Bill, I recently added Sumo Springs Front SSF-109-40 (Blue) and Rear SSR-109-40 (Blue) on my 2005 Excursion EB 6.0 4x4 and they are great. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend them. They replace the OEM bump stops and improve the ride quality.
I've got an 03' 7.3L EX, and my stock springs on the front (which don't death wobble, btw), were damn near inverted. Ride was shit. I got the 3650's for the front on my EX. Stock ride height. I LOVE Michigan Truck Spring. They're awesome.
I COMPLETELY FIXED my 2015 F2Fiddy’s death wobble on Saturday…….I traded her in on a 2021 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-road Premium w/Predator package. Now I’ve got a truck that’ll last forever and not cost $300/oil change. Loved my Duty 6.7 and miss her a little, but definitely glad I did. PS i never had death wobble. Had an 8” BDS suspension kit and 38’s and never had any issues with that thank God.
Can’t beat a Toyota product. Seems like I am hearing that more and more everyday. Obviously if you need to pull 20k lbs you are at the mercy of the Big 3…glad I am not.
That's because the BDS lift kit was installed properly & the proper CASTER angle was retained. BDS makes some of the best quality lift kits, bar none. But, that's also why they're so damned pricey. Ya get what you pay for!
@@marlinnotfish : It's actually NOT Ford, Dodge, or Jeep's faults. People modify (lift) their suspensions, thus screwing up the factory caster angle, which is EXACTLY what causes the "death wobble" to occur! If you lift a coil sprung front axle, you MUST adjust the CASTER to compensate for the added lift!
@@turbodiesel4709 I am not sure about this. I had a 2005 Ford F-350 SRW that I purchased new and I had death wobble from month 1. Sold it and never looked back.
Love your stuff. Do you have any vids on the newer powerstrokes and longevity? Such as looking for used rigs, how many miles do you start running into issues
I did coop at a shop the boss said to his customer kriptonite ball joints are the best use only that from now on by the way they last 4 times longer than stock
Bill im doing a frame off restoration on a 1997 f350 powerstroke. Any tips or things to look out for preventative maintenance while I’ve got it all apart. Driveline will be completely rebuilt also.
"Death Wobble" started in 1988 when the F-Super Duty was introduced....Drop-axle with no caster adjust built-in. There were many recalls on that issue. For anyone that has not experienced the true "death-wobble". It is not just a wobble. It is literally a steering wheel lock to lock oscillation that would break your arm if you chose to put your arm through the steering wheel spokes when it happens. It is all geometry. Even we techs of the time knew that. Ford threw many parts at that problem. Frankly, I can't believe that it is still an issue. The front suspension engineering of those trucks is BS and Ford always knew and still knows it.
Yes sir I drove wreckers for 30 yrs had a brand new 88 super duty with 17' aatac steel rollback it will scare the hell out of you when the death wobble kicks in we tried everything even new axle nothing fixed that straight axle!!
Nice video as usual Bill, wondering if anyone knows who makes or where a fella can get a set of the fender protectors like are on the Excursion. I like the low profile and have been looking for some like that for a while but everything I look at sticks out too much.
My F350 had the death wobble from high speed left turns. Ford couldn’t fix it after numerous attempts. Local mechanic put stiffer front shocks and fixed it.
What is the pinion angle? Increasing caster 8 degrees is great for handling but will also drop the pinion down by hmmm 8 degrees. Did this induce any driveline vibrations while driving in 4WD?
@Preacher S : It certainly may have. There's definitely a trade-off that occurs when adding caster. If people would realize that 99% of "death wobble" in these trucks comes from adding the stupid "leveling kits", without paying an alignment shop to modifying CASTER angles to compensate, maybe they'd stop doing it!
