Ford Power Stroke Nation banner

2003 Super Duty rear end vibration

49K views 26 replies 14 participants last post by  Kevinb 
#1 ·
2003 f250 Super Duty has a bad vibration in the rear end at highway speeds (60 plus). We thought it was the new tires we had put on... but we are on a third set of tires now and still no change. The weird part is that the truck will shake bad for a few minutes and then smooth out for thirty seconds or so. It tends to smooth out around a bend on the highway. We thought maybe it had a bent rim, but if that was the case it wouldn't smooth out at all.?.? Any ideas on whats going on before we take it to the Ford stealership?
 
#2 ·
jack it up and check the ujoints and carrier. I bought a truck once from the local car auction that others didnt want because of a bad rear end. I drove it home vibrating and all. Jacked it up and found a bad ujoint. Problem sovled for me.
 
#6 ·
a seized ujoint will do that. you have to drop the shaft to check for a seized joint though. there won't be any play. but seized caps will give you a weird vibration.
 
#8 ·
Would either of the above cause a vibration on just the one side?
 
#10 ·
I asked a similar question for my truck the other day and this answer makes more sense. Mine vibrates (like a humming) at 60+ mph, but my jitters while taking off. The harder i mash it the harder and more fierce the jitter.

How can you tell if the center ujoint is bad? Mine seems a little loose without the truck being jacked up. Is that normal.
 
#13 ·
I have a 2003 F350 6.0 with 130,xxx, and my rear end started clunking on right hand turns, I pulled the cover off to find no metal at all, cleaned everything out and put 75/140 mobil 1(synthetic) back in with a 4oz tube of friction modifier. I've been driving it on and off for a few weeks and slowing down today at a light it was clunking and chattering. 35 mph it would make noise then stop then come right back? any ideas?
 
#14 ·
did you check your axle bearings. Turning one way or the other shouldnt affect the driveline, meaning ujoints. Did your limited slip look ok? You sure the noise is coming from the rear. I seen front hubs try and lock in and make noise.
 
#15 ·
yes the limited slip looked fine just from looking at it with the cover off and there wasn't any metal in it. I haven't checked the axle bearings but its definetly coming from the rear end. That clunk never came back until today driving in a straight line and it was nothing like before this time it was alot worse?
 
#16 ·
Well.. I changed the bearning thingy in my two pieve driveshaft becuase I had about a 1/2 inch play when shaking the driveshaft. I was sure that was the problem. Nope! What exactly should I be looking for in my differential other than shavings. What should i use to check wear pattern on the ring?

Also if there was a slight humming/vibrating at 70ish mph... would that lean someone towards diff or U joints?
 
#18 ·
you haven't checked the ujoints yet? even when you pulled the driveshaft to change the steady bearing?

:doh:

like I said 2 1/2 weeks ago. seized ujoint. you have to check all 4 corners of the cross. you need to find the seized cap.
 
#17 ·
ujoints I think the start to bind up and throw off the balance of the driveline. I felt a small vibration in my 01 I just bought thought it was the tires maybe, nope plowed with it today and heard a noise, sure enough bad ujoint. Not bad truck has 252000 and bet there original.
 
#19 ·
I have a friend with the same issues on a 99. He has had the rear drive shaft balanced with new u joints and center bearing. We swapped out tires and wheels & axle shafts and still he gets a violent shake in the rear intermittantly. You can see the bed shake in the mirror @ 60.
 
#20 ·
Hi RedHorseFarm, I have been searching everywhere and have finally found someone with the same symptoms I am having. I am having the same intermittent vibration at the rear end at highway speeds. I have replace tires, body bushings, breaks, u joints and even spun the rear without the tires on to see if one of the axles were bent. The vibration is just as bad as in the beginning. One thing I did that has me concerned. I took off the driveshaft to have it balanced at the local driveline shop this week. While the driveshaft is off I decided to run the transmission up to speed in drive and I got a vibration. Now I am concerned that I may have a transmission problem. Anybody have any experience with this.
 
#22 ·
I had someone mention to check the transmission and engine mounts also. I guess I will start with the cheepest fix first.
 
#24 ·
I have the same problems. Two problems:
First is limited slip clutch pack chatter around corners, the band aid is two 4 oz bottles of limited slip additive. The fix is change the clutch pack to a Detroit locker.
Second is vibration starting at 50 mph, feel it in the back of the truck. Take out the rear shaft, put into 4x4 and test drive. Confirmed. Make sure to mark shaft to reassemble. Changed all the joints and carrier.
175,000 mi on odo.
 
#25 ·
I have 125,000 miles on my truck with no problems except for the vibration in the rearend just recently(at 110,000 miles). Well after changing out; transmission mounts, body bushings, u-joints, brakes, tires, and removing the rear drive shaft to verify the vibration was still in the rear end I took my truck to the dealer as a last resort.......not a good idea.

First the dealer reconnected my EGR plug (I disconnected it to prevent it from opening) and put the truck on the diagnostic machine (to look for a vibration in the rear end?). they didn't find out what the vibration was but they found $1200.00 worth of bad injectors even though the engine was running fine. and by the way as far as the vibration goes, the dealer said my tires were out of balance.

Funny thing happened after I got my truck back from the dealer. The truck started blowing out white smoke ...... just by coincidence now my EGR cooler is leaking and
uh-oh hydrolock now I have a blown head gasket......this is what I get for going to the dealer.

Anyway....now I am leaning towards the limited slip clutch pack also. I reduced the vibration alot just by moving tires around until it got better, but I still get the vibration when I go into a long curve on the interstate or if I make a turn then accellerate to highway speeds. I still need to change out the rear end fluid but I am going for a locker as soon as I get the opportunity.
 
#26 ·
My 2008 has about 87,000 and after going back to stock 18's it has a intermittent vibration at highway speeds I've had the new wheels and tires rebalanced twice and still has vibration, i had stock ford 20's from a friends truck prior to going back to my original 18's. Vibration seems to come from the rear but can be felt in the steering wheel too.
 
#27 ·
I have this same model and year (F250/Diesel/4x4) and the same problem. I have had the rear U joint replaced 3 times and it fixes the issue for a while and then comes back. I had the dealer fix it this time and their thought was that over time, the rear-suspension has sagged some, putting the drive shaft at a flattened angle which is putting that U joint in a bind...makes sense I guess. I can tell when mine is going out when it begins to shake/vibrate at speeds of 45 mph and higher and goes away when I let off the pedal. Which could possibly explain any of the U joints but I assume its dropping the front end on mine and taking the rear out of the bind.

Dealers suggested fix: Only option is to keep replacing U joints and hope the drive shaft and rear end are not getting worn in the process or put in new suspension kit or shims.

Hope this helps some.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top