. Its no telling the damage it could have done flying & bouncing through the air after it came off.

You know, I guess we all, should put some type of retaining wire to those brackets just in case the bolts fall out or shear off to keep it at least hooked to the chassis.

I kinda would have thought, the 99 brackets being so big, none of us would have a problem with one getting loose or either loosing one. Yours is the first, that I have heard of on a 99 chassis being loose or being lost.
Neil

[McCharlie]

The issue with loose bolts on the rear anti-sway bar has been know for quite some time. I experience both loose (then missing bolts) and a bracket that broke at the 90 degree bend. Ford did issue a service bulletin 2011 Ford F-53 Rear Suspension Technical Service Bulletins (TSB)

[C-Leigh Racing]

Correction, now how did I read where you had a 1999 year F53 ?.
Somehow the first post dont read the same.
Neil

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by fujii103

WOW!!!
Having purchased a new 2011 Tiffin Open Road 35 ft Allegro, and finding poor handling for 3 1/2 years. I finally found the problem.
Checking underneath the unit one day in Nov. 2014 I discovered
the clamp securing the stabilizer bar on the drivers side missing. Closer examination found there were no nuts welded on the back of the bracket
attached to the rear end. The passenger side (which I used to compare
with) had nuts welded and the two bolts were very loose. They tightened up no problem. A trip to the dealer in Ft Myers Fl ordered the bolts as well as the required clamp. A trip to Ace Hardware got me the nuts and washers.
Unfortunately when I called Ford because these were not moving parts they were not covered. Can you imagine........they were never installed. About an hour to do the job and I breathed a sigh of relief.
The next trip out back to Canada I could not believe the ride,
even in wind and heavy truck traffic.....the ride was so smooth and no more sudden cross wind, white knuckle corrections.
I think Ford should pay a little more attention to their quality control. I cannot believe they could have shipped out this chassis to Tiffin
with stabilizer bar not connected on one side.....
...Dave... now a happy camper

It's extremely hard to believe the chassis came from the factory to Tiffin without the sway bar connected and wasn't noticed at the start of the build process. It's even harder to believe it went through the entire manufacturing process (including final quality inspection) at Tiffin, was driven to the dealer, went through the dealer PDI and the final customer inspection before delivery, and was missed every step along the way.

It's more likely the bolts were loose and eventually fell out causing the loss of the bracket. The motorhome may have handled badly because of the loose and eventually missing bolts. It's also hard to believe the bracket has been missing for all that time and no one servicing the chassis has noticed it. Unless the chassis hasn't been serviced in 3 1/2 years it's more likely the bracket fell off between the last time it was serviced and the time you discovered it.

[fujii103]

Hello again
No sure if I made it clear but there
was absolutely no trace of weld where the nuts should have been welded od.
The surface was very absolutly smooth.
That made me think there was nothing there in the begining.
Thanks for all comments....Dave

[C-Leigh Racing]

Originally Posted by fujii103

Hello again
No sure if I made it clear but there
was absolutely no trace of weld where the nuts should have been welded od.
The surface was very absolutly smooth.
That made me think there was nothing there in the begining.
Thanks for all comments....Dave

Ok, now I can believe that. Rear diff housing is in production, bracket welded on & then time for the two nuts to be welded in, lunch time bell rings & then after, coming back from lunch forget all about those two nuts not in place.
Then,
Going down the assy line, worker at that point sets the sway bar & bushing in place with the clamp & adds a bolt & nothing happens, tool just spins & spins. Heck slap the other bolt in to make it look good & just let it ride it aint mine, maybe somebody else will catch it.

Yeah, I could see that happening, probably more than what we would think it could.
Neil

[fujii103]

[QUOTE=C-Leigh Racing;2463096]Ok, now I can believe that. Rear diff housing is in production, bracket welded on & then time for the two nuts to be welded in, lunch time bell rings & then after, coming back from lunch forget all about those two nuts not in place.
Then,
Going down the assy line, worker at that point sets the sway bar & bushing in place with the clamp & adds a bolt & nothing happens, tool just spins & spins. Heck slap the other bolt in to make it look good & just let it ride it aint mine, maybe somebody else will catch it.

Yeah, I could see that happening, probably more than what we would think it could.
Neil


Thanks Neil for that .That could certainly be a scenario
as to what happened.
Not used to driving anything over 30 feet,thought moving up
another 6 feet could have been the reason for the poor handling the first 3.5 years.
Ah well perhaps there was a reason for being extra cautious.
Thanks again.....Dave

[Rvbuzz]

Interesting thread, I went under my 2013 Winnebago the other day and noticed my passenger side rear sway bar strap was missing. I installed a rear track bar a year ago and did not see it then so no idea if or when it went missing. The bushing does show some damage so I suspect it was loose for some time.
I ordered replacement parts a few days ago. The strap was $25, bolts were $2 each.
I did notice that the nuts were missing. Also ordered adjustable Helwig drop links for sway bar from Autoplicity for $79.