Have y’all had any complaints/solution’s to the way F450’s handle? I’ve had an issue with my 2022 F450 where it kind of wonders around and if it catches the outer edge on black top (where they re-pave the road over top of the old one) and it’s difficult to controllably bring it back onto the road. It also gets sucked into the rumble stripes they put out to let you know your on the edge of the road. This is all made worse when your hooked to gooseneck trailers as well. (Don’t know about bumper pull, I haven’t had one hooked to it yet.) Would all this have to do with caster? Or would this be a different issue I need to chase? This series has been SUPER informative and I really appreciate you putting the time and effort into getting this kind of information out there!
What tires are on it? My experience with F-550s has been the factory 19.5” continental tires are very squirmy, esp. the first 2,500 miles. I’ve had quite a few white knuckle moments when the duals catch a rut or rumble strip and start squirming back and forth, not fun when you have close to 20K lbs onboard. Michelin tires help tremendously and they don’t chunk their tread blocks at 10K miles.
Assuming steering box isn't sloppy and all tie-rod ends & ball joints are good, then: Front wheels need to have slightly more Toe-IN added, and also the addition of heavier steering stabilizers will also help. Also, make sure the trailer is properly loaded! If you have too much hitch weight, the front end of the truck will be too light, and the truck will be much harder to control & keep straight on the road.
@@preachers4135 oh really? It does have the stock continentals on it. They are a different tread patter from our 550 though, like they switched tires on the new ones or something. I know what you mean by getting squirrelly with a load on! Been there! Haha! I usually have a load around 25k and it’s not fun when it falls off the fresh blacktop down on the old stuff… I will have to look into the Michelins for my steers at least… I was hoping they would be some good tires for a long time, not looking forward to buying 6 so soon…! Lol
@@turbodiesel4709 interesting! The truck only has about 6k miles on it right now, I sure hope everything is still tight! Lol I’ve asked the ford dealer multiple times if they would check the alignment but they say it’s in spec and they “can’t replicate the issue…” I might just have to run it over to our local alignment shop and have them put it on the rack and see if they’ll add some tow in on it.
I'm curious about the caster settings. I have a grand Cherokee that I've been fighting with death wobble on for over a year now. I've set caster from 4.5° up to 7.5° with no change. Everything under it has been replaced with upgraded parts or Moog replacement parts, red top steering box, I've tried two different brands of steering stabilizers and nothing even changed the speed or severity of the death wobble. I can't drive over 50mph without fear of being shook off the road by hitting the smallest of bumps in the road. Does anyone have any input or ideas? I'll try anything at this point.
@Matt Kaydus : How much lift is in your Jeep? If the front axle is anything higher than the stock height, you will need more a POSITIVE caster angle than the factory spec. Usually a couple of degrees more than factory spec is plenty, but it all depends on what all has been modified & by how much.
@@truthboomertruthbomber5125 trouble is that I've already replaced and/or upgraded every part of the steering system. I don't know if a magnetic mount could even hang on hanging under it when it acts up.
I replaced my rear leaf springs in my 2005 F250 with those Michigan springs, and they’re already rusting less than a year later. I live in the south and they’re rusted worse than the original ones were after 17 years. Not too happy about that. Guess I’ll need to coat them.
I bought a Excursion from you in 2017 it's been a great ride. I've never had a death wobble issue. One question what about Chevy why do they not have the death wobble issues?
I think because their HD trucks have independent front suspension. Not a straight axle on ford's and dodges where the 2 front tires are tied together. But could be wrong
@Bentley Fatheree : GM uses a totally different front independent suspension design, with torsion bars/springs. No solid front axle with coil springs on the Chevy's. Also, if your Excursion's suspension is still at stock height, and the CASTER angle is within factory specs, your truck will never have "death wobble". The truck in this video was lifted in the front. I find it rather funny how they didn't bother to mention that!!!
So what in all was the cost of this? I’ve got this 05 excursion and it’s just handling like complete shit. I’ve rebuilt the front end on a few of these now relaxing everything I could think of and still all the ones done they still handle like loose gooseY. I want this gone, and I’d like to upgrade to pretty much what you guys of got going here. I understand it won’t be cheap but please let me know.
