anyone know why my steering wheel is shaking at 60-70 mph, took it to the dealer today and they balanced all wheels, said ford was researching it. any ideas? i have a 2004 f150 with 600 miles on it.

 

I assume you meant they balanced the tires. Perhaps one of the tires is out of round, or you have a faulty rim. To check and see if one of your tires is out of round, jack up the truck until the tire you are checking is barely off the ground, then spin the tire. If it is out of round, the tire will strike the ground some time during the spin. I would get the dealership to check the rim to make sure it spins true, and doesn't have any wobble in it.

 

the dealer rotated the tires front to back and had the same result which would mean that more than one wheel is not good, in my opinion i think it's in the steering wheel itself because i don't feel a shake in the truck and you can hold the steering wheel tightly at 60-70 mph and the wobbling stops? they also tried wheels from a different truck and it didn't stop. any way to tighten the steering wheel itself? or any other ideas? thanks for your help!

 

This has been a widespread problem with the 2004's. Bad news is most of the people who have had this problem have not been able to get it fixed.

 

my truck is at the dealership now and they are replacing the steering rack as well as the left front wheel hub assembly, they believe this will remedy my wheel shake. it's some new information that the ford engineers just reported to the dealerships. i will post my findings when i pick up my truck later this week. hope this works! let me know if anyone else has had this procedure done with no luck, that will give me some info if i have to take it back again..........

 

Check out the 04 forum, plenty of info on this but little help. I have it as well but didn't prior to my lift and tires.

 

Just took my 04 into the dealer today. The steering would vibrate between 40-60. After my truck was in the shop all day, they ordered 3 new tires. The dealer said the truck had been sitting alot on the lot. I have just over 500 miles on it. I'll see if the tires really fix the problem or not. I have to drive my truck for a week until the new ones come in.

 

i heard that flat spots work themselves out after 30 miles, maybe you have an actual tire issue, let me know if that fixes it. i am still waiting on the steering rack to come in. they did replace the wheel hub and that took some of the shake out but it's still there. ford told me that they redesigned the steering rack. i will post my results once it is installed. good luck with your shake...

 

I don't hold out much hope for any of us....in the 9 weeks that I have owned this 2004 4x4, the thermostat mal****ioned causing the radiator to blow, it's been in 3 times to work on the steering wheel vibration, twice for brake work, once because the tilt wheel lever FELL OFF the steering column, and once for a squeak in the back glass. The dealer offered to trade me in to an identical '04 for only $10,000 more....what a gesture of good faith! Ford obviously failed to work out a lot of issues before they rolled out the new F-150. This is my 5'th new truck in 7 years(3 have been F-150's) and I have never been through anything like this. I doubt I ever go back to Ford.

 

Dang, not liking what I'm reading about the tire / stereing wheel shake.
I just bought a 2004 F150 SuperCrew and it's doing the same thing as what most are saying here.
The wheel is shaking in my hand around 40-45 mph, and again just over 70 mph.......also does it when coming back through those speed ranges when on the brakes.

The truck was new with 180 miles when I got it, and now it has just over 600 miles.
I've called and scheduled an appt with the dealer, but the didn't mention anything about a problem that is known in other trucks....of course not right.
They mentioned rotors, but I doubt that....how could they be warped on a new truck?

I did have this same thing happen on my 1995 Z71 when I bought a new set of Goodyear Wrangler ATS's.
I had them rebalanced 4 times, with the same exact problem.
Ended up talking them back and getting Michelins - Problem gone instantly!!!!

What tire is on most of the trucks posted here?
I have the Generals, never liked em', and never will.
I actually tried to do a tire / rim swap before I took delivery - dealer wouldn't do it though.

If it's the truck and not balancing or the rims, I'm gonna be one ticked off Ford owner.

 

I have michellen's on my truck and they have been balanced twice, long story short, road force test, rotate, new wheel hubs, swap of tires from truck that didn't vibrate the steering wheel and i still have the vibration. i am waiting on a steering rack to come in and they think that might fix it, we will see, i will post my results, good luck to you, have them check the hotline for the replacement of wheel hubs and steering rack.

 

I just got back from the dealer dropping my truck off for the same thing. Only difference is that I had the vibration in the rear. They claimed they feel anything abnormal when I took the truck in. Suggested I rotate the tires. Well that moved it to the front and now the steering wheel starts shaking about 60 and getts progressively worse up to about 80 and then starts to smooth out again. Plus I now have a bulge in the side wall on the right rear. The service advisor that I have delt with concerning my inlarging number of problems I am having with this truck wasn't very happy when I told him that I knew that there is a(TSB) out from ford about this. Just assured me that they would figure out what was wrong with. If I get the same crap when I go to pick it I am going to take it to another dealership. Maybe they can fix it. I love my truck but it is really starting to a pain in #$%. If you know what I mean. This is the third f150 I have owned and by far it has given me the most trouble. Hope this helps and I will the results after I pick up the truck.

 

I am having the same problem as everyone else is. I am on my third set of tires counting the factory ones. Nothing is wrong with the tires it is the truck. I can tell you how many times I have had tire work done just like all of you, but not enough time. ANyway I know about the TSB and my dealer said they never heard of this issue. So I went to service and made them look it up while standing in front of them and could you believe there it was. Wow imagine that. It states the problom as some 04 F150 have sterring wheel wobble or such and that Ford Techs. were looking into it. No solution yet. I was told to check back in a month for an update. This is crap! This is my third F150 and I have never had any problem before. Ford must not have work out the kinks before putting out. THe problem I am having with my dealer now is I am past the 12000 miles for warranty and out of luck. They keep claiming that my tires are the problem since I didnt get them for them. The reason I was told it wobbles worse with bigger tires from 4wheelparts is because more tire on the road. I dont know what I am going to do other than probbably never buy another Ford again. Taking it to another dealer didnt help me either because they told me since I didnt but it from them, I can drive back to where I bought it.

 

they put an updated steering rack and left wheel hub on mine, have them check with the hotline. i don't know if you want to spend the money on the parts since it's out of warranty. they also replaced two of the wheels and the nibble is gone.

 

It is still under warranty. I only have 15000 miles on it but they blame the new tires for the problem. Check out the photo gallaries under bgofftruckpics. Just posted them