Death Wobble!

[mayco]

Whatever you end up doing, BUY TWO dampeners..

[Gene]

I'd look to using the highest quality shocks and other parts rather than stock Ford parts. Bilstein is a well known quality brand and the stock ones on my Tundra are performing the same way as new after 131,000 miles.

What I get from some posts, especially London, Ontario's Andy, is to increase pressure in the system to tighten anything that may have some play in it. It seems that simple things like different font end tire pressure or being slightly off on one side's alignment could help, therefore. I doubt a dealer or tire/suspension/front end chain of stores would do anything that issn;t by the book because of fear of liability claims or corporate rules. Sometimes they won't put the tire pressure in you want because their book says not to, for example, even if you one better what tire pressure works best for your truck, trailer and tires. Sometimes they don't tell you.

I sure hope you have no more problems, but the real cause of this is still unknown. Very slight changes, as noted above, can cause significant changes in suspension behavior and it can be hard to know just what helps and what does not. I hope you find that Ford dealer with the elusive part, but I'd look at the aftermarket too.

[turk123]

I just stopped at the nearby Ford dealer in Morgan Hill, CA and the part has a long waiting line. None available and no indication when they are getting it.

[Moflash]

Originally Posted by turk123

At 20,000 miles I experienced a death wobble in my 2017 Ford F-250. It was quite frightening but I was able to slow down and pull over. I had to go below 20 mph for it to stop. That was several years ago and I was not pulling a trailer. Ford replaced the front stabilizer shock and all was well.



Fast forward 22,000 miles later and pulling my 2019 Classic 30 I experienced it again. We had just left a winery north of El Paso and we hit a stretch of shallow potholed road when it began. We were on route 10 and doing 60 when we hit the stretch of road that was damaged. My steering wheel shook so bad I could hardly hold on. I could not steer and could not pull over. I practically had to stop on the freeway (75mph) with my flashers on and finally move off to the side brim. It scared me.



We were out in the desert and quickly found a small town coming up that had a Ford dealer. I started again and stayed just under 55 mph. It happened again and the front of the truck was literally bouncing in the air. We limped into the town and found Smith Ford.



"Ya we know all about the death wobble on those trucks (250 & 350) and we do not have the shock to fix it", the service manager told me. "Ford has a big problem with that. I have a customer that has had the shock replaced and it still does it!", he said. We can't even get the shock as it is such a problem that Ford is back-ordered for over a month."



Great! So we called two more dealers and my dealer at home and almost the same response. Ford owners beware.



We called a dealer in Tucson AR and they agreed to look at it in the morning. The road was very smooth to Tombstone but I was afraid we would need tombstones if it happened again. It did happen a third time but I was going 50 and it stopped as I put the brake on.



I woke up early and drove carefully 1 1/2 hours to the dealership. They agreed to put a third party shock on to try to solve the problem. I ask the dealer to look at the suspension and make sure nothing got bent. The next day we headed out to Quartzite. Everything seemed fine during the trip and the roads were very good.



Leaving Quartzite and hitting a small patch of rougher road it happened again. I pulled over in a truck stop to see if the shock was still there. It was.



We called a dealership in Indio CA and, of course, they did not have the part. We booked a campsite at the same camp we will be back in January for 2 months. They had space.



I called Ford corporate and they do know of the problem but admitted nothing. I told them where we were going for repairs and ask them to get me a shock. They couldn't promise anything and needed to get their truck division involved who were not in on weekends. He said they will call the dealer on Monday and me to see where this is going. They want the new dealer to check the suspension again.



We had to cancel plans for Paso Robles (3 days) and here we sit.



Any suggestions anyone has about what could be wrong would be appreciated. This thing is dangerous.

How often have you rotated your tires?

[turk123]

Originally Posted by Moflash

How often have you rotated your tires?

I usually have it done every other oil change (14,000 miles). Tires look very good.

[Goin camping]

That damper is catch all and not your main problem.

Could be shocks, alignment, worn bushings, loose steering arms, forgot the name. The parts that hold the knuckle to the arms and a few others.

Just get the damper and do nothing the problem will return. Ford just replaces the damper. Cheaper for them and that is why they are so backordered. They are just a band aid.

With all my old jeeps and other 4x4's I have played the death wobble game more than once.

So I suggest again. Stop being a Ford masochist and go to a decent or better front end shop. Tell them what the problem and get the root of the problem fixed and end this chasing your tail.

I apologize if my post sounded harsh. It wasn't meant to.

[turk123]

[QUOTE=

Could be shocks, alignment, worn bushings, loose steering arms, forgot the name. The parts that hold the knuckle to the arms and a few others.


I apologize if my post sounded harsh. It wasn't meant to.[/QUOTE]

Read earlier in the thread. All those things where checked and performed. I have no reason to believe that the dealer would not replace worn parts after I told him I would pay for them.

[Goin camping]

Originally Posted by turk123

Read earlier in the thread. All those things where checked and performed. I have no reason to believe that the dealer would not replace worn parts after I told him I would pay for them.

I'm sorry, I had missed that when I read the post.

An opinion only.

The indépendant shops base their work on results. They seem to try harder.

Best to you.

