Ford owners

jaxglide · 02-19-2020, 08:05 PM

As i continue research for the right tow vehicle, I believe it will be a ford 350 or ram 3500 dually. Seems to be a lot of issues with Ford death wobble.
For you fellas with ford 350 drw, is this issue as bad as it seems? Class action suit leads me to believe i need to steer (lol) clear of the ford and opt for the ram

Thoughts ?

ctbruce · 02-19-2020, 08:12 PM

I'm strictly a Chevy guy, so by no means an expert. But I thought it was Ram that had the death wobble?

+Ruff Rider · 02-19-2020, 08:19 PM

Personally i think the death wobble is exaggerated to a degree. First thing is you never hear about the guys that don't have the problem. I have a 15 F250 with the 6.7 and it only happened once. I figured it was a combination of a ruff road and stability control along with the ABS kicking in at the same time. Never happened again. I drive the same road all the time. I am not sure DRW trucks have this problem ether. My truck is a 4X4 and I think that makes some difference.
I would never consider a Dodge. I guess I love Fords to much because I have 5 of them LOL

Badbart56 · 02-19-2020, 08:35 PM

Never had in my 97 dually or the 2011.250K miles on the 97, 188K on the 11. Not saying it doesn't happen but I've had no issues.

**flybouy** · 02-19-2020, 08:56 PM

I've had the "death wobble" once. Replaced the worn out drag link and no more issues.

larry337 · 02-20-2020, 05:32 AM

Death wobble is not new. It can occur in any truck with a solid front axle which means Ford or Ram. I think its even occurred in Jeeps but don't hold me to that one. I have owned 3 different Super Duties over the last 10 years and it's never happened to me. But I've been reading about other people's issues with it for years. It seems if a truck does do it than it can be hard to figure out. Could be anything from caster, worn tires, worn shocks, alignment, lift kits, level kits, oversized tires, or any number of front end parts. Seems some shops just throw parts at the issue and can't figure it out. I feel bad for the owner of the truck. Not long ago there was a poll in one of the Ford groups I'm in asking who has had it and it came out right about 10% of all owners. Of those most were able to solve the problem fairly easily. But there are a couple here and there who are very frustrated. I would be too.

rhagfo · 02-20-2020, 06:40 AM

Death Wobble for years was the big issue for Ram, it seem to now migrated to a Ford issue. So far not an issue for either of our Rams 2001 and 2016.
I have experanced before on my 64 Ford Econoline with a straight axle and kingpins. New king pins solved the issue.

BSHGTO · 02-20-2020, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxglide

As i continue research for the right tow vehicle, I believe it will be a ford 350 or ram 3500 dually. Seems to be a lot of issues with Ford death wobble.
For you fellas with ford 350 drw, is this issue as bad as it seems? Class action suit leads me to believe i need to steer (lol) clear of the ford and opt for the ram

Thoughts ?

This is to funny, where do you people come up with this? There`s a Lawyer suing for everything and it`s not about righting a wrong to it`s about them and fees.
Who is the best selling truck for the last 4 decades, certainly not the one with a converted farm tractor engine in it from the dust bowl era.

Badbart56 · 02-20-2020, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BSHGTO

This is to funny, where do you people come up with this? There`s a Lawyer suing for everything and it`s not about righting a wrong to it`s about them and fees.
Who is the best selling truck for the last 4 decades, certainly not the one with a converted farm tractor engine in it from the dust bowl era.

You do realize that up until the 2011 model year Ford relies on International for the Diesel engine in it’s pickup trucks? And on Cummins for engines in the F650-750 trucks, correct? Both of which were dominant power plants in agricultural machinery? While I do love my Ford 6.7 I’ll not sell the other brands short. The Diesel engines in the big three line up are all very capable power plants.

rhagfo · 02-20-2020, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxglide

As i continue research for the right tow vehicle, I believe it will be a ford 350 or ram 3500 dually. Seems to be a lot of issues with Ford death wobble.
For you fellas with ford 350 drw, is this issue as bad as it seems? Class action suit leads me to believe i need to steer (lol) clear of the ford and opt for the ram

Thoughts ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BSHGTO

This is to funny, where do you people come up with this? There`s a Lawyer suing for everything and it`s not about righting a wrong to it`s about them and fees.
Who is the best selling truck for the last 4 decades, certainly not the one with a converted farm tractor engine in it from the dust bowl era.

I would love to see the numbers with the 150/1500’s dropped. I see more and more HD Rams on the road every day.
I do agree that class action lawsuits only really benefit the lawyer’s, the consumer gets pennies on the dollar.

