2006 Ford F-250 SD: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Jun 6, 2012 · Steering, Suspension · 154,000 miles · IN

I have been having this problem for almost a year now and have read thousands of other complaints that is the same issue. This truck all most killed me again today. It goes into a "death wobble" when you hit a bump if you are over 55mph. If you anrt expecting it to happen and it is the 1st time you experience it you will wreck! I have contacted several dealers and no one seems to know about or heard about it but there is thousands of complaints online and also have received a letter from ford stating to check tire pressures! I have done what they said + had new shocks, had new tires, struts checked, ball joints checked, and rear suspension looked at. Nothing is wrong ...this is clearly a factory problem and it needs to be taken care of before people start dieing from it! Is ford going to raise my children when this makes me wreck and die ...no they are not so they need to get this taken care of. Reports say that they have changed the set up on newer heavy duty trucks because of this so why aren't they taking care of the one's they already sold to the public! Please help...you can find tons of info if you search " death wobble or death shake!

Filed Jul 4, 2011 · Suspension · 158,000 miles · GA

When traveling at highway speeds the front end shimmies violently when a bump or irregularity is hit in the road. The vehicle almost has to come to a stop before the shimmy will go away. Tire pressure is at max inflation. The problem is an almost daily occurrence. New steering damper, alignment, tire rotation, shocks, and track bar ball joint have no effect on the problem.

Filed Mar 31, 2011 · Steering · 60,000 miles · FL

2006 ford f-250 experiences a severe vibration between 50 - 65 MPH. Specifically noticed after hitting a pothole or driving on uneven roads. Truck is completely stock and has had shocks/ steering stabilizer / brakes / tires / alignment / (replaced/completed) at a certified ford dealer within the past 2 months. Additionally, I had every ball joint, tie rod end, steering component inspected at my cost to investigate the issue. The steering vibration still exists. Forums and other sites have started to call this the "death wobble". Although it can be escaped by slowing down or accelerating through the vibration, it can easily cause loss of control to the unexpected driver. I have driven ford vehicles (trucks) for the past 20 years and this is the first time I have ventured to file an official complaint. Following the service bulletin to adjust tire pressure did not correct the problem. Brand new tires and alignment offered a minor reprieve only for me to experience the same issues less than 50 miles later. People who have experienced this issue need to get specific in order to prompt action from either the federal safety agency or the ford motor company. I did not experience this issue till approximately 60,000 miles, sometime after a brake change. The subsequent issues lead me to change the aforementioned equipment in order to resolve the issue. To this point, the dealership can find nothing wrong but the issue remains. To reinterate, this truck is stock, no modifications have been made and required maintenance has been conducted by the dealer in every instance.

Filed Apr 16, 2009 · Steering · 137,000 miles · OH

I have a 2006 f250 superduty that has numerous issues. Latest is wheel shake after hitting a bump, power steering box has over 3" of steering wheel play, and ball joint just had to be replaced. Not to mention diesel engine issues and excessive air noise. I am being told this is common problems in ford diesels do to engine weight.

Filed Apr 15, 2009 · Suspension · 78,000 miles · FL

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 ford f-250 superduty. The contact stated that the tie rods, bushings, and ball joints were wearing out. Ford motor company sent him a letter stating that it was not a recall notice. Instead, the letter stated that once the vehicle drives over a bump in the road, it will shimmy uncontrollably. The vehicle must be stopped in the middle of the road for the failure to cease. The contact had to repair the front end of the vehicle on his own, which was very expensive. There was no recall for this failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.

Filed Apr 13, 2009 · Body, Steering · 34,900 miles · PA

My f-250 super duty, has a severe front end shimmy at highway speed. My wife and I could have died in one instance,we had to move across two lanes to the shoulder as the truck bounced uncontrollably. I thought the tie rods were going to snap . This did not happen just once, but numerous times. Every time I approach a bridge deck, bump or pot hole I'm afraid the tuck may have a uncontrollable shimmy and losing control! You never know if the truck will have a slight,or severe shimmy,sometimes there is no shimmy at all. This is a problem that has to be rectified!!! Just so you are made aware my tires are fine as is my speed.

Filed Aug 17, 2008 · Steering, Suspension · 79,000 miles · FL

I recently purchased a used 2006 f-250 super duty p/u. At speed above 55 MPH if I hit a bump, the steering wheel will start to oscillated about 4" inches in either direction and will not stop until I slow down. At higher speeds, ie 65-70 MPH the front end feels like it's going to fall off when this happens. I have tried using continuous wheel balancers. And was about to replace the tie rod and drag link ends until I looked this issue up and found out that it was a common problem (possible design issue). I have no desire to pay a $1000 on a repair that may not fix the issue. This truck has not been lifted.

Filed May 23, 2007 · Steering, Suspension · 13,000 miles · TX

Normal highway driving conditions. Speeds between 65 and 75 MPH when the incidents occurred, hit a bump or dip in road. Violent shaking of the front end, resulting in dangerous loss of control and lane changes. Had to slow vehicle down to below 30 MPH or a full stop in order to end the violent shaking. Happened more often after vehicle has been driven for long distances. Gets worse and more frequent as driving continued. First occurrence, taken to ford dealer, and they replaced defective" steering damper. Second time taken to ford dealer - they ran tcp for new alignment specs and new, improved steering damper. Third time taken to ford dealer - replaced track arm ball joint and adjusted alignment to more new specs. Fourth time at ford dealer - tsb adjusted alignment to new specs and replaced steering damper with another new, improved part. *ak vehicle is in repair shop for fifth time at this moment. No attempted repairs have lasted more than 2000 miles.