Hey Bill. Would you be interested in a 2006 F250 w 6.0L attached to a 6 speed manual transmission? Truck has 160,00 miles on it. Motor just had a complete head gasket job with studs about 1,000 Mike ago. Truck currently doesn't run, because HPOP branch tube is broke and needs replaced. If you are not interested, let me know what the truck is worth if I sell it in my area, southern Indiana.
If it comes back after all this, make sure to pull the front wheels off and change the universal joints. This is a part that is missed and has been found to play a major component in depth wobble.
@powerstrokehelp can you tell Me what is a good scanner (no a ready) for my 2006 6.0; I work on my truck so I want something with good features and test mode
One thing that helps prevent death wobble. The Centramatics wheel balancers. Installed the centramatics on my wife's '18 Ram 2500 4wd. The ride is very smooth on any road.
@James Eroh : Nope. Wheel balancing has absolutely nothing to do with "death wobble". From your comment, I'm certain you've never experienced true death wobble. It's a "shit your pants" kind of experience!
12 degrees is Mercedes level. I think 4 degrees is appropriate.. 12 is way way too much for a truck. Just for fun measure the height of the truck with wheel on center and wheel at lock. It is going to be inches... No need to lift the truck that much by turning the steering wheel. 12 degrees is silly too much.
@powerstrokehelp Hey Bill, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd "pin" my following comment, so all can read & learn. I'm also open to any discussion of agreement or disagreement that you may have. Thanks, AJ So, @8:25 in the video, you actually showed the TRUE CAUSE of the "death wobble". It made me chuckle. Someone installed "leveling" pucks above the front springs, to fit larger wheels/tires. It's an all too common practice, one in which that simple little suspension change throws the geometry of the factory CASTER way outta whack! As we both know, heading towards negative caster with these front suspensions is NO GOOD, and yet, that's exactly what's happening when anyone lifts these types of front suspensions. Once ANY front suspension lift mods are made, the caster angle MUST be readjusted back to within factory spec. Sometimes, sightly more POSITIVE caster than factory is necessary, depending on the amount of additional suspension lift that was added. A "bump up" to 4° to 5° of positive caster is a relatively common amount, but different vehicle situations may vary. Ford, Dodge, & Jeep solid axle front coil sprung suspensions are all essentially the same. Been dealing with this issue for over 25 years now, and I find it rather amazing how few people actually understand how to permanently cure this relatively well-known issue. The lesson to learn here is simple: If anyone chooses to lift the front suspension at all, even with a basic 2" leveling kit, then they absolutely MUST CHANGE the front CASTER angle to compensate, or the dreaded "death wobble" may very likely occur. Any respectable alignment shop can cure death wobble.
@@powerstrokehelp Hey Bill, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd "pin" my following comment, so all can read & learn. I'm also open to any discussion of agreement or disagreement that you may have. Thanks, AJ So, @8:25 in the video, you actually showed the TRUE CAUSE of the "death wobble". It made me chuckle. Someone installed "leveling" pucks above the front springs, to fit larger wheels/tires. It's an all too common practice, one in which that simple little suspension change throws the geometry of the factory CASTER way outta whack! As we both know, heading towards negative caster with these front suspensions is NO GOOD, and yet, that's exactly what's happening when anyone lifts these types of front suspensions. Once ANY front suspension lift mods are made, the caster angle MUST be readjusted back to within factory spec. Sometimes, sightly more POSITIVE caster than factory is necessary, depending on the amount of additional suspension lift that was added. A "bump up" to 4° to 5° of positive caster is a relatively common amount, but different vehicle situations may vary. Ford, Dodge, & Jeep solid axle front coil sprung suspensions are all essentially the same. Been dealing with this issue for over 25 years now, and I find it rather amazing how few people actually understand how to permanently cure this relatively well-known issue. The lesson to learn here is simple: If anyone chooses to lift the front suspension at all, even with a basic 2" leveling kit, then they absolutely MUST CHANGE the front CASTER angle to compensate, or the dreaded "death wobble" may very likely occur. Any respectable alignment shop can cure death wobble.
