# 2003 F250 super duty



## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

I know there is a bunch of knowledge floating around here and i need some help. im getting a vibration ONLY between 20-30 mph and cannot figure out where it is coming from. I have rotated and balanced and rebalanced my tires, changed U joints, trued both drive shafts, changed the carrier bearing and checked all the wheel bearings and still getting the vibration. the only other thing i can think of is maybe the torque converter? Im pretty mechanically inclined or can find someone to help and bringing the truck to the shop is my absolute last resort. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. 

thanks in advance, 
pwrstrkr


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## mchildress (Jul 11, 2009)

The torque converter will usually have the vibe at every gear before the trans shifts. Sounds like you have covered the most common causes. Might put her on rollers or in the air and see if you can see the vibe when rolling at between 20 and 30.


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

Ive thought about it. my dad owns a shop with a lift but it only has a 7000# compacity(9000# truck) and deffinately not gonna put it on jack stands and try. but it is def. kicking my arse and bothering the heck out of me. it has to have something RPM related. the only thing i can think of is that i am maybe getting axle wrap? install traction bar? think on my next days off im going to change the trans. fluid and filter. thanks for the advice


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## moneypit (Aug 15, 2005)

I don't blame you...taking it to someone who knows what they are doing is a stupid thing to do....just sayin!


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## Knot Kidding (Jan 7, 2009)

Where do you feel the vibration, In the steering wheel,at he gas pedal, under your seat. You say you have balanced your tires (I'm assuming you rotated too) did that change where the vibration is coming from any?
BTW most reputable shops will look at it for free!


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Could be a broken or shifted belt in a tire.


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## Palmetto (Jun 28, 2004)

Search the same subject on thedieselstop.com . You are not the only one. I test drove an '03 Dually last year that did same thing at about 35-45 mph. I got a bad feeling about it, so I didnt buy it.

Good luck


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## D.L. (Sep 13, 2007)

torque converter


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## bwguardian (Aug 30, 2005)

If it only does it in drive going down the road versus parked in the driveway reving the engine then it becomes not only engine but drive train related. If it only does it at 35 mph and not through the gears then it is something from the tranny back. Is this a 4x4? What brand of tires? Is it stock or have you done things to the suspension...lift kit, larger tires, etc.? Have you recently been mudding?


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## coogerpop (Sep 3, 2009)

Check and really clean the inside of your weels. I had a Bronco with aluminum wheels that did a very similar thing. Turns out ,during the deer season ,I was on a wet caliche road....even after repeated washings,there was a random thickness of hardened caliche on part of the inside of a couple of the rims,that even tho they were balanced at a certain rpm,became unbalanced about 50 and then rebalanced about 65...but in that 50-65 range you could feel the vibration...I had to take the wheels off and scrape the inside and then rebalance the tire and wheels.


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

Knot-yes i rotated the tires too and i can feel the vibration like it is toward the middle to rear of the truck which is why i really lean toward the torque converter

Palmetto-I will for sure check out the diesel stop I didnt even think about that, there is a bunch of info on there also

BWG- yes it is 4x4 the tire are 37-13.50-17 Toyo Open Country M/T with 9" of lift and will only vibrate going down the road i ran it up to around 3500 rpm in the driveway and it was smooth, and the truck has never been mudding

COOGER- i personally checked the inside of all of my wheels when i got them balanced and rotated about a week ago and they were clean of any dirt or rocks or anything besides the normal brake dust which i did clean out also

thank you all for you advice i am going to change the bolts thru the leaf springs and make sure they are all true if that dont work a friend has some traction bars i will put on which will be the last resort then it is to the shop. again thank you all for your advice


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## Shin-Diggin (Jun 17, 2005)

When your in reverse at 20-30mph does it do it?


