21' F-150 5.0 Highway Vibration

[Jacob_321]

It's my first time on these forums but wish it was for a better reason. I've searched and searched and I know there are so many different posts about vibration issues on the 21+ models but I can't seem to find any consistent answers - then again I know chasing vibrations is no one-stop shop for diagnosing.


I purchased a 21' F-150 about a month ago and ever since I've been chasing down a vibration that happens around 75-80 while cruising on the highway. Here's some relevant specs that may help but if anyone has any thoughts and needs more specs I'll provide any information I can:
2021 F-150 Lariat
5.0 with the 3.73 electronic locking RR axle
502a equipment group
6.5 foot bed
2-piece steel drive shaft (I know some of the drive shafts had recalls with the insulation so I figured I'd specify this)

At first, I thought it was a simple wheel balancing problem. I bought the truck off-lease so I figured maybe a weight fell off. The tires were pretty worn and there were signs of poor alignment from the wear (the truck drove straight as an arrow though) so I had the tires replaced with Continental Cross Contact LX20s and had an alignment done. The vibration didn't go away and I had the shop re-balance the tires just to be sure - no change.

I took it to Ford since it's still under full warranty but they won't drive the truck 75-80 to test it so they said I'm on my own. I've also replaced the rotors and pads as the rotors were in pretty bad shape and I thought maybe I had enough un-even surface to cause the pads to snag or something and become noticeable at highway speeds - no change.

I'm at a loss trying to figure out what may be wrong with it. I saw some people talking about similar spec trucks with the 5.0 and having a TSB worked but the only TSB I could find was 22-2224 which doesn't include the 5.0s. Has anyone else been successful in diagnosing these high 70s-80mph vibrations?

Outside of Ford I did talk to a transmission tech from that dealership and he said that the 21+ 5.0s are just always going to vibrate on the highway and there wasn't much I could do since they run at such low RPMs. I did some runs locking out all the way to 5th gear running around 3500-3800rpms and I still felt shaking - that was my way of thinking it's not the 8, 9, 10th gears being the issue but maybe that's a poor test to base on.

I'm curious if there's some other TSB out there or do the drive shafts tend to have balance issues on these MYs? The nearest drive shaft shop that is recommended is an hour away so I'm trying to knock out other options before going that route but maybe it's not even out of balance and it's a totally different issue.

One person recommended replacing plugs and doing some fuel additive to see if maybe it's the low RPMs at high speed and I'm just feeling misfires a lot more. The truck has 31000 miles on it.

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, everyone.

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[SALEEN961]

If you can get a shop to run the truck at 75-80mph on a lift, there's a good chance that something will start shaking and make the issue obvious. Sometimes things will only vibrate at ride height and need to be driven on a four post lift that keeps the suspension compressed, but every alignment rack I've ever used was perfect for this.

On my 2014 F150 I had vibrations at highway speeds from a bad driveshaft, wheel balance, and warped rear brake rotors that would cause a slight shake from the rear even when I wasn't braking. These vibrations all occurred separately over the course of 7 years and 74K miles.

I'll also mention that getting your tires balanced may not make a difference because this job is usually given to the least experienced guy in the shop. I lost count of how many warranty wheel balances I had to do a long time ago. Road force balancing is the best option for addressing tire vibrations, but finding someone to do a good job of it can be difficult.

 

[Jacob_321]

If you can get a shop to run the truck at 75-80mph on a lift, there's a good chance that something will start shaking and make the issue obvious. Sometimes things will only vibrate at ride height and need to be driven on a four post lift that keeps the suspension compressed, but every alignment rack I've ever used was perfect for this.

On my 2014 F150 I had vibrations at highway speeds from a bad driveshaft, wheel balance, and warped rear brake rotors that would cause a slight shake from the rear even when I wasn't braking. These vibrations all occurred separately over the course of 7 years and 74K miles.

I'll also mention that getting your tires balanced may not make a difference because this job is usually given to the least experienced guy in the shop. I lost count of how many warranty wheel balances I had to do a long time ago. Road force balancing is the best option for addressing tire vibrations, but finding someone to do a good job of it can be difficult.

Hmm alright I may see if the dealership is willing to lift the truck and try that route. The shop where I had the tires replaced does not have road force balancing so maybe I need to look into that, as well. Thanks for the info!

 

[Lone wolf]

It's my first time on these forums but wish it was for a better reason. I've searched and searched and I know there are so many different posts about vibration issues on the 21+ models but I can't seem to find any consistent answers - then again I know chasing vibrations is no one-stop shop for diagnosing.