I have a 2011 F-250 4X4 PowerStroke with 217,000m. My truck has always wondered a little bit. I have a light off-road camper (1,500 pounds) along with a very lite boat trailer. I put helper springs on the rear along time ago. What really bothers me if a few times I have hit bad sections of pavement that set off a harmonic that literally threw me into the next lane. This has happened only a few times in 217,000m and luckily didn’t have traffic beside me when it did. The times it has happened is without a trailer. Any advice?
Every time Bill makes a video school is in session
Kryptonite are my go to for ball joints on my Super Duty trucks
Love the way that excursion sounds. Must have some bigger injectors and aftermarket turbo
Really interesting seeing the troubleshooting on this one. Glad you got the chance to drive the vehicle for so long to verify the concern!
Thanks for sharing Bill
Great video
Bill, I recently added Sumo Springs Front SSF-109-40 (Blue) and Rear SSR-109-40 (Blue) on my 2005 Excursion EB 6.0 4x4 and they are great. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend them. They replace the OEM bump stops and improve the ride quality.
I've got an 03' 7.3L EX, and my stock springs on the front (which don't death wobble, btw), were damn near inverted. Ride was shit.
I got the 3650's for the front on my EX. Stock ride height. I LOVE Michigan Truck Spring. They're awesome.
That's a great sounding truck!
Thanks Bill!
Outstanding I have an 07 F250 this will probably be my next project in a couple of months. Great stuff please keep it up!
Great video!
Can’t fricking wait Bill
I COMPLETELY FIXED my 2015 F2Fiddy’s death wobble on Saturday…….I traded her in on a 2021 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-road Premium w/Predator package. Now I’ve got a truck that’ll last forever and not cost $300/oil change. Loved my Duty 6.7 and miss her a little, but definitely glad I did.
PS i never had death wobble. Had an 8” BDS suspension kit and 38’s and never had any issues with that thank God.
Can’t beat a Toyota product. Seems like I am hearing that more and more everyday. Obviously if you need to pull 20k lbs you are at the mercy of the Big 3…glad I am not.
It’s a absolute joke Ford can’t figure out caster angle after making trucks for as long as they have.
That's because the BDS lift kit was installed properly & the proper CASTER angle was retained.
BDS makes some of the best quality lift kits, bar none. But, that's also why they're so damned pricey.
Ya get what you pay for!
@@marlinnotfish : It's actually NOT Ford, Dodge, or Jeep's faults. People modify (lift) their suspensions, thus screwing up the factory caster angle, which is EXACTLY what causes the "death wobble" to occur!
If you lift a coil sprung front axle, you MUST adjust the CASTER to compensate for the added lift!
@@turbodiesel4709 I am not sure about this. I had a 2005 Ford F-350 SRW that I purchased new and I had death wobble from month 1. Sold it and never looked back.
I noticed with Motorcraft alternators don't last.
I’m running Kryptonite upper and lower ball joint’s on my Excursion. Lifetime warranty.
Love your stuff. Do you have any vids on the newer powerstrokes and longevity? Such as looking for used rigs, how many miles do you start running into issues
Bill - I am glad you liked the picture I sent to you of Archoil in the Arctic!
FIRST!
Love you guys.
Pro vw diesel guy here used y’all to learn the power strokes.
I did coop at a shop the boss said to his customer kriptonite ball joints are the best use only that from now on by the way they last 4 times longer than stock
Shopping car effect great description.
Bill im doing a frame off restoration on a 1997 f350 powerstroke. Any tips or things to look out for preventative maintenance while I’ve got it all apart. Driveline will be completely rebuilt also.
