2013 f350 vibration & front end parts questions

Van-go

Van-go

Not an old man
Joined
Dec 11, 2014
Location
Greensboro
My dually is 4wd.
Just rotated my tires cause the fronts like to wear a little uneven which I’ve read is common on these.

I know I need to do some maintenance up front with unit bearings tre’s and ball joints just cause they have never been done and I’m at 190k.

what brand unit bearings have y’all had good luck with? Ball joints, tie rods, drag link etc?

I’m getting a bad vibration in my butt. Feels like a driveshaft almost. Any idea where to start looking? Could it actually be in the front end even though I’m not getting a vibe in the steering wheel?
 
Timken for unit bearings. They were about $220/ea when I did the last ones. Don't screw around with anything else unless its OEM. And OEM for all the steering stuff. I sourced all mine from ebay for pretty cheap.
 
If its a 2 piece shaft check the driveshaft carrier bearing. Also check the passenger side "lower" tie rod end they tend to be worn and loose. For balljoints we had good luck with Mevotec TTX (there green) they seemed very beefy. and Like Matt said , Timkin for the wheel bearings. While your there check the front axle u joints thay are another common failure point. At work we did a lot of F250 and 350.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Timken for unit bearings. They were about $220/ea when I did the last ones. Don't screw around with anything else unless its OEM. And OEM for all the steering stuff. I sourced all mine from ebay for pretty cheap.
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So timken or oem for $50 more?
 

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The front axle I bought for my Duramax had 206k on it and the wheel bearings were fine. I wouldn't replace them unless they have some slack in them. Especially with how much of a pain in the ass it is to get that mean ass snap ring off of the stub shaft!

I second Mevotech. I'm using their ball joints, tie rod ends, and drag link ends. I ran Moog to begin with and they shit the bed in about 20k miles.

The only u joints I'll use are Spicer.

As for the ass vibration, I'd check rear driveshaft u joints, carrier bearing if it's a two piece shaft, or even try balancing the tires.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
The front axle I bought for my Duramax had 206k on it and the wheel bearings were fine. I wouldn't replace them unless they have some slack in them. Especially with how much of a pain in the ass it is to get that mean ass snap ring off of the stub shaft!

I second Mevotech. I'm using their ball joints, tie rod ends, and drag link ends. I ran Moog to begin with and they shit the bed in about 20k miles.

The only u joints I'll use are Spicer.

As for the ass vibration, I'd check rear driveshaft u joints, carrier bearing if it's a two piece shaft, or even try balancing the tires.
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Carrier bearing and joints seem fine. Vibration was terrible with my trailer hooked up. Without it, it was definitely better. Maybe there’s an issue with my trailer. lol

edit, it’s bad without the trailer at 75mph and above.
 
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Van-go said:
Carrier bearing and joints seem fine. Vibration was terrible with my trailer hooked up. Without it, it was definitely better. Maybe there’s an issue with my trailer. lol
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Could be the trailer, but driveshaft could be the culprit if your trailer squats the suspension.
 
I was just about to say that.

The pinion angle and driveshaft angle change when it's loaded. May need to check it and possibly put a spacer above the carrier bearing mount or go to a 1 piece shaft.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Could be the trailer, but driveshaft could be the culprit if your trailer squats the suspension.
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Croatan_Kid said:
I was just about to say that.

The pinion angle and driveshaft angle change when it's loaded. May need to check it and possibly put a spacer above the carrier bearing mount or go to a 1 piece shaft.
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I mean, it hasn’t been an issue the last 60k miles. Why would it change?
 
Van-go said:
I mean, it hasn’t been an issue the last 60k miles. Why would it change?
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In that case, probably not the issue. I'd recommend selling it and getting an SRW truck :p
 
Could just now be getting enough wear in it to show up. Stranger things have happened.
 
jeepinmatt said:
In that case, probably not the issue. I'd recommend selling it and getting an SRW truck :p
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I do want a SRW lol
And driving it today with no trailer it’s vibing again... everything underneath in the rear shaft looks fine.
 
