Ford Truck Owners

[Lawdog Dago Dom]

Anyone ever hear of this or experience it?

I may have this going on with our van, as there is a wobble in the right rear that starts around 65mph.

One Ford dealer had it for a month and could not figure it out. A second dealer has it now.

 

https://www.rvtravel.com/truck-death-wobble999/?popupally_stop=subscriber

 

 

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

Try changing the tire.  It could be bad and causing the problem.

[Lawdog Dago Dom]

This is what was done so far. Tires rotated and balanced several times. The dealer did put two new tires on the rear. No change.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

On my Jeep Cherokees it was old sway bar bushing/dampers.  Happened just like the article said and scared the begeezuz out me the first time. An easy fix and inexpensive parts which are just elastomers between components. 
 

[Three Foot Johnson]

I was coming down a local mountain pass on I-15 a few years ago, towing a 31' trailer behind my '05 F350 Super Duty. I crossed one of many short bridges across the pavement on the way down and the tiny bump of the expansion joint initiated an uncontrollable death wobble. I finally got stopped and got out, expecting to see a front tire/wheel half torn off, but there didn't seem to be any damage, so I continued... at about 40 mph. A day or two later, I got it into the Ford dealer, and they said, "Yer ball joints are shot, gonna cost ya about $1500 to get it fixed". 

"The ball joints are shot? It's got 45,000 miles on it and has never been off-road, other than campgrounds."

 

I took it to a local frame & alignment shop, he put it up on the rack, pushed, pulled, lasered, measured, and said, "This thing is as tight as the day it left the factory. Chuck that POS stabilizer Ford puts on these things, put a Rancho on it, and it'll be fine."

I did, and it has. Sometime later, I got a notice from Ford outlining the problem and saying to monitor my tire pressure and tire wear closely to prevent it from happening again. It's a known problem from '05 to '19, but not enough drivers have been killed to warrant a recall.

[John Kloehr]

Definitely known in Ford Super Dutys, and have heard of it in Jeeps. Also know of a late 90s Dodge Ram 4WD that self-destructed on hitting a certain road ripple.

 

That driver got safely to the side of the road, truck towed to a shop, then a 2nd shop, where insurance totaled it.

 

But have not heard of it in the Ford vans.

 

I know about the lawsuits claiming defective design. What does seem to be sort of clear is the wobble is not any single component but a cumulative wear in many components. Sometimes a fix (whatever part) is temporary until the rest of the parts wear that little bit more needed to bring the problem back.

 

Those who bit the bullet and replaced every wear part all at once seem to be rid of the problem. This usually means all bushings, rod ends, and go for shocks if they are old, even if not leaking.

 

But tire pressure, careful wheel (bent or dented) and tire (bubbles, tread separation, or even rocks in tread) inspection and balance, and lug nut torque? Those would be my first checks. Then swap wheels either front/back or diagonally (tire rotation) and see if the problem moves. Until these steps are completed and the problem is still there, it is not death wobble.

 

After that, it might be. Maybe. Inspect drive line, motor and transmission mounts, all bushings, tie rods, ball joints, bearings, all wear items including shocks.

 

Fix the obvious ones. Problem still there (or comes back in some thousands of miles)? Now that kind of looks like death wobble. Replace all of the rest of the wear parts. All of them.

[John Kloehr]

24 minutes ago, Lawdog Dago Dom said:

This is what was done so far. Tires rotated and balanced several times. The dealer did put two new tires on the rear. No change.

I posted before reading your post. I had deleted the road-force balance from my post but that is a good diagnostic step. It often works for death wobble, at least for a while.

 

A vehicle will generally benefit (ride quality) from this balance but no vehicle should need it to be safe.

 

Before replacing the wheels, swap front/back or diagonally and see if the problem moves. If it does not, the problem is under the vehicle.

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

I had bad brake drums cause this problem on a '75 Chevy pickup.  They were way out of balance, replacing them cured the problem.

 

[Trigger Mike]

I was test driving a 2019 f250 just the other day with the salesman with me and the death wobble happened.   It was freaky.  I walked away from the deal and the salesman took it to the shop and two days later said it had been recalled but ford would not honor the recall unless you actually complained that it happened to you. 

