2009 ford f250 superduty issue......death wobble!

[86VOYAGER]

Whipper you hit the nail on the head. Also keep the air pressure up on front tires. People like to run them lower for a better ride. Equal balance in the tires helps over wheel weights too. I will never run wheel weights on a big truck again.

[WillySteve]

Here's what I know from my 55 years of messing with Driveline repair!
In ANY instance of a front end wobble on a vehicle there will be one or more items worn enough to have steering slack. Out of balance tires will exaggerate the problem but tire balance in not the problem.
Alot of times it will be a combination of things that creates enough slack that the wheels do what they want regardless of the steering input!
Each or any of these will cause the problem:
Tie Rod Ends,
Track Bar,
Drag Link.
Idler Arm,
Steering Gear Box,
Upper/Lower Ball Joints or Kingpin Bushings,
Front Wheel Bearings,
Strut Bushings,
Loose or Bent Wheel,
In other words, ANYTHING concerning the front end geometry!
As stated earlier, With the vehicle setting on all 4's, get someone to turn the steering wheel back and forth constantly while you watch the vehicle's steering setup, check each and everything individually looking for any slack, loss of movement or something moving that should be held stationary!
Remember also that at times it can be a combination of several parts with a little wear which all together cab create a wobble!
You'll find it and good luck!

[WillySteve]

BTW, I have seen tires worn unevenly that certainly cause a wobble but not the norm and usually not the Death Wobble!!!!

[CUDA]

If your pulling a trailer make sure you have the balance right,
I like al lot of weight forward

One day I had a loader on a trailer with a big log in the front grapple , so the loader was back a little bit


I just broke 45mph and all HELL broke loose ,,,

[C10]

Its not your tire pressure,alignment,ball joints,unbalance tires but will be a trac bar issue... Check the three bolts that attach the upper trac bar bracket to the frame too. Very common. I dnt post much but ive been through this with several super dutys. Save your money for boat parts..later!

[WillySteve]

Its not your tire pressure,alignment,ball joints,unbalance tires but will be a trac bar issue... Check the three bolts that attach the upper trac bar bracket to the frame too. Very common. I dnt post much but ive been through this with several super dutys. Save your money for boat parts..later!

See the 3rd post above!
It's true that this truck can and may very well have track bar issues but I can assure you that ANY looseness in the front end assem. will and does cause frontend wobble.
How can you know the ball joints on this truck are not loose without seeing the truck?
I went through the list of things to check AND how to check them.....guess you didn't notice!
I will also say that most of the time a vehicle has enough miles that I have found it's frontend with track bar issues, there will be other parts worn as well and in most cases it's a combination of a little wear here and a little wear there creating enough slack to cause a driving problem.
When the track bar bushings are changed, then check it again by rocking the steering wheel for other loose parts, esp. the tierod ends!
BTW: you can't see loosness in the ball joints unless the vehicle is jacked up as close to the wheel as possible. Once the front springs extend, the joint rotates to an unworn position.....unless it's a straight axle or twin I beam!
Cheers

[RIVERRUMMER 70]

YEP, IM SURE THEY WILL FIND ALL THE LOOSE PARTS, BUT AFTER INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION THE OBVIOUS JUMPED OUT AT US CLEAR AS DAY .....NOW KEEP IN MIND SHE DONT WOBBLE AT ALL TILL I HIT A BIG POT HOLE .....THEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE .......WOBBLE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT .....MORE LIKE VIOLENT UNCONTROLLABLE SHAKE OF THE WHOLE STEERING SYSTEM.
TRUCK ONLY HAS 84,000 MI. CANT NEED A COMPLETE FRONT END REBUILD?

[JohnR]

Believe it or not I wouldn't be surprised to find several items worn at 84K.

[WillySteve]

Believe it or not I wouldn't be surprised to find several items worn at 84K.

I changed tierod ends on mine at 19K! They weren't shot but getting a little loose!

[baja200merk]

I have a mood track bar on my dodge and I pull it off and warranty it out about once a year.

[JohnR]

If you've got an Autozone nearby I'd say see if you can replace the track bar with one of theirs then do what baja200merk does. I do the one in my Dodge every couple of years. I even put a urethane bushing in it and just return it with no bushing in it.

[madnessmaker]

i had exact same issue on my 08 superduty, it was ball joint on pass side of track bar, checked everything else, even changed bushing on drivers side end of track bar. somewhat hard to diagnose the ball joint being loose on the pass end of track bar, had to pry it inward forcefully to notice it had play. swapped it out and perfect.

[JohnR]

Usually if someone rocks the steering wheel while you watch/put a hand on the ball joint end of the track bar you'll feel the play instantly.

[Krazymaan]

Make sure you don't have a cracked leaf spring under the U-bolts/pearches. It will give you weak suspension and death wobble as well. I air bagged my 1 ton front and rear. Its the best thing ever. Its like driving a marshmallow over railroad tracks. I still hang until I remember I have no more springs. But jack up the frame and see it you have the same gaps between the springs from both sides.

[RobF]

you can set your clock to superduties needing certain items replaced by mileage or years

ball joints, calipers, rotors, coil packs lol