My son's 1994 F150 has a violent wobble on the front end left to right from time to time while cruising 35 to 70 mph. He can correct it by steering back and forth, right to left quickly. This occurs on both tires at the same time. (straight 6; 300 cubic inches; automatic trans). He has some money set aside to do some repairs and would like some pointers on where to start looking before he begins to spend money.

Thanks for feedback, all is appreciated.

 

How many miles on the truck? 4x4 or 4x2?

With most front end shakes, the first thing of suspect would probably be tire balance. Whats their condition, how are they wearing?? If their newer or have been balanced recently then probably off the table. But sometimes tire wear can give a direction or indication as to a 'side' or area that needs attention.

Best thing to do would be to lift the front end and check for any components with excessive wear/play,, ball joints, tie rod ends/drag link, radius arm bushings, steering gear lash (play).. A process of elimination.. Could be just an alignment issue, but again, taking all the possibilities off the table first before spending money on un needed parts or repair..

 

I'm not sure if this helps...I have a 92 f150 that had what others refer to as the "death wobble". It ended up being two bushings in my front end suspension and the bolts that needed to be replaced. It would shake like it was falling apart whenever I made a gradual right hand turn at speeds of around 30-50 mph...such as those made when exiting a freeway.

Good Luck.

 

just about the best thing to do is take it to an alignment shop and have the front end completely checked and get the estimate as to the cost of the repair. sometimes it's worth the expense to get it done by a professional. Even if you do it yourself you'll most likely have to have it aligned any way.