Violent shaking - Suspect suspension tuning

[pawags45]

I don't think this is just a Ford Problem. I was driving on I-95 south in NC and had the same problem with the 5th wheel in tow. I thought it was the road, but after reading this I looked on google and chevy owners also have this problem. Now I am wondering if it was a bad road or was it the Death Wobble ? I have the Chevy Silverado 3500 Duramax Dully Crew Cab.

[DanNJanice]

Originally Posted by pawags45

I don't think this is just a Ford Problem. I was driving on I-95 south in NC and had the same problem with the 5th wheel in tow. I thought it was the road, but after reading this I looked on google and chevy owners also have this problem. Now I am wondering if it was a bad road or was it the Death Wobble ? I have the Chevy Silverado 3500 Duramax Dully Crew Cab.

You are correct. Lots of vehicles seem to have this issue. I had a 1988 Jeep Cherokee that did it at about 45000 miles. Scared me half to death as it never indicated any tendency to break into a death wobble before. Replaced the steering damper and never had another issue.
My F250 sometimes goes into a steering wheel vibration (not a death wobble) at about 65mph. I have a new steering damper on order now, hopefully that will fix it. If not, I will replace tires and shocks(they are both due) and align, just to cover my bases. If it still has the issue, I will take it to a local independent shop that has been pretty trustworthy and have them go through the entire front-end.

[DanNJanice]

Originally Posted by DanNJanice

You are correct. Lots of vehicles seem to have this issue. I had a 1988 Jeep Cherokee that did it at about 45000 miles. Scared me half to death as it never indicated any tendency to break into a death wobble before. Replaced the steering damper and never had another issue.
My F250 sometimes goes into a steering wheel vibration (not a death wobble) at about 65mph. I have a new steering damper on order now, hopefully that will fix it. If not, I will replace tires and shocks(they are both due) and align, just to cover my bases. If it still has the issue, I will take it to a local independent shop that has been pretty trustworthy and have them go through the entire front-end.

Just following up on my own post for closure. I ended up replacing damper and all shocks (they were due anyway). Still had the slight oscillation. Checked the obvious, ball joints, tie rods, etc. Everything seemed OK. Took it in and had the tires rotated, vibration is gone. So it looks like I have a bad tire. I would have said a tire out of balance, but the first thing I did when I felt the vibration was have the tires balanced and it did not fix the issue. These tires are about shot, will probably not bother with another rotation and just replace them in the spring.

[JFlightRisk]

Thanks for posting an update for us. Information is priceless.

[norty1]

I am reluctant to bring this old post back to life but I found a letter I received from Ford in May of 23 referencing a Customer Satisfaction Program 20N04 that made reference to the Vin# of my 2017 F350 PSD.

I recently had a belt break on one of my truck tires and experienced this wobble.

I made an appointment for them to replace the steering damper with the IMPROVED steering damper at no charge for parts or labor when I return from this next week long trip.

Just wondering if anyone has received this correspondence? The letter says it applies to my vin# from 10 years or 150K. It expires Dec 31, 2024.

[Radar57]

The death wobble for a Ford Super Duty is one of those issues that is when it is going to occur, not if it will. Had an old 2000 F250 and had it occur a couple of times. My brother-in-law had it occur several times on his he finally got rid of if.

I know YouTube videos to some are taboo but in the video below at the 14:22 minute mark there is a shop the Prescott, AZ area that explains what THEY believe to be the cause and solution. Mind you their solution isn't cheap but if it takes care of it, might be worth it. Any local suspension shop could do the same fix. Just a thought

https://youtu.be/0L6BQyzW94s?si=1C6vUj9Q1zVoMRwV