F150 sway problem

[peter8]

My son called me yesterday as he was driving down the interstate and said his new F150 was real "squirlly" in the rear end. He has a 2013 FX4 4 door 5.0L w/ 3.55 gears, with the long (6'8") bed. He sells welding equipment and had for him a small load = several tanks and some cases of rod. All tires were aired to specs. His previous truck was a 06 similar Titan that he put 270,000 miles on with no problems. As you can see he keeps his trucks for awhile so does anyone have a suggestion on how to tighten up his suspension? I have used air bags on my past 2 trucks but they handle weight. I don't know about the side to side action. I also told him to talk to the dealer for an answer. Just wondering if anyone on here has had a similar issue. Thanks

Which interstate? Was it slippery? Was he driving too fast for conditions? Was he pulling a trailer? Tires aired to propper pressure? Lots of reasons to be "squirrly" I think we need more infor than that.

If I were to guess based solely on your question, I'd say he had too much weight towards the back of the truck or trailer. Or... the factory tires are crap and not meant for a load like he had in the truck.

[peter8]

Hat trick if you read my post again you will see: tires up, no trailer just a small load (for him). One that he has hauled 100's of times before (read 270,00 miles). I'm not bashing the F150, He loves the truck, Just looking for a possible solution. Tires are stock FX4 package w/ towing package. He's looking for a fix now before the pontoon pulling season arrives. Again I told him to contact dealer maybe something is loose, it happens. Just wondering if anyone has had similar problems.

[cjbrown]

Something is not right. Should'nt be having that problem. Sway bars, ect..? With the package he has, all components are there to eliminate what is happening. Definately a trip back to dealer is warranted.

[gillysmi]

stock rated tires are 'p'rated. and are real squishy. all my fords have been like that.

may look for a better set. helped mine 100%

[Jimmy Jig]

I've had 5 F-150 XLT Super Cabs with P rated tires and never have had a problem with swaying in the rear. Trucks pulled loaded car hauler trailers with equipment on them. Loading with a boat trailer going to Canada...........etc. Had Goodyear, Michelons, Firestrones.

[pjshorthorn]

Originally Posted by peter8

My son called me yesterday as he was driving down the interstate and said his new F150 was real "squirlly" in the rear end. He has a 2013 FX4 4 door 5.0L w/ 3.55 gears, with the long (6'8") bed. He sells welding equipment and had for him a small load = several tanks and some cases of rod. All tires were aired to specs. His previous truck was a 06 similar Titan that he put 270,000 miles on with no problems. As you can see he keeps his trucks for awhile so does anyone have a suggestion on how to tighten up his suspension? I have used air bags on my past 2 trucks but they handle weight. I don't know about the side to side action. I also told him to talk to the dealer for an answer. Just wondering if anyone on here has had a similar issue. Thanks

I'm in the same business. I have a 2002 F-150 (still on the road ) and have hauled many tanks with a gross weight of just under a 1,000 lbs. max. I've never experienced a problem like you've described. Been running the same type of tire that came on the truck ( Long Trail T/A ) for 223,000 miles. Drive/haul....buy new tires....repeat. Most likely a bad Monday for someone on the truck assembly line.

Hope things work out well for your son and his truck. Love mine and she has treated me well.

PjShorthorn

[Edgewalter]

put a ton of pellets in my f150 and had no problems

[REW]

Peter 8.

Two possible problems.
1. A tire that is beginning to come apart under speed.
The issue is likely in the rear of the truck.

2. To double check the tire issue, swap the front ties to the back and repeat the drive. Also, when you do this, have each of the tires spun up on a balancing machine to see if there are any defects noted as the tires are spinning.
See if anything changes.

3. Another possible source of the issue is the rear shocks.

If you happen to have one soft shock; this could easily cause the problem.

I personally had an issue that was virtually identical to the one you mention.
As far as I could tell there was really no mechanical problem with the vehicle.

But I pulled it by my neighbor hood mechanic and he said that he had had the identical vehicle in the shop the previous month. They had tried a dozen different solutions, including new tires before finding the problem.

The replaced the rear strut/shocks - even though the ones on the vehicle appeared to be fine. Problem solved.

So, I asked them to do the same thing to my vehicle - i.e. replace the rear struts/shocks.
Sure enough, it solved the problem.

But all of the normal routine tests that are done for strut/shock testing appeared to let the old ones pass. But the new parts completely cured the problem.

Not that many miles on the vehicle either.

Be safe

Originally Posted by peter8

Hat trick if you read my post again you will see: tires up, no trailer just a small load (for him). One that he has hauled 100's of times before (read 270,00 miles). I'm not bashing the F150, He loves the truck, Just looking for a possible solution. Tires are stock FX4 package w/ towing package. He's looking for a fix now before the pontoon pulling season arrives. Again I told him to contact dealer maybe something is loose, it happens. Just wondering if anyone has had similar problems.

I guess I read it too fast. Take it do the dealer, but I'd guess it's tire related. Especially if it has the goodyear's on it.