[Andrew T]

You can probably get one of these right away and it is likely better quality.

https://www.gorancho.com/products/sh...er-rs7415.html

[Andrew T]

You can probably get one of these right away and it is likely better quality.

https://www.gorancho.com/products/sh...er-rs7415.html

[turk123]

Originally Posted by Andrew T

You can probably get one of these right away and it is likely better quality.

https://www.gorancho.com/products/sh...er-rs7415.html

Wow! That does look good. Did you see the 9 position adjustable one for F-250's? I'm going to call them to ask if they have done testing for this problem.

[JDG]

Turk123

Here is a very interesting article on the Death Wobble and perhaps another resource for you that may be of some help. Hope you get it figured out.

https://www.thurenfabrication.com/te...-in-depth.html

[OTRA15]

Good article . . . fairly short . . . a good summary of the many helpful posts here IMO.

Peter

[Spartan Rick]

Never had that myself in 40 years of Fords, but wear plus looseness somewhere plus maybe weight distribution could explain some..
Maybe not related but years back on a Pipeline project we had a number of new rental GM pickups. They had a scary wobble and it turned out to be the 'idler arm' not being properly bolted onto the frame..
Another time.. guys were calling in saying 'getting a vibration at speed...' It was right around freezing and ice had formed on the radio antennas.. enpough to go 'wonka-wonka' in the wind.. knock the ice off.. fixed..
On a motorcycle one fix to a wobble is to lower your torso down to the tank.. enough of a change in COG can stop it, but then look for the real source..
Might have missed; did you check front and rear weights / distribution? Some vehicles (and trailers) react better with weight on the front..

Good luck.

[DougE]

Steering dampers will reduce the effect of wobble but do not cure the cause. Once all worn parts are replaced, the trick is in the alignment. Solid axles need 5 to 7 degrees of caster (close to 7 is better). Ford twin I-beam axles are famous for wandering due to their lack of sufficient caster. Especially on class C rigs 2009 and earlier. Caster was not adjustable but there are aftermarket parts that can correct it. For solid axles, shims are available to add varying amounts of caster in 2 degree increments.

[HRTKD]

Turk, I have an F-350 that I use to tow a trailer heavier that most on this forum. I had death wobble exactly once. In that very specific case, I think it was due to my trailer hitch not being configured quite right and my OEM shock being blown.

As many others have said in prior posts, there is no single solution for this. What works for one truck, doesn't work for another truck. The damper is a band-aid. Worn parts are often the cause, but the alignment is frequently cited also. The alignment range specification published by Ford is often not enough. An additional degree of alignment beyond the spec is what works for some trucks. If you get it aligned by a regular alignment shop that isn't familiar with the problem they'll simply align to spec and you'll never get that additional degree, if it's warranted.

There are aftermarket parts that _may_ solve the problem - initially. When those parts become worn, not so much.

I reconfigured my hitch to put more weight back on the front axle and replaced the OEM shocks with the Rancho 9000XL shocks. That's all I've done and haven't had Death Wobble occur since then. Your mileage may vary.

This is a big discussion over on the Ford-trucks.com forum and so far, there's no silver bullet. Death Wobble does not appear to be happening to a large majority of trucks. People go to the forum with problems. So that's what you see posted.

Don't let this continue. If the parts (whatever they were) are worn enough to allow Death Wobble, then they'll continue to wear and affect other parts and make it more likely to happen in the future.

[sarge12212]

Dodge 2500s and 3500s have also been known to have the Death Wobble. I understand it is from wear in the steering sector. I rebuilt the front end with new ball joints, steering arms and track bars, new Rancho stabilizer shock AND a steering stabilizer bracket that adds a bearing onto the steering sector bolt. After a front end alignment and a break-in period where everything was a little tight, my front end is solid as a rock.

[steelbird312]

Turk, just a thought. Ford has a problem, they know it. Ford is addicted to profits more than they care about their customer base safety. You and others make their base. If enough of their base decides to purchase another brand for theirs and their family members safety, then Ford might find a reason to seek a solutuon. I do know that I would NOT be a member of that base, blindly, but loyally buying a specific brand if if I thought there was a possibility of it hurting me or mine! I know you are right to expect your equipment to be safe, however, you can be dead right! JMO

[pjmoser]

After encountering a number of death wobbles in our 2017 F-250, we had the shock in the tie rod replaced, but that did not solve the problem. Another shop replaced the drag link. This was a temporary fix that lasted about 9 months. We went back to our Ford dealer about a year ago. By this time they said Ford knew of the problem and recommended a newly designed shock for the tie rod. That has seemed to fix our problem.

[turk123]

Originally Posted by pjmoser

After encountering a number of death wobbles in our 2017 F-250, we had the shock in the tie rod replaced, but that did not solve the problem. Another shop replaced the drag link. This was a temporary fix that lasted about 9 months. We went back to our Ford dealer about a year ago. By this time they said Ford knew of the problem and recommended a newly designed shock for the tie rod. That has seemed to fix our problem.

Well, there is a third shock that Ford has come up with now. The second one that was installed on yours is now considered inadequate. If yours is working I would let it go but remember you can always go back for the newest one.