+Ruff Rider · 02-20-2020, 11:20 AM

Say a class action lawsuit is for a million $ and you get 300 people to sign on. The lawyer gets 33% the rest is divided up between the rest of the people. Lawyer was never harmed in the first place yet he got 33% of your money. Ever wonder who makes his suits. LOL

FlyingAroundRV · 02-20-2020, 11:53 AM

When I went truck shopping, I saw the issue of the "death wobble" as related to the Ford trucks. I kept digging and researching and most of what I saw was traceable to wear in the steering components. I believe that when you get a death wobble it's time to start checking on the steering system.

In the end, I went for a 2015 F250 CC SRW gasser, with the standard bed.

Frank G · 02-20-2020, 12:56 PM

I had a 1950 Ford ton and a half. Anything above 35-40 and it had the "death wobble", I would stay clear of them. Looking for a photo.

BTW Us agricultural folk in the flyover country get a little temperamental when us or our equipment is picked on by...

Camp CA · 02-20-2020, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxglide

...........Seems to be a lot of issues with Ford death wobble. For you fellas with ford 350 drw, is this issue as bad as it seems?.......

I have had Ford's since late 80's and they hold pretty well. I had my 2020 F250 for 17.5 years but did put some $$ into it for repairs after 10+ years. My 2016 F30 DRW with 7000 miles is holding up very well and I am not aware of any issues. I purchased the truck a few months back with a 100,000 6 year extended warranty.

**flybouy** · 02-20-2020, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank G

I had a 1950 Ford ton and a half. Anything above 35-40 and it had the "death wobble", I would stay clear of them. Looking for a photo.

BTW Us agricultural folk in the flyover country get a little temperamental when us or our equipment is picked on by...

Note to self: "Don't buy a 70 year old Ford 1.5 ton truck if towing faster than 40 m.p.h.". Got it! Thanks!

Frank G · 02-20-2020, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

Note to self: "Don't buy a 70 year old Ford 1.5 ton truck if towing faster than 40 m.p.h.". Got it! Thanks!

With that feature you never had to worry about a speeding ticket. Another feature it had was the lack of stickers on the door post, you could load it tell it broke and pull as many grain wagons to town that you could get out of the field. Common sense ruled.

**flybouy** · 02-20-2020, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank G

With that feature you never had to worry about a speeding ticket. Another feature it had was the lack of stickers on the door post, you could load it tell it broke and pull as many grain wagons to town that you could get out of the field. Common sense ruled.

I'm guessing that the F5 Ford with that mighty 100 hp flat head V8 (5 more hp than the flathead straight six) and the 3 speed tranny you'd need a wind at your back going downhill to get much over 40 m.p.h.

Just chillin · 02-20-2020, 02:34 PM

My sister had the 2017 F250 with the diesel that did it at 30,000 miles. Was it no problem getting the dealer to fix it but they said that within 30,000 miles it would do it again.

wiredgeorge · 02-20-2020, 03:13 PM

Death wobble due to worn suspension due to big ol heavy diesel engine... not confined to Ford. I replaced the entire front end among other items (also front hubs where the wheel bearings are integrated) when I bought my 2006 with 130K miles. The front end was at the point where a wobble could have been set up. I knew because I got under the truck and checked things. Ball joints, hubs, drag link, tie rod link stuff and a new steering stabilizer. Why? So the truck would go another 80-125K miles with no front end issues.

Here is a decent video that explains the issue and keep in mind 4WD and diesel compound front end wear. Ram and Ford both have solid front axles so it WILL happen for either brand. If you google a bit you can also find Chevy truck death wobble discussed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IRg4bo47i4

travelin texans · 02-20-2020, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhagfo

I would love to see the numbers with the 150/1500’s dropped. I see more and more HD Rams on the road every day.
I do agree that class action lawsuits only really benefit the lawyer’s, the consumer gets pennies on the dollar.

Also pull out of that ALL the different companies that buy/lease the stripped down versions of Fords for employees that don't have a choice of what brand to drive for the past 4 decades & then see if it's still #1.
The oil company I worked for/retired from furnished us with, up until the late 90s, a Ford with vinyl seats, rubber flooring, crank up windows, no radio, no ac, only heat, some 2 wheel drive & some 4x4, all the 4x4 models had the death wobble after 20-30k miles. In mid 2000 they started upgrading to radios, ac, & power brakes & steering.
After the 1st 2 or 3 I would've choosen any brand but a Ford, but rarely had a choice. Three times in 30+ years I chose a Chevy, no death wobble ever & Dodge was only offered once, but I wasn't due a new truck yet.
Needless to say I'm not a Ford fan due to plenty of experience. If buying a tow vehicle tomorrow it would be #1 another GM Duramax/Allison, have had 2 with over 300k miles combined or #2 Ram Cummins/Aisian, sorry Ford guys in my opinion there's not a third option.

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