Been seeing this in some Duramax trucks that come to shop heck not that many miles
"Death Wobble" started in 1988 when the F-Super Duty was introduced....Drop-axle with no caster adjust built-in. There were many recalls on that issue. For anyone that has not experienced the true "death-wobble". It is not just a wobble. It is literally a steering wheel lock to lock oscillation that would break your arm if you chose to put your arm through the steering wheel spokes when it happens. It is all geometry. Even we techs of the time knew that. Ford threw many parts at that problem. Frankly, I can't believe that it is still an issue. The front suspension engineering of those trucks is BS and Ford always knew and still knows it.
Yes sir I drove wreckers for 30 yrs had a brand new 88 super duty with 17' aatac steel rollback it will scare the hell out of you when the death wobble kicks in we tried everything even new axle nothing fixed that straight axle!!
Nice video as usual Bill, wondering if anyone knows who makes or where a fella can get a set of the fender protectors like are on the Excursion. I like the low profile and have been looking for some like that for a while but everything I look at sticks out too much.
Bushwhacker
eBay. Fender flares are widely available from many different online off-road product retailers.
Will the 12° Caster cause excessive front tire wear?
My F350 had the death wobble from high speed left turns. Ford couldn’t fix it after numerous attempts. Local mechanic put stiffer front shocks and fixed it.
I remember when you were the mayor of Toronto
What is the pinion angle?
Increasing caster 8 degrees is great for handling but will also drop the pinion down by hmmm 8 degrees. Did this induce any driveline vibrations while driving in 4WD?
@Preacher S :
It certainly may have. There's definitely a trade-off that occurs when adding caster.
If people would realize that 99% of "death wobble" in these trucks comes from adding the stupid "leveling kits", without paying an alignment shop to modifying CASTER angles to compensate, maybe they'd stop doing it!
Are you concerned 12 degrees is excessive?
Have y’all had any complaints/solution’s to the way F450’s handle? I’ve had an issue with my 2022 F450 where it kind of wonders around and if it catches the outer edge on black top (where they re-pave the road over top of the old one) and it’s difficult to controllably bring it back onto the road. It also gets sucked into the rumble stripes they put out to let you know your on the edge of the road. This is all made worse when your hooked to gooseneck trailers as well. (Don’t know about bumper pull, I haven’t had one hooked to it yet.) Would all this have to do with caster? Or would this be a different issue I need to chase? This series has been SUPER informative and I really appreciate you putting the time and effort into getting this kind of information out there!
What tires are on it? My experience with F-550s has been the factory 19.5” continental tires are very squirmy, esp. the first 2,500 miles. I’ve had quite a few white knuckle moments when the duals catch a rut or rumble strip and start squirming back and forth, not fun when you have close to 20K lbs onboard.
Michelin tires help tremendously and they don’t chunk their tread blocks at 10K miles.
Assuming steering box isn't sloppy and all tie-rod ends & ball joints are good, then:
Front wheels need to have slightly more Toe-IN added, and also the addition of heavier steering stabilizers will also help.
Also, make sure the trailer is properly loaded! If you have too much hitch weight, the front end of the truck will be too light, and the truck will be much harder to control & keep straight on the road.
@@preachers4135 oh really? It does have the stock continentals on it. They are a different tread patter from our 550 though, like they switched tires on the new ones or something. I know what you mean by getting squirrelly with a load on! Been there! Haha! I usually have a load around 25k and it’s not fun when it falls off the fresh blacktop down on the old stuff… I will have to look into the Michelins for my steers at least… I was hoping they would be some good tires for a long time, not looking forward to buying 6 so soon…! Lol
@@turbodiesel4709 interesting! The truck only has about 6k miles on it right now, I sure hope everything is still tight! Lol I’ve asked the ford dealer multiple times if they would check the alignment but they say it’s in spec and they “can’t replicate the issue…” I might just have to run it over to our local alignment shop and have them put it on the rack and see if they’ll add some tow in on it.
