I just picked up a 2000 f150 7700 series with 150k on it,
I'm getting a vibration starting around 63mph and smoothing out at around 71 mph. Was wondering what people think this could be, tires seems fine no out of the ordinary wear, although i do notice the truck seems a little spongy on bumps, was wondering if shocks could be causing this. i have the entire maintenance records for this truck as it was serviced at a ford dealer, but no mention of replacing shocks on it.

 

I had that happen with my old car it was a stripped lug nut. Which was incredibly random but I replaced the tire nuts (giggity) and that solved it. I feel like you would see some unusual wear on the tires if that was the case though so my feeling is that its the shocks.

 

At my dealer we don't replace shocks as a maintenance item like the shock manufacturers recommend. I don't really see why they need to be replaced until they go bad. Next time you have the vibration let go of the steering wheel and see if it vibrates back and forth at the same time. If so it's a tire imbalance which takes a long time to show uneven wear.

 

could be a few different things. first things to check would be tire balance and then drive shaft U-joints. it also wouldnt hurt to go over the suspension components and check for slop and wear (ball joint, tie rods, wheel bearings, suspension bushings, ect.)

 

First off is safety. Have your front end components checked to make sure they're all tight. After all, your truck is 11 years old.

Most likely you're having an issue with tire balance. Find a place that has a Hunter Road Force balancer and have them balance your tires. They'll typically get a few dollars more for the task, but it's worth it. I have seen issues with vehicles (a couple times with f150's) that the tire will balance but still vibrate at highway speeds. The Road Force balancer has a wheel that presses up against the tire during the spinning phase and simulates the tire mounted on the vehicle. It really gives you a better balance job.

Shocks, meh. Unless your front end is soft and mushy over bumps I wouldn't bother with them. They wouldn't give you the vibration you're experiencing anyway.

 

ok thanks I'll give the tires a new balance, I also noticed that the truck really pulls to the right, let go of the wheel and off to the right she goes, so i'm assuming it's and alignment issue, so i guess I'll have them balance the tires before the alignment

 

Check your tire pressure first. If you're low on that side it'll pull, but usually not that hard. Enough to change lanes after a few seconds of not holding the wheel though.

 

thanks, that was the first thing i checked and made sure there all the same pressure, but no change after i did that

 

Alignments don't really just go bad, either parts wear or you nail a curb or something. As ball joints and tie rod ends wear your alignment will become out of spec so don't be surprised if they say you need a suspension component of some sort.