Van-go said:
I do want a SRW lol
And driving it today with no trailer it’s vibing again... everything underneath in the rear shaft looks fine.
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Looks are one thing but grab the rear DS and move it around. Anything over 1/8-1/4” and the carrier bearing needs replaced. Went through this on the wife’s truck. DD it had it only occasionally. Trailer on it was more noticeable. Of course there’s tire balance. Wheel bearings. Mud in a rim. XYZ..... YMMV.
 
Does your rear driveshaft have one of those damper donut things on it? The one on my ram was pressed on with a rubber belt between it and the shaft. The rubber started to deteriorate and the damper was wobbling. Pressed it off and had the shaft balanced and it was smoother than it had ever been.
 
Clubbs said:
Does your rear driveshaft have one of those damper donut things on it? The one on my ram was pressed on with a rubber belt between it and the shaft. The rubber started to deteriorate and the damper was wobbling. Pressed it off and had the shaft balanced and it was smoother than it had ever been.
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It does have one. It doesn’t seem to be loose though. I’ll take a better look at it.
 
Van-go said:
It does have one. It doesn’t seem to be loose though. I’ll take a better look at it.
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Mine and wasn't loose either. In fact it looked fine with the truck parked. I ended up putting the truck on jack stands and let it run in first gear at idle ( don't get under it) and from the side I could see that dumb donut thing wobbling around. Apparently it was not perpendicular to the driveshaft anymore and its out of plane orbit was enough to vib the whole truck.

I went super nerd on this thing and hooked accelerometers and measured the frequency spectrum over time - Fourier transform on the data and the spikes were engine rate (normal), tires (normal) and then tires x axle ratio ( driveshaft rev per sec) and that was the highest amplitude. Knocked that donut off and the signal was less than half, balanced the shaft after that and it didn't register in the data anymore. Dumb donut would get in this resonance right at hwy speeds just like you are describing.
 
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Clubbs said:
Mine and wasn't loose either. In fact it looked fine with the truck parked. I ended up putting the truck on jack stands and let it run in first gear at idle ( don't get under it) and from the side I could see that dumb donut thing wobbling around. Apparently it was not perpendicular to the driveshaft anymore and its out of plane orbit was enough to vib the whole truck.

I went super nerd on this thing and hooked accelerometers and measured the frequency spectrum over time - Fourier transform on the data and the spikes were engine rate (normal), tires (normal) and then tires x axle ratio ( driveshaft rev per sec) and that was the highest amplitude. Knocked that donut off and the signal was less than half, balanced the shaft after that and it didn't register in the data anymore. Dumb donut would get in this resonance right at hwy speeds just like you are describing.
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Definitely something to look into further. I’ll try that out!
 
Clubbs said:
I went super nerd on this thing and hooked accelerometers and measured the frequency spectrum over time - Fourier transform on the data and the spikes were engine rate (normal), tires (normal) and then tires x axle ratio ( driveshaft rev per sec) and that was the highest amplitude. Knocked that donut off and the signal was less than half, balanced the shaft after that and it didn't register in the data anymore. Dumb donut would get in this resonance right at hwy speeds just like you are describing.
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:rockon: :beer:
 
Engineers :shaking:
 
jeepinmatt said:
Timken. No need to pay extra. OEM are probably Timken or SKF or FAG.
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Bumping this thread up.

@Van-go took yall's advice and went with the Timken's (as I would have done the same); however, they're f'n shot...like big time! They come w/ a 12-month warranty, and what do you know...we're a few days past and @RockAuto won't do shit to help or stand behind the products they're selling. 🖕

I even called Timken trying to see if they would help and they said they have no way to verify @RockAuto actually sold / delivered Timken's so they can't do anything.

So now I'm about to pony-up 5-hundo for new ones.

My question: would you go back with Timken's and a 12-month warranty or would you pony up another $60 (total for both sides) for Motorcraft with a 24-month warranty?
 
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Go with cheap shit if the Timken only lasted a year. The Timkens I put on my truck that I sold to a friend have almost 100k miles on them now and are still going strong. I still have the Timken boxes if you need them ;)
 
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