I purchased a 21' F-150 about a month ago and ever since I've been chasing down a vibration that happens around 75-80 while cruising on the highway. Here's some relevant specs that may help but if anyone has any thoughts and needs more specs I'll provide any information I can:
2021 F-150 Lariat
5.0 with the 3.73 electronic locking RR axle
502a equipment group
6.5 foot bed
2-piece steel drive shaft (I know some of the drive shafts had recalls with the insulation so I figured I'd specify this)

At first, I thought it was a simple wheel balancing problem. I bought the truck off-lease so I figured maybe a weight fell off. The tires were pretty worn and there were signs of poor alignment from the wear (the truck drove straight as an arrow though) so I had the tires replaced with Continental Cross Contact LX20s and had an alignment done. The vibration didn't go away and I had the shop re-balance the tires just to be sure - no change.

I took it to Ford since it's still under full warranty but they won't drive the truck 75-80 to test it so they said I'm on my own. I've also replaced the rotors and pads as the rotors were in pretty bad shape and I thought maybe I had enough un-even surface to cause the pads to snag or something and become noticeable at highway speeds - no change.

I'm at a loss trying to figure out what may be wrong with it. I saw some people talking about similar spec trucks with the 5.0 and having a TSB worked but the only TSB I could find was 22-2224 which doesn't include the 5.0s. Has anyone else been successful in diagnosing these high 70s-80mph vibrations?

Outside of Ford I did talk to a transmission tech from that dealership and he said that the 21+ 5.0s are just always going to vibrate on the highway and there wasn't much I could do since they run at such low RPMs. I did some runs locking out all the way to 5th gear running around 3500-3800rpms and I still felt shaking - that was my way of thinking it's not the 8, 9, 10th gears being the issue but maybe that's a poor test to base on.

I'm curious if there's some other TSB out there or do the drive shafts tend to have balance issues on these MYs? The nearest drive shaft shop that is recommended is an hour away so I'm trying to knock out other options before going that route but maybe it's not even out of balance and it's a totally different issue.

One person recommended replacing plugs and doing some fuel additive to see if maybe it's the low RPMs at high speed and I'm just feeling misfires a lot more. The truck has 31000 miles on it.

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, everyone.

I to have the same vibration, MY21,5.0, 6.5’ box, 3.73 electronic locker, have road forced balanced tires, was not part of the drive shaft recall either. Shop wouldn’t drive that speed either to experience the vibration. 53,000 miles and I purchased it new off the lot. Don’t know what to do either. Wish Ford would speak up on this as we can’t be the only ones experiencing this. $60K for a truck that had this issue is sad.

 

[Jacob_321]

I to have the same vibration, MY21,5.0, 6.5’ box, 3.73 electronic locker, have road forced balanced tires, was not part of the drive shaft recall either. Shop wouldn’t drive that speed either to experience the vibration. 53,000 miles and I purchased it new off the lot. Don’t know what to do either. Wish Ford would speak up on this as we can’t be the only ones experiencing this. $60K for a truck that had this issue is sad.

Yep seems to be the response at the end of the day... The only reason why I have my doubts about it being the tires is because it's occurring at the same speed for both the old, worn set and the brand new set.

Have you looked into the plugs and possibly coils? I may throw in the towel and swap them out just to throw dirt at the wall and see what happens. After that, I suppose I may take the drive shaft to a reputable shop to see if it is balanced since I highly doubt Ford is going to do anything about it. I attempted my own recording the the truck on jacks but I can't really get anything out of it. I think I see some shaking in the shaft at speed but 1) it may not be a result of the drive shaft but something else and 2) I could just be telling myself I see motion that isn't really there.

 

[CoolCoyote]

I have a 2023 5.0 3.73 e-locker that also vibrates 70-80mph.

Glad I didn't waste my time taking it to the dealer. I *assumed* it was the tires, but found it odd that it only happened at those speeds, and not 40-50-60.


@Ford Motor Company what do you have for us?

 

[justprentice]

I am having the exact same issue on my 2022 2.7L 4x4 and bought 4 new OEM tires for $1,100 in an attempt to fix it, but to no avail. I have zero modifications.

Had an alignment appointment set, but I am seeing anything from driveshaft to transmission flashing. I sent a message to @Ford Motor Company and waiting to see how they can coordinate with my local dealer.

 

[Ddvalk]

Did you try getting up to vibration speed then put the truck in neutral? Still vibrate? This should isolate the drive train vs engine. But your lock out of top gears seems to have proven that.