I'm curious about the caster settings. I have a grand Cherokee that I've been fighting with death wobble on for over a year now. I've set caster from 4.5° up to 7.5° with no change. Everything under it has been replaced with upgraded parts or Moog replacement parts, red top steering box, I've tried two different brands of steering stabilizers and nothing even changed the speed or severity of the death wobble. I can't drive over 50mph without fear of being shook off the road by hitting the smallest of bumps in the road. Does anyone have any input or ideas? I'll try anything at this point.
I saw a vid where the guy put a camera under the front end . The amount of deflection of various components was amazing. You should do the same.
@Matt Kaydus : How much lift is in your Jeep?
If the front axle is anything higher than the stock height, you will need more a POSITIVE caster angle than the factory spec. Usually a couple of degrees more than factory spec is plenty, but it all depends on what all has been modified & by how much.
@@truthboomertruthbomber5125 trouble is that I've already replaced and/or upgraded every part of the steering system. I don't know if a magnetic mount could even hang on hanging under it when it acts up.
That's dudes beard is impressive
I replaced my rear leaf springs in my 2005 F250 with those Michigan springs, and they’re already rusting less than a year later. I live in the south and they’re rusted worse than the original ones were after 17 years.
Not too happy about that. Guess I’ll need to coat them.
New Hampshire Oil
did you paint them? Parts under the truck need paint on them to last, as well as maintenence coats from time to time.
I bought a Excursion from you in 2017 it's been a great ride. I've never had a death wobble issue. One question what about Chevy why do they not have the death wobble issues?
The chevys have the same problem I ride to work in a 4500 every day and we’ve had problems with death wobble
Because they're not solid axle trucks. They're engineered like a 1/2 ton truck
I think because their HD trucks have independent front suspension. Not a straight axle on ford's and dodges where the 2 front tires are tied together. But could be wrong
@Bentley Fatheree : GM uses a totally different front independent suspension design, with torsion bars/springs.
No solid front axle with coil springs on the Chevy's.
Also, if your Excursion's suspension is still at stock height, and the CASTER angle is within factory specs, your truck will never have "death wobble". The truck in this video was lifted in the front.
I find it rather funny how they didn't bother to mention that!!!
So what in all was the cost of this?
I’ve got this 05 excursion and it’s just handling like complete shit.
I’ve rebuilt the front end on a few of these now relaxing everything I could think of and still all the ones done they still handle like loose gooseY.
I want this gone, and I’d like to upgrade to pretty much what you guys of got going here.
I understand it won’t be cheap but please let me know.
why not just use Carli suspension parts?
Hey Bill. Would you be interested in a 2006 F250 w 6.0L attached to a 6 speed manual transmission? Truck has 160,00 miles on it. Motor just had a complete head gasket job with studs about 1,000 Mike ago. Truck currently doesn't run, because HPOP branch tube is broke and needs replaced. If you are not interested, let me know what the truck is worth if I sell it in my area, southern Indiana.
If it comes back after all this, make sure to pull the front wheels off and change the universal joints. This is a part that is missed and has been found to play a major component in depth wobble.
@powerstrokehelp can you tell
Me what is a good scanner (no a ready) for my 2006 6.0; I work on my truck so I want something with good features and test mode
I honestly don't know. We spend big $ on the Ford IDS so wont don't know what other diag systems exist on the market.
Thanks I always follow you ! You do a good job. Now working on my 2006 Powerstroke underbost and shaking around 60mph and cold engine
Teaser
One thing that helps prevent death wobble. The Centramatics wheel balancers. Installed the centramatics on my wife's '18 Ram 2500 4wd. The ride is very smooth on any road.
@James Eroh : Nope. Wheel balancing has absolutely nothing to do with "death wobble".
From your comment, I'm certain you've never experienced true death wobble. It's a "shit your pants" kind of experience!
