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How many of you have experienced the death wobble in fords?

Started by HemlockKing, June 18, 2021, 06:30:47 AM

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Southside

Quote from: barbender on June 19, 2021, 06:49:47 PM
Aka "ride control"😊
Pretty sure my feet were above the steering wheel when we left the gate so I marked her out right, and for sure was looking for the pickup man after 8 seconds.  That was a winning ride - worthy of a buckle.   :D smiley_horserider
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

HemlockKing

A1

Don P

I've had it in an older Ford, the worst though was in the old '72 Chevy motorhome, 2wd air bagged coil independent front end, basically a UPS van chassis. We were trying to get home from WI when it started thrashing at about 45 mph. I thought for sure there would be parts obviously hanging off it. Limped to a chevy heavy truck dealer in Janesville. After one night at the local Motel 6 they thought they had it, but as soon as I took it out it started again. I had the mechanic drive it and thought we were going to go off roading when it happened with him  :D. 2 more days of head scratching before they fired up the parts cannon and replaced enough components to tighten it up.

Edvantage

Just spent 2k on E350 van All new steering components and brakes. 190,00 miles. Regularly tow heavy loads 12,000 lbs or more. Was starting to developer the " death wobble". Now drives like new although I'm tired of driving it. My second E-350 since 2005. 

Larry

UFO's, Chinese rocket ships falling from the sky, and now the Death Wobble!  What next shall I worry about? :D :D

BTW, I thought the dealt wobble ended when I sold my '57 Nash Metropolitan. ;D
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

moosehunter

My first death wobble was around 1984. Driving a 1968 F-250 4x4. At about 60mph on a state highway the pavement ended abruptly for about 15 ft. To this day I don't know how I saved that truck that night. Others claimed there was a sign for the pavement out. I don't think so. Turned out one of the front wheel bearings was loose. Adjusted them and the death wobble didn't happen again. In that truck. Over 30+ years working on automobiles I drove a lot of vehicles with the death wobble in an attempt to diagnose the cause. Most of the time it was worn parts, wheel bearings leading the list.
mh
"And the days that I keep my gratitude
Higher than my expectations
Well, I have really good days".    Ray Wylie Hubbard

RAYAR

Have driven mostly Fords all my life and don't ever recall having a death wobble. Was a passenger in a Ram 3500 and experienced it when hitting a bump a couple times. It had some steering parts replaced. Later checked the toe in and it was toed in way too much. Adjusted it and hasn't happened since. Too much toe-in can cause this especially when one wheel gets bounced off the pavement and loses traction in steering. Then it becomes a back and forth thing.
mobile manual mill (custom build) (mods & additions on-going)
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Husqvarna 50, 61, 254XP (and others)
96 Polaris Sportsman 500
2006 Ranger 4X2 w/cap, manual trans (430,000 Km)

YellowHammer

Interestingly enough, since I'm interested in a new Super Duty, I started doing some research on this.  Turns out there is a big lawsuit against Ford on this.  
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

reride82

Quote from: Southside on June 19, 2021, 06:41:10 PM
Had a big Komatsu loader, with the fancy self gyro thingy that made the bucket go up and down just a tiny bit so she would not wheel hop. Worked awesome. 25 MPH with no bounce at all - UNTIL - that little thingy died at 25 MPH. HOOCHIE MOMMA! Whump, Thump, and we have liftoff!

Now that is a full on death dance!
I got to experience the "death hop" in a Steiger Panther III 4wd articulated tractor when I was around 12 years old. I was helping a neighbor with summer fallow(before chem-fallow got big in wheat country) and was coming back from finishing up a half section with about a 7 mile trip home. When I grabbed road gear and was around 15 mph when it started to hop, and pulling a 48 foot plow all winged up, there wasn't enough road surface once it was all said and done. Thankfully it was a small ditch I ended up going through and got it stopped in the field I had just left. From then on it was 8 mph all the way back  :D Turns out they had added some front weights to increase traction and put the tractor out of balance. Lots of lessons were learned that day. ::)
'Do it once, do it right'

'First we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us'
Living life on the Continental Divide in Montana

mike_belben

Thats a heck of a machine to throw a kid on and send him miles down the road
Praise The Lord

reride82

Quote from: mike_belben on June 22, 2021, 11:24:42 PM
Thats a heck of a machine to throw a kid on and send him miles down the road
I started "driving" at 5 with instructions to keep it in second gear and basically steer a pickup to the other end of a field(about 2 miles) and shut it off when you get to the other end. farming-wise, I started on a 4100 International tractor with a harrow at age 7. I was driving twin screw tandems by age 10 moving hay and grain. Granted, this was in North-Central Montana so it was mostly section line roads, and very little traffic.
'Do it once, do it right'

'First we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us'
Living life on the Continental Divide in Montana

snobdds

99% of the time the bushings in the drag link are loose. 

Large tires and dry air seem to destroy the things.  It's easy to fix. 

sawguy21

I got into the 'death wobble' on a Kawasaki 750 triple, it wasn't called a widow maker for nothing. Of course I may have been going waaaay too fast but will plead the fifth. Parked that beast and never rode it again.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

barbender

To motorcycle aficionados, that is known as "headshake" and no, you never forget it!
Too many irons in the fire

Southside

Come to think of it I did have that happen once, would have been back in the 80's, and yup - still remember exactly where I was. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

DbltreeBelgians

Quote from: mike_belben on June 19, 2021, 02:50:05 PM
In tractors i think it leans toward insufficient caster angle pretty often.  Not adjustable.
Mike is correct on that. Ever watched a shopping cart front wheels wobble when the cart had no load in it? (I refuse to push one that does that and grab another). OCD I guess. Not enough positive caster. Same holds true on the "Ford Death Wobble".
Much work has been done on this. Not just Ford trucks. I've even seen Jeep CJ5's do this. Positive caster adds stability. Manual steering vehicles back in the day had less positive caster to make steering a little easier. Add power to an old late 60's manual steering F-250 4x4 and spin the wheel sitting still with your finger. 
Don't get me wrong, worn components such as tie rod ends and track bar bushings will also contribute to this scary phenomenon.
Be safe,

Brent

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