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

hahaha i dont know!!! guess ill have to drive home in the morning in reverse to see


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## bwguardian (Aug 30, 2005)

I don't believe it is your torque converter. I have been through 3-4 between my last couple of trucks. When one goes south it will either lock up such that it will bog the engine down when you come to a stop or it will make alot of raket. A couple years ago I had a simular situation in my F350 4x4 at 50-60 mph. I had the tires balanced and rotated every 5,000 miles for several years. One day I was having it done and the guy told me to come out and take a look...I had a minutely bent wheel. Had it fixed and whala. Nobody else over the course of several years caught it!


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## Chunkn' Charlie (Dec 30, 2004)

My 2000 F350 does the same thing. It's a man trans so it's not the torque converter. 
I had the tires balance and rotated. It's still there just not as bad.


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## hoosierplugger (May 24, 2004)

Maybe the carrier bearing on the driveshaft? I had to shim mine when I did a moderate (4") lift. If you've had the lift awhile then you could probably rule it out.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

BW-i know someone with some brand new tires and rims the same size so im going to see if he will let me bolt them up to see if there is any changes

charles- mine reduced very little when i got my tires rotated and balanced so i took it back and got them rebalanced with the same results i know someone with some brand new tires and rims the same size so im going to see if he will let me bolt them up to see if there is any changes

Hoosier- I changed the carrier bearing about a month ago, it was bad and really needed to be changed. But with the lift on there where the carrier bearing bolts up there is a spacer that bolts to the original holes that drops it down 

thanks for the responses guys


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## DSilva (May 4, 2009)

You might need to have the tread shaved down on the tires. Being that the vibration is at low speed you have more tire flat on the ground. Jerrys in Port Arthur can shave them down level.


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## C.Hern5972 (Jul 17, 2009)

I had a 06 f250 that did this as well. It was the tires. They would not balance at all. They ended up putting a whole new set on for me. Something about bad make of the good year tires or something. After i changed the tires it stopped


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## dpsdiver (Nov 11, 2006)

It's bad tires or a bent rim. I have had both and each time it fixed it


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

damon- all of the tread on the tire is pretty dang level, i cannot see any of it being uneven by eye. I will bring it by your shop on friday and let you take a look at it to see what you think

but like i said in a previous post im gonna try my friends rims and tires to see if it helps

thanks guys


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## bwguardian (Aug 30, 2005)

pwrstrkr said:


> BW-i know someone with some brand new tires and rims the same size so im going to see if he will let me bolt them up to see if there is any changes
> 
> thanks for the responses guys


If you find that this fixes the issue, then change themback one at a time to figure out exactly which one is the problem. Just be certain you mark which tire/wheel combo came from on each truck so they can be put back that way.


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

WILL DO


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## Palmetto (Jun 28, 2004)

pwrstrkr said:


> BWG- ......... the tire are 37-13.50-17 Toyo Open Country M/T with 9" of lift.........


no wonder. I have never had tires that big, but I have always been told that they are a mofo to balance, & keep balanced!


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

when i took them in to get them balanced they said to wait a second so they could go make sure that they had plenty of weights. i know the guy that owns the shop where i get it done so i went back and was talking to them as they were doing it and they said that on all 4 of my tires that it was the least amount of weights that he had ever put on tires that size. the most weight that is on any of the tires is 2 oz. which is not bad at all!! for tires that size. usually there is somewhere around 4-6oz PER tire with those size tires


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## ComalClassic (Apr 16, 2010)

Ive had 3 lifted trucks in a row. My current truck I decided I would take it easy and just add a leveling kit with some 285's (**** chevy wheel well wont let me put anything bigger). Any lifted truck, I dont care how incredible the mechanic, is going to shake, rattle and yes, roll. The slightest imperfection in the vehicles ride, whether it has occured over time or came that way from the factory, will be twice as bad once that truck is lifted. Think of a tuning fork, the vibration increases further from the source of impact. Similar to bad tires on the ground and you sitting an extra 9 in above it. I hope your able to get it fixed, from my experience having a lifted truck and a rough ride are a package deal.

