Deckard83

Alright so I've got the 4.9 4 speed granny F-150, lifted four inches on 35's. New steering stabilizer, but still getting those dreaded death wobbles when I hit a bumpy road. Shocks are blown. Could that be the culprit? Tie rods don't have any play.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

either shocks or ball joints...how did you check play in the tie rod ends ? stabilizer bar has bushings also.

Deckard83

Just pulled it around a bit. Didn't budge. The part I don't understand is that somehow locking the hubs completely mitigates the wobble.

techrep

iTrader: (1)

stiffens up when the front shafts are engaged. you did not jack the front end when checking for the loose rod ends ??

Deckard83

Yes I had it jacked when I checked for play, and there wasn't any. They're in pretty good condition, fairly new

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Something in your front end is loose. You have to figure out which something(s) it is. "death wobble" is not a Ford issue.

Johnboy429bbf

Half ton with big tires is hard on the radius arms. Check the bushing on the drop bracket off the frane. And also the bushing for the swing pivot on the front rear end it's self.. best was to do this is by backing up a little Hong and see how much they've spread

PerryB

Death wobble is an issue that has plagued Ford trucks for decades. Good shocks and a tight front end will stave it off but it comes from excess positive caster. The problem is, this is not adjustable without installing offset ball joints and a lot of shops don't want to go through the effort of doing this OR they don't understand the problem. You need to get the caster near the bottom end of its spec range. For example if the range is 0 to 2.5 degrees and it comes in at 2, the shop will say all is good. It needs to be down around 1 or even less. A good example of excess caster is the front wheels on a shopping cart.

burnthelight88

Well if you know the shocks are blown and you're having an issue that could be caused by them, replace them first. They aren't that much money. Then get back to us if the problem hasn't been rectified.

Deckard83

So to update: Shocks are replaced and it's still there. Not as bad of course cause it's absorbing it a lot better. I'm thinking most likely unbalanced tires? The ball joints are fine and the tie rods are, as I said, pretty solid.