Buying a Mystery Problem Ford....

[TheSparrowsGift]

So I am trying to figure out exactly the problem with this 1994 Ford F250. It's the XLT long bed extended cab V8 4x4 Automatic. It did get hit pretty bad on the passenger side door and after that started having this issue....

It's steering is tight...no play whatsoever. But when you reach 50 mph it will suddenly jerk the steering wheel and the truck back and forth violently....in seems like it's in the front end....but the tie rods, suspension and all have been checked...

The funny thing is...you have to slow down (coast, braking makes it worse) to about 20- to get it to stop and then you can drive just fine again.... You can drive all day long at 30-40 and up...but when you hit 50...its like magic. And the tranny has already shifted into gear smoothly.


I have been told it possibly is the gear box.... any thoughts???

 

[smokey]

Sounds like death wobble.suspension is loose somewhere.

 

[DNFXDLI]

I was thinking that...but wasn't that limited to the solid front axle with the coils?

 

[kiwi f150]

It does sound like front suspension issues - have you had the wheels off to check that they aren't slightly buckled or the tyre might have a separationin the steel belts - look for bulges in the tyre suface ... if it's got alloys they are pretty easy to damage in any sort of impact.
I had a hilux come in last week with a similar complaint and when i went to balance his wheels i found that one of the front tyres had blown the steel belts ......after i asked some questions it turned out that the silly young bugger had driven it over a cattle stop at high speed and bruised the tyre leading to steel belt separation

 

[primetime]

I would be taking a real good look at the axle pivot brackets, crossmember, axle beams, and leaf spring brackets. Look very closely for bends that shouldn`t be there, cracks, and loose rivets.

 

[Tyler St.Clair]

My dad had the same issue with his 1999 f150 2wd and it was just as simple as the belt slipped inside the front tire got a new tire a WA BAM!!!! solution was solved. if you have a spare through it on before you go buy a new tire and see if that is the issue first if that doesn't solve the problem it might be a suspension issue.