Bull
Tremor Fiend
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2020
- Messages
- 207
- Reaction Points
- 447
- Location
- Southeastern PA
- Current Ride
- 2021 F250 Tremor Lariat 6.7
Caster - not Castor
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Just a lot of you tube and research......I heard about death wobble the week I bought my truck, scared the shitl out of me.....Dude you know your shit. Good to know.
Ford has sold about 15 million trucks the last 20 years I’m sure a few of them are not perfect. As long as Ford stands behind their product and makes it right.Just a lot of you tube and research......I heard about death wobble the week I bought my truck, scared the shitl out of me.....
Agreed...........and from what I have seen in this forum, Ford IS standing behind their product.Ford has sold about 15 million trucks the last 20 years I’m sure a few of them are not perfect. As long as Ford stands behind their product and makes it right.
Oh I love my Tremor!
Absolutely on the money here! This issue has been around for 30 or 40 years on straight axle vehicles of all makes. The track bar is a common culprit, check the torque spec and get a Huge torque wrench!I have built lots of solid axle suspensions and steering systems from the ground up. Death wobble is something that can happen to any vehicle, even IFS.
Usually, death wobble is caused by play in the mechanism that locates the axle or suspension under the vehicle - left to right. In our trucks, it is the track bar or panhard bar (from the drivers side frame to the passenger side of the axle) - the left to right bar that is in relative alignment with the drag link of the steering (from the steering gear box to the knuckle or tie rod, depending on setup).
When there is slop between the panhard or track bar and it's pivots, an oscillation can start - due to tire balancing, alignment, or anything that can cause a frequency based oscillation or vibration - that is not controlled by the panhard bar. The steering stays in one place, and the axle moves left and right, essentially making it like a rapid spin left and right of the steering - even though the wheel is held straight (until it is so bad you can't hold on to the steering wheel). This is the general cause of death wobble. It can be any of the parts mentioned, or even alignment issues like camber and caster, other mounting point issues like link bushings, steering box play, tie rod end slop, basically, anything that introduces "slop" in the system whether steering or axle location. That is why it is so hard to diagnose and cure.
One of my worst offenders, a Factory 2001 2WD F250 - the problem was the tie rod end at the steering box introduced the slop ( the rod end was barely worn and a year old, but had maybe a 1/16th inch of play, and my alignment - per the shop that fixed it - was drunk monkey did it) bad. A cheap part and good alignment solved the issue. The tie rod was the slop and the alignment introduced the oscillation.
I have had it in solid axle Jeeps, F250's, a 1970's Power Wagon and a couple of desert racers.
Bottom line, if the axle can shift from side to side due to mounting slop, and the steering remains fixed, the only place to "give" is the steering wheel. Death wobble is the result.
It's not rocket science, but it is hard to get everything tight enough without slop to prevent it from happening once you have got the issue..
Ed
Please elaborate. Too much or too little, both?Tire pressures play a role in this.
I agree I have definitely seen it with low PSI which makes sense it allows alot of play with sidewall flex.I am not an expert but I think it is extreme under/over and also significance difference between left and right.
I'm at 65 psi all the way around. Big difference in the ride of the truckWhen I did this the truck was I believe 65 front 80 rear. I've lowered the pressure since then. It sits around 58 front 67 rear currently.
I feel that my truck can easily be sucked into ruts in the road and is prone to some movement when the roads have any kind of groove or expansion joints, potholes, etc. I believe the cause to be the Duratracs, which seem to be prone to wondering. This happens when empty or towing. My Tire pressures are what Ford says to run. Might be something to consider.I hadn't noticed this until this last weekend. Had it serviced at 6000, a few trips before without issue. I drove up to Payson here in AZ. First curve at 65+ I noticed, it felt like the rear-end shifted and was tracking really weird around the turn. Then again on the next. I did a swerve back and forth, felt like I was on a ball bearing...got to the point of the traction control light flashing on.. pulled over to check the wheels, all appeared to be tight. Kept going, very odd, made me a little nervous, definitely not right. Going to get it in to check it out. I'll go back and reread this thread. Any other ideas?
I feel that my truck can easily be sucked into ruts in the road and is prone to some movement when the roads have any kind of groove or expansion joints, potholes, etc. I believe the cause to be the Duratracs, which seem to be prone to wondering. This happens when empty or towing. My Tire pressures are what Ford says to run. Might be something to consider.
So is this what the feeling is for the death wobble? I’ve had two weird instances like this in the last two weeks. One time I was swerving out of the way of someone who decided to turn left at the last minute. I just felt like as I went back-and-forth the front/rear end was loose and I was on skates. Traction light came on for a second as well but the street was completely dry.I hadn't noticed this until this last weekend. Had it serviced at 6000, a few trips before without issue. I drove up to Payson here in AZ. First curve at 65+ I noticed, it felt like the rear-end shifted and was tracking really weird around the turn. Then again on the next. I did a swerve back and forth, felt like I was on a ball bearing...got to the point of the traction control light flashing on.. pulled over to check the wheels, all appeared to be tight. Kept going, very odd, made me a little nervous, definitely not right. Going to get it in to check it out. I'll go back and reread this thread. Any other ideas?