Helle everyone. I have a chronic suspension problem. My steering wheel always shimmies. I have replaced everything but the lower balljoints and the pitman arm. I just replaced the idler arm with a Motorcraft unit about two months ago. Even when I had a brand new idler arm installed my truck would still have a slight shimmy over rough ground.

Anyways, here is a video of my drag link. The idler arm really doesn't look loose to me in person.



(idk how to embed)

2001 5.4L 4x4 lariat supercrew. Torsion bar lift. 34" tires. 120k miles.

 

Motorcraft is good for fords specifically but moog is a highly recommended suspension brand. If anything is out of warranty or breaks go with moog.

 

The shimmy is almost definitely due to loose front suspension parts.
From the video, I could not rate the idler arm or other parts. Yourself or an alignment man should be able to check all parts for wear/looseness.
Less likely cause (but possible contributor) may be out of round or out of balance tires.

 

You need to buy a Moog pitman arm and a Moog Idler arm. They are bad. You also will have some looseness in the steering box due to age.

 

I can live with the looseness of the steering box.

Why is it that I go through idler arms every month? I was replacing the auto zone crap ones literally every month. Now I put a MotorCraft one in there, and same thing? It's been in there since September, and it's already bad? What a waste of money. Will RockAuto refund me? I think I am going to pull everything out and replace it with Moog. Everyone seems to speak highly of Moog here. I can at least get my money back for the AutoZone garbage. But, if my idler arm is just gonna go out again in 2 months, whats the point?

 

this video was with the wheels off the ground and the steering whee locked. All I dod was pull back an fourth on the wheel. The 'thumping" noise is the wheels are loose I was gonna pull them off and clean the brakes. Never got around to it when I took this video. The only loose parts I can find is the passenger side upper ball joint.

Obviously there is something going on with the tie-rods and the drag link assembly.

 

The loose parts is where the shimmy comes from. Any and all of the slack will contribute to how bad the shimmy is. The steering box can also contribute to and or cause the shimmy but the most important parts are the ball joints, idler arm, tie rod ends, pitman arm, a frame bushings.
Any of these items wearing out in a matter of months is unusual.
Do you drive off road frequently?
Are your shocks in good condition?
Are your tires true and balanced?
Do you turn the steering wheel when the truck is not moving? This puts excessive strain on all of the front end parts. Should only be cranking the steering when the truck is moving to lessen the stress.

 

I travel off road frequently. But I don't bash my truck. I drive slow and avoid potholes and bumps as much as possible. When I can't avoid I take it easy going over stuff. I use my truck to hunt/daily drive.

Shocks are almost 2 years old. Still seem good to me. I don't get any bouncing when going over bumps. Cycles once, and then holds me steady

Tires should be balanced. I got them balanced not too long ago. I am about to pull the trigger on 327 bucks worth of suspension parts. When I replace them and go to get the truck aligned, I am going to have them balance the wheels as well.

The only time I turn the wheel while not moving is when I absolutely have too. Maneuvering through tight spots, backing a trailer, etc. Otherwise I move and steer.

I also eat through CV axles. Well, I did. I replaced the driver side hub and it seems to have corrected that problem.

My only thing I can think of is the torsion bar crank. It must be putting too much strain on all these parts, because I literally have been replacing parts in the front end for as long as i have owned the truck...

 

Yes moog parts only for suspension parts! for the t bar crank, measure from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender. You should not be over 24.25"... That's the magic number and anything higher than that you'll be going through parts like crazy

 

i'll have to do that, because this is getting expensive. I have a 360 dollar cart at rock auto...

That is for everything

two control arms, two lower ball joints, all the tie rod ends, the idler arm and the pitman arm...

Seems crazy expensive to me.