2002 F-250 Rear End Vibration at 41 mph ?

[SurFishaLot]

2002 F-250 extended cab, long bed, 4X4 w/ 7.3 PSD and 6-speed manually tranny. ~90,000 miles. I've owned this truck since new.

Problem. At about 41 mph, I get a vibration from the rear end. It feels like the rear tires are out of balance, but they are not.

Problem has been intermittent for a long time. Possibly from day one. It is just very noticeable and persistent on the current tires.

It did it on the original General Ameritracs for ~44,000 miles.
It did it on a set of Bridgestone AT Revos for about 40,000 miles.
It's now doing it on a set of Michelin LTX M/S's for about 5,000 miles.

It seems to be getting worse. Perhaps to the point of giving up some handling/braking performance and safety. Could be just more noticeable on the Michelins because otherwise they are so much smoother than the Generals or Revos.

I had the Revos road-force balanced. No improvement. $100 lighter in the wallet.

I had the u-joints in the rear drive shaft replaced. (Supposed to be a TSB out for premature wear in the intermediate u-joints.) Mine were out of spec at ~63,000 miles. $600+ later, I thought the problem was solved. It was smooth as silk for a few days. Long-term - No improvement.

I have Bilstein shocks all the way around (with less than 50k on them) and 80 psi in the rear tires. (65 psi in the fronts.) These are the tire pressures that the Ford dealer put in when they sold me the Michelins.

The Michelins are GREAT at anything from 0 to 40 mph and from 43 to 65 mph. From 41 to 43, it's miserable. If I happen to be in a curve at 41 mph, it's sometimes scary.

I'm thinking of lowering the rear tire pressure to calm the vibration, but I like the fuel mileage of the Michelins as they are right now. At the price of these things, I'd also like for them to last forever.

Anybody have any idea where the vibration is coming from ??? Any way to get rid of it.

[xero-xero]

the flux capasitor is trying to kick in too early, you have to get it up to 88 miles per hour to get the right effect...


1 - rear diff
2 - rear shocks
3 - bent rear axel?

first id try another set of rims, go with the cheep steel ones just a loaner pair will do, then go to the shocks, try the monroe hd, then.. then, no help.. take it to the lemmonade stand where they can juice it...

[Airplaneguy57]

Mine is doing the exact same thing. I've been told there is no fix. Something about Harmonics. I wish someone would come up with a fix. Getting very tired of everyone telling me "your tires are out of balance".

[SurFishaLot]

Do you notice any improvement in the vibration problem when that massive in-bed fuel tank is full ?

I normally run my truck pretty light. Nothing in the bed but a tool box and tools that probably weighs no more than 400# total.

When I was trying to demonstrate the problem to the dealer mechanic, it seemed to be worse when I was low on fuel. (and that's with only a 37 gallon tank)

Now it seems bad regardless of the fuel load.

If I had a heavy foot, I believe I could get the rear tires off the ground at 82 mph.

[Airplaneguy57]

yes, Less fuel means more bounce. But it is still there. When I first noticed the bounce it was after they resurfaced a road. Would go 40 plus on the road because it was so rough. So I thougt it was a crappy job. Turns out to be my truck. I sure hope someone has a fix.

[xero-xero]

I am not saying tires, possibly rims. if not there then shocks...

[granitehauler]

I've pretty much given up on this same issue on my truck. I've had it since new, posted various times about it (new threads and responding to others) and have never gotten anywhere with it. In 140,000 miles, I've had 4 sets of tires of varying sizes, two sets of wheels, stock height truck, leveled truck, stock shocks, ranchos, bilsteins, and have played with driveline angles so much I could do it in my sleep. It never gets better.

I'm OK with it while accelerating, but it's the braking from around 50 (and when it gets around 42 mph the bouncyness starts) that drives me nuts. I wonder if my truck looks like it is bouncing up and down to other vehicles?

I've even wondered if it is a torque converter or tranny issue, but have had a very reputable trans guy go for a test drive and he swears it's not the tranny. (Not to mention it does it in neutral as well).

I wish I had answers...


P.S. Still love my truck though!

[HoustonPSD]

I've recently started experiencing the same issues. Bounces real bad around 42 mph. Mine hasn't done it until about the last 500 or so miles. Truck has 158,XXX miles on it. I'm going to start with all the usual things like tire balancing and see what happens.