[Hashknife Cowboy]

I have a 2019 F350 4WD that was unprecedented in its death wobble.  The first wobble was at 70 MPH while pulling 2 horses in a 3 horse goose neck trailer.  It was so severe that the steering wheel would violently shake your hands off of the steering wheel.  Not knowing what it was, I assumed it was  tire or suspension based and as I was trying to get it fixed it happened again a few days later.  This time it was at about 75-80 MPH while not towing.  Both times once you slowed by coasting to about 60 MPH it stopped.  This is when I began calling Ford and the dealer and researching this problem on the internet.  My local Ford dealer was exceptional in helping me out, Ford dragged their feet.   At the time I was dealing with the problem,  there were about 900 documented cases reported to Ford.  It has been repaired with no further problems and it did not cost me anything.  My recommendation is stay assertive because this is a very dangerous and terrifying situation.  

 

Follow up with this article......

 

https://thelemonfirm.com/2019/12/13/be-afraid-be-very-afraid-of-the-ford-super-duty-death-wobble/

 

Excerpt from the article:

 

"the death wobble is caused by a defect linked to abnormal wear and/or loosening of the track bar bushing, damper bracket, ball joints, control arms, shocks and/or struts." 

[Singin' Sue 71615]

I am going to say your rear axle is bent on that side.

 

That is what we found on our Dodge.

Just slight bend...after U joint siezed.

 

The Death Wobble is prone in Dodge...manufacturer had a recall, and inexspensive part change.

Talk with Fast Hammer on that because I can't recall the correct lingo.

[Southpaw Gringo, SASS # 74217]

Now your saying its in the right rear but the article and the phenomena is with the front end. Its been around for a very long time. I've personally experienced it back the early 90s in my 1984 Ford Ranger with a 6 inch lift kit. A friend of mine had the same problem in the mid 90s with his 1978 Ford Bronco. Both of our vehicles were 4 wheel drive with front coil spring suspension. I describe it as a rebound problem and a sharp jolting bump in the road got it going. My experience is the front end started shaking back and forth with the steering wheel almost ripping out of my hands. Slowing way down was the only way to make it stop and man it was scary! We were told back in the day that a steering stabilizer shock was the way to prevent it. To this day Ford still uses steering stabilizers on certain truck models.   

[sassnetguy50]

1 hour ago, Southpaw Gringo, SASS # 74217 said:

Now your saying its in the right rear but the article and the phenomena is with the front end. Its been around for a very long time. I've personally experienced it back the early 90s in my 1984 Ford Ranger with a 6 inch lift kit. A friend of mine had the same problem in the mid 90s with his 1978 Ford Bronco. Both of our vehicles were 4 wheel drive with front coil spring suspension. I describe it as a rebound problem and a sharp jolting bump in the road got it going. My experience is the front end started shaking back and forth with the steering wheel almost ripping out of my hands. Slowing way down was the only way to make it stop and man it was scary! We were told back in the day that a steering stabilizer shock was the way to prevent it. To this day Ford still uses steering stabilizers on certain truck models.   

That was the solution for crotch rockets and some hydrostatic lawn equipment too.

[Blackwater 53393]

This issue in cars and trucks has been around for almost as long as cars and trucks have been on the roads!  Worn parts, defective parts, and poor design are problems that can cause the phenomenon. In most cases, a really good, old school front end alignment specialist, (now few and far between) can fix the problem once and for all.

 

The man I use is now in his early fifties and was taught by his father, a man that I discovered thirty-five years ago when I was dealing with “the death wobble” on a dragster that manifested the problem at 160 mph and higher! He explained that even with brand new parts, perfectly balanced tires and wheels, and everything straight and true, that between stacking tolerances and the way a vehicle sits, (rake, load distribution, and overall attitude) the factory alignment specifications often aren’t correct for specific vehicles!!

 

He fixed our dragster without ever driving it!  He made some preliminary adjustments and then went to the track with us, (we paid him and bought him supper) where he made another change or two, and the car never offered to misbehave again!

 

I’ve taken maybe thirty different vehicles to them over the years and EVERY TIME, they have fixed the problem! There are even some new car/truck dealerships in the area that have sent them problem vehicles on the sly!

 

In most dealerships, you won’t find a truly experienced alignment person. Many dealerships don’t even have an alignment rack on the premises and those that do will usually have one of the new “computerized” units that doesn’t allow for those slight but critical tolerances and variations in stance or attitude of each particular vehicle.

 

A truly experienced, old school alignment specialist can do what all the most up to date, modern equipment and training can’t!  

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

I have a 2013 Class-C  23ft motor home with a Ford E 350 chassis.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to watch for that.

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

There is a class action lawsuit over the wobble with Ford. When you take it to Ford all they do is replace the steering damper. The fix is a heavy duty after market steering stabilizer, re[lacing tie rod ends, and changing the alignment. It cost me $750 but no more wobbole.

[Barry Sloe]

Also have someone check to ensure the wheel on that side is true.

 

BS