rear end shimmy/vibration?

trucknewbie · 09-09-2004, 02:37 PM

Brand new Titan owner this week - never owned a truck before. Noticed in test drive rear seemed bumpy over smooth roads - intermitten and various speeds. Sales guy says just flat spots on tires from sitting on lot, should work itself out. After 150 miles, still happens on and off.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did not see this on other Titan and 2 different F150's I test drove before buying this one.

Being a first time truck owner, I don't know if this is typical for a pickup and to be expected, or possibly a tire or wheel balance problem. I know what out of balance tires feel like on a car, but not familar with truck behavior or characteristics. I suspect something different from salesperson's assessment, and it's not often but when it happens, it's very annoying and has nothing to do with road surface.

I'm considering taking back for dealer service, but know all too well that with the intermitten nature, I'm expecting a "no problem found" type response.

Any suggestions?

PS - other than this one thing, I LOVE THIS TRUCK! So far, it's been awesome. Think this owner forum is great also.

IMADOGMAN · 09-09-2004, 02:57 PM

Lots of people have this issue...Generally it occurs just on the concrete sections of freeways, where the joints create a choppy ride. Mine only did it on one section of freeway on my daily commute. I put a LEER 100XQ Cap on the bed, and now it doesn't do it at all. Also, check your COLD tire pressure. I let mine down to 35psi (which is what is recommended for mine) and that helped a lot too. It seems that the Titans are leaving the factory with 40+ psi

Chris M. · 09-09-2004, 03:01 PM

I bought my truck 3 weeks ago and I do not have your problems (XE 4X2 king cab). The only shake I get is when crossing railroad tracks. Almost forgot, I got a shake of a middle finger when I beat this sucker in a F-150. I would take the truck back to the dealer to have it checked out.

IMADOGMAN · 09-09-2004, 03:02 PM

Read these...

Unhappy with the ride

Tire Air Pressure Reminder

Finally got my Titan!

juma · 09-09-2004, 03:13 PM

I would try getting the rear tires "road force balanced" on a hunter gsp 9700 tire balance machine. this kind of balancing aligns the highest spot on the wheel with the flattest spot on the tire to get the best overall roundness. If after they do the the best they can and the road force balance is greater than 30 pounds, you are going to need a new tire to get improvement. At least one person on the forum got new tires from a tire dealer after it was demonstrated the road force balance was way out. search under "road force" and you will probably find the thread on this. juma

trucknewbie · 09-09-2004, 07:25 PM

My cold tire pressure was 38psi, just dropped it to 35, will go down as low as 32 if needed. Will see how this works. Seems like the only other option is road force balancing as suggested or simply adding weight to the bed.

The other Titan I test drove had Big Tow and Off Road, the LE I bought has neither. While some indicated BT and OR made it worse, I actually think it might have helped.

Great to have such knowlegeable, helpful, passionate, and enthusiastic fellow Titan owners.....look foward to the shared experience going foward.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IMADOGMAN

Read these...

Unhappy with the ride

Tire Air Pressure Reminder

Finally got my Titan!

IMADOGMAN · 09-09-2004, 09:24 PM

Trucknewbie, The only differences in Big Tow, is the weight of the hitch, and the OffRoad has different shocks...either one might help a tiny bit, but I expect that the shocks don't help much. Difficult to know if you don't know how they dampen compared to the others...

jtmvol · 09-10-2004, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trucknewbie

Brand new Titan owner this week - never owned a truck before. Noticed in test drive rear seemed bumpy over smooth roads - intermitten and various speeds. Sales guy says just flat spots on tires from sitting on lot, should work itself out. After 150 miles, still happens on and off.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did not see this on other Titan and 2 different F150's I test drove before buying this one.

Being a first time truck owner, I don't know if this is typical for a pickup and to be expected, or possibly a tire or wheel balance problem. I know what out of balance tires feel like on a car, but not familar with truck behavior or characteristics. I suspect something different from salesperson's assessment, and it's not often but when it happens, it's very annoying and has nothing to do with road surface.