For future reference. When trouble shooting, start with the least expensive item first, (ex. borrow the set of tires from a friend for free prior to changing u joints, adding stabilizer arm, etc.)


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## ComalClassic (Apr 16, 2010)

FYI, that wasnt a smart arse remark at the end there. Just a little knowledge it took me a while to figure out. Some times the simplest, easiest, cheapest things are all you need. Why not try them first?


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## Shin-Diggin (Jun 17, 2005)

I had a 94 Z71 with a Rancho kit and I thought it rode better lifted then stock. Never had aggresive tires though. BFG A/T are the way to go.


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

ComalClassic said:


> FYI, that wasnt a smart arse remark at the end there. Just a little knowledge it took me a while to figure out. Some times the simplest, easiest, cheapest things are all you need. Why not try them first?


Its all good. the reason i started where i did was because when i first noticed it i just started checking things out and that was when i noticed that the carrier bearing was bad real bad so i changed it out, then when it was still there i decided to go ahead and change the u joints, and they werent real bad but on their way downhill. I do all the PM on my truck myself i dont like having anyone work on my stuff unless i cannot do it and that way i know exactly what was done. I dont have the traction bar on it yet but I am going to change the bolts that go thru the leaf springs cause they arent looking to good and if that dont fix it then im going to add the traction bar(its free so why not?) cause for some reason every time i start going over things everything keeps leading me back to either the torque converter or that i am getting axle wrap due to the lift. This is my second lifted truck and had NO problems out of the first. Oh well nothing but a thang

thanks for all of yalls help. next time i am off im going to fiddle with it a little more

stephen(pwrstrkr)


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## Profish00 (May 21, 2004)

Did you install a carrier bearing spacer when you lifted the truck?


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

yes the spacer is in there, without the spacer the drive shaft would have to be replaced and also causing the pinion angle the be thrown way out of wack, i also compared the pinion angle on my truck compared to the same yr/mk/mdl truck stock and it is no diffecerence to the eye


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## Golden years (Dec 8, 2009)

MINE DID THE SAME THING DOES IT STOP WHEN YOU LET OFF THE GAS IF IT DOES PULL THE COVER OFF YOUR REAR END AND CHECK THE GEARS


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## redman35 (Jul 1, 2008)

my buddy had a shake in his expedition and what it ended up being was the rotors on the brakes.


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

Golden years said:


> MINE DID THE SAME THING DOES IT STOP WHEN YOU LET OFF THE GAS IF IT DOES PULL THE COVER OFF YOUR REAR END AND CHECK THE GEARS


It only does it between 20-30 MPH that is it!!!!! there is no vibration at all at any other speed. When just easing on the pedal taking off its not as bad as when i get on it hard then you can really feel it but it is always there between 20-30 mph when accelerating and NOT braking



redman35 said:


> my buddy had a shake in his expedition and what it ended up being was the rotors on the brakes.


I will pull them off and have them turned when i get a chance and TIME. but please explain how the rotors will cause a vibration on acceleration just between those speeds and no vibration at all when braking hard or soft at any speed?


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## Highwave Patrol (Jul 5, 2007)

My dad had an F-150 that would only vibrate between 30 - 40 mph. As long as you stayed just under, or just over, the ride was normal, but fall into that middle speed and that truck would shake you to death. As weird as it sounds, his truck ended up needing a front end alignment and two new tires (for the front). Good luck with it and let us know what it ends up being.


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## pwrstrkr (Oct 5, 2010)

that is exactly how mine is....ill see if the shop i bring my too is busy tomorrow and bring it up there.....not to try and sound stuck up or snobby but im the kind of person that i cannot stand my truck, 4 wheeler or ANYTHING making noises, vibrating or anything it bugs the he11 out of me and this truck is kicking my arse trying to figure it out. Im going to try a couple things while i am off this weekend and see if i cannot eliminate a few more things.

thanks everyone


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