12 degrees is Mercedes level. I think 4 degrees is appropriate.. 12 is way way too much for a truck. Just for fun measure the height of the truck with wheel on center and wheel at lock. It is going to be inches... No need to lift the truck that much by turning the steering wheel. 12 degrees is silly too much.
Especially when considering the equal change in pinion angle. What’s that vibration?
@powerstrokehelp
Hey Bill, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd "pin" my following comment, so all can read & learn. I'm also open to any discussion of agreement or disagreement that you may have.
Thanks,
AJ
So, @8:25 in the video, you actually showed the TRUE CAUSE of the "death wobble". It made me chuckle.
Someone installed "leveling" pucks above the front springs, to fit larger wheels/tires. It's an all too common practice, one in which that simple little suspension change throws the geometry of the factory CASTER way outta whack!
As we both know, heading towards negative caster with these front suspensions is NO GOOD, and yet, that's exactly what's happening when anyone lifts these types of front suspensions.
Once ANY front suspension lift mods are made, the caster angle MUST be readjusted back to within factory spec.
Sometimes, sightly more POSITIVE caster than factory is necessary, depending on the amount of additional suspension lift that was added. A "bump up" to 4° to 5° of positive caster is a relatively common amount, but different vehicle situations may vary.
Ford, Dodge, & Jeep solid axle front coil sprung suspensions are all essentially the same. Been dealing with this issue for over 25 years now, and I find it rather amazing how few people actually understand how to permanently cure this relatively well-known issue.
The lesson to learn here is simple:
If anyone chooses to lift the front suspension at all, even with a basic 2" leveling kit, then they absolutely MUST CHANGE the front CASTER angle to compensate, or the dreaded "death wobble" may very likely occur.
Any respectable alignment shop can cure death wobble.
So weird how my comment was deleted?
curious, how come you went with blue top over red top?
Blue top was out of stock
@@powerstrokehelp
Hey Bill, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd "pin" my following comment, so all can read & learn. I'm also open to any discussion of agreement or disagreement that you may have.
Thanks,
AJ
So, @8:25 in the video, you actually showed the TRUE CAUSE of the "death wobble". It made me chuckle.
Someone installed "leveling" pucks above the front springs, to fit larger wheels/tires. It's an all too common practice, one in which that simple little suspension change throws the geometry of the factory CASTER way outta whack!
As we both know, heading towards negative caster with these front suspensions is NO GOOD, and yet, that's exactly what's happening when anyone lifts these types of front suspensions.
Once ANY front suspension lift mods are made, the caster angle MUST be readjusted back to within factory spec.
Sometimes, sightly more POSITIVE caster than factory is necessary, depending on the amount of additional suspension lift that was added. A "bump up" to 4° to 5° of positive caster is a relatively common amount, but different vehicle situations may vary.
Ford, Dodge, & Jeep solid axle front coil sprung suspensions are all essentially the same. Been dealing with this issue for over 25 years now, and I find it rather amazing how few people actually understand how to permanently cure this relatively well-known issue.
The lesson to learn here is simple:
If anyone chooses to lift the front suspension at all, even with a basic 2" leveling kit, then they absolutely MUST CHANGE the front CASTER angle to compensate, or the dreaded "death wobble" may very likely occur.
Any respectable alignment shop can cure death wobble.
No kidding Ford Parts have been just junk !
Bill have you considered softer front spring?
I have a 2011 F-250 4X4 PowerStroke with 217,000m. My truck has always wondered a little bit. I have a light off-road camper (1,500 pounds) along with a very lite boat trailer. I put helper springs on the rear along time ago. What really bothers me if a few times I have hit bad sections of pavement that set off a harmonic that literally threw me into the next lane. This has happened only a few times in 217,000m and luckily didn’t have traffic beside me when it did. The times it has happened is without a trailer. Any advice?
I want my truck to sound like it has a big wiener too, just like at 11:53
how do you get ahold of these guys tried calling said send email sent email no response