I'm considering taking back for dealer service, but know all too well that with the intermitten nature, I'm expecting a "no problem found" type response.

Any suggestions?

PS - other than this one thing, I LOVE THIS TRUCK! So far, it's been awesome. Think this owner forum is great also.

Hey... same problem here. I noticed as I was leaving the dealership, having driven a silver one for a few miles (no problem) and then buying the smoke colored one... figuring they'd be the same. I think the tires on this one are screwed up, and radial tires don't flat spot in a few days or even a few weeks like the old bias ply tires do, unless you're in Alaska and it's -20 outside.

**CaliforniaTitan** · 09-10-2004, 08:37 PM

IF he has the 18" wheels vice the 17" as well...the 17's sidewall are a lil taller and do help with a 'softer' ride especially when aired down to 35-37.

Chris

trucknewbie · 09-12-2004, 04:09 PM

Oh well, lowering the tire pressure didn't work, so next step is to get tires rebalanced. Yes, I do have the 18" on the LE, and the one I test drove had OR package with 17". However, have a friend at work that has an LE 4x4 with same wheels/tires and he has never experienced the problem. Again, road service doesn't seem to matter, but once it starts it's awful - around 80mph will rattle your teeth. Hope it's as simple as tire balancing, we'll see - stay tuned.

TitanBrian · 09-12-2004, 04:16 PM

Teeth rattling here too, until I bled off about 5psi out of the tires. Could only test them hot as I was on a 600 mile road trip to take the truck home. Really helped out big time. They all read 40-41 psi initially then drained down to 36....mind you while hot..but checked later cold were 36-38psi. This is on the 17" Bridgestones, XE/CC 4x2 no big tow or offroad stuff.

juma · 09-12-2004, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trucknewbie

Oh well, lowering the tire pressure didn't work, so next step is to get tires rebalanced. Yes, I do have the 18" on the LE, and the one I test drove had OR package with 17". However, have a friend at work that has an LE 4x4 with same wheels/tires and he has never experienced the problem. Again, road service doesn't seem to matter, but once it starts it's awful - around 80mph will rattle your teeth. Hope it's as simple as tire balancing, we'll see - stay tuned.

Ok, listen up...you should be able to see a faint marked "P" on your tire about an inch in from the rim edge. It washes off over time. then, check the inside surface of the rim itself. you should be able to find a three quarter inch square sticker with a "P" on it. you may have to wash off the brake dust to find it. If those stickers the "P" mark in the tire are aligned, you got the best road force balance you can get. If not, you can get them balanced and maybe do better. If they are aligned you're gonna have to get a new tire to do any better. juma

trucknewbie · 09-12-2004, 05:05 PM

To TitanBrian on lowering the pressure, mine were at 38 and now they are 35 - made no difference. To Juma - question - can the dealer do road force balancing? Hate to have to pay for something when this was identified as a pre-delivery issue.

juma · 09-13-2004, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trucknewbie

To TitanBrian on lowering the pressure, mine were at 38 and now they are 35 - made no difference. To Juma - question - can the dealer do road force balancing? Hate to have to pay for something when this was identified as a pre-delivery issue.

only if the dealer has the hunter gsp 9700 balancer. most likely though, the tire is balanced as good as it can be balanced and you will need a new tire to do better than what you have. juma

trucknewbie · 09-14-2004, 10:11 AM

Just wasted my time at the dealer. What really concerns me is I think the technician was being as honest as he could. He dismissed the problem as something I must accept, get used to and live with it because they all do it. Which says to me one of two things - they all do it, which is a basic desgin flaw, or some do and some don't and they don't have a friggen clue where to start. Either way, it means I can no longer attest to being a satisfied new owner and am starting to question my choice of this truck over others on the market.

If this is the price to pay for all that power and towing capacity, then I'm not sure it's worth it, especially since I'm not planning on towing anything. Just loved the engine and tranny, but the so far the ride sucks!