Is it 4wd? Might try in and out of 4H or 4A.

 

[Jacob_321]

Did you try getting up to vibration speed then put the truck in neutral? Still vibrate? This should isolate the drive train vs engine. But your lock out of top gears seems to have proven that.

Is it 4wd? Might try in and out of 4H or 4A.

All good tests that I haven't done. Tomorrow when I get on the highway I'll give all of the above a test. Thanks.

 

[Hammertime]

To summarize my Highway vibration issue. Stock Wheels and Road Force Balance. - made it better, TSB 22-224- even better, finally a fresh alignment- and we are vibration free 0-100mph. I have a set of FUEL wheels in my garage that I cannot get to ride smoothly. It could be a wheel problem if they are aftermarket I don't think the sensors of the 502A and above trucks like anything but the stock wheels.

 

[Jacob_321]

To summarize my Highway vibration issue. Stock Wheels and Road Force Balance. - made it better, TSB 22-224- even better, finally a fresh alignment- and we are vibration free 0-100mph. I have a set of FUEL wheels in my garage that I cannot get to ride smoothly. It could be a wheel problem if they are aftermarket I don't think the sensors of the 502A and above trucks like anything but the stock wheels.

Is that what my TPMS issue is? I've had them reset 2-3 times now at shops after getting the continentals and at random maybe once a week I'll have 1 or two go AWOL for a while and come back. I've seen your post about 22-2224 in a different post but it does not include F150s with the 5.0 even though it's the same symptoms. TSB 22-2428 is in regards to what seems to be a transmission module update but does include the 5.0. I'm not sure if it would render similar results. When under light throttle I tend to get a fair kick in the transmission between 4-5 and 7-8 sometimes, too, which I can provide to the dealership as reasoning. I have a fresh alignment but do not have road force balancing done.

Did you try getting up to vibration speed then put the truck in neutral? Still vibrate? This should isolate the drive train vs engine. But your lock out of top gears seems to have proven that.

Is it 4wd? Might try in and out of 4H or 4A.

So I got a chance to test this out on the highway this evening. Went up and down a strip of the roadway for a while and did a few runs of each type of test to make sure I wasn't encountering any one-time flukes.

Whether I'm in 2H, 4A, or 4H I'm getting vibrations in the following conditions:
- Normal acceleration into the vibration zone
- Accelerating past the worst vibration zone and letting go of the throttle back into the zone

So... the vibration exists in 2wd or 4wd whether I'm under throttle or not.

I got into the zone and put it in neutral, too. Still a vibration. Also went past the zone, threw it in neutral, and let it coast back. Still, the vibration existed.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Been giving this a bit of thought over the last couple days.

Might try putting a couple hundred pounds of sand bags in the back, behind the differential, and give it your speed test..

If nothing else, it could rule out driveshaft angle.
Personally I’m leaning to a slightly out of balance shaft, but it could very well be a harmonics issue if it goes away in neutral..

Possibly, the rear blocks are in backward, or one of them.
They do have a slight taper and are marked for direction.
(145” trucks and 164” trucks, the blocks are reversible)
Drawback is that you cannot tell without actually taking them out..

75-80 vibration is unacceptable in Texas—that is not even our maximum speed limit.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

Take the truck to a driveline shop and have the driveshaft balanced. New carrier bearing as well

 

[Lone wolf]

Yep seems to be the response at the end of the day... The only reason why I have my doubts about it being the tires is because it's occurring at the same speed for both the old, worn set and the brand new set.

Have you looked into the plugs and possibly coils? I may throw in the towel and swap them out just to throw dirt at the wall and see what happens. After that, I suppose I may take the drive shaft to a reputable shop to see if it is balanced since I highly doubt Ford is going to do anything about it. I attempted my own recording the the truck on jacks but I can't really get anything out of it. I think I see some shaking in the shaft at speed but 1) it may not be a result of the drive shaft but something else and 2) I could just be telling myself I see motion that isn't really there.

No on the plugs and coils. I too may bite the bullet and go the driveshaft balancing direction. Can anyone recommend a good driveshaft shop in the Detroit/western Suburbs area?

 

[Jacob_321]

Take the truck to a driveline shop and have the driveshaft balanced. New carrier bearing as well

That’ll be my next stop most likely. I’m going to call the dealership tomorrow based on the testing I did and see if I can get the service manager to take a ride with me and feel the vibration. If they’ll replace the shaft - great. If not, guess I